University of La Verne SBDC Small Biz Blog

by Joshua Botello Dr. Shawn Smith and Dr. Brian Nyamwange are the Co-founders of Symba Center, a non-profit free clinic that provides care for people who do not have insurance. As a graduate of Loma Linda University, Shawn saw firsthand the disparities of Loma Linda and neighboring San Bernardino. “Dr. ‘Bowtie’ Brian and I were healthcare professional students asking ourselves, 'how can we address the health needs in this community?” When Shawn started working at Western University of Health Sciences he found some resources that may be able to help get his idea off the ground. “I immediately went to our Innovation Center at WesternU and they were pretty excited about it,” Shawn recounted. The innovation center focused on technology and commercial applications instead of philanthropic ventures. The staff said “There is a small business development center locally at the University of La Verne. We’ve heard a lot about the great work they are doing and I can put you into contact with...

by Joshua Botello Scaling your small business is less about the “right time” or the “stars aligning” and more about building your business systems and growing. How do you know when you should scale your business or if you can? In this article, I’ll cover 5 aspects of your business that you as an owner should evaluate to know when or how to scale your business.  GOALS If you are looking to grow or even scale your business you need to have a plan. If you created a plan when you started your business, there are some basic milestones you probably set for yourself. If you are an existing business, these might be your goals for the next 1-5 years. This strategic plan should be referred to and updated often and must have the appropriate goals and milestones to reach for growth. As a business owner if you don’t meet those milestones you are not ready to scale your business. Financials Your business’ financials are a strong indicator to measure growth and when to scale. While this is tru...

By Joshua Botello Is your business ready to compete in the market? In this video, you’ll learn how to conduct your competitive research. If you are just starting your business plan or you've been at this game for a while, you need to know who your competition is. Many business owners fail to do this research and then wonder why they aren’t winning new customers or growing. In this video, I'll give you a 3 step process to competitive research where you’ll: Identify your competitors Gather intelligence Finally, put it into a form you will be able to use to grow your business. So let's get started. Step 1: Identify Competitors As you start on your journey of competitive research you first need to identify your competitors. What? You don't have any competitors? Wrong. You do have competitors whether you know them or not. Now it’s time to find them. Use Google If you never thought about your competitors before now it is time to find them, but how? When doing this research yo...