University of La Verne SBDC Small Biz Blog

Photo by  Kelly Sikkema  on  Unsplash by Joshua Botello Getting small business certifications has been a way for disadvantaged businesses to get a leg up on the ever-competitive market. These are the most common small business certifications you are going to find. They definitely offer an advantage in the marketplace, so here is some background on what these programs are about and what you’re going to need. Photo by  Hannah Skelly  on  Unsplash Service-Disabled/Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB/VOSB) The Veteran-Owned Small Business certification is a federal certification through the Department of Veterans Affairs. This particular program is not what is known as a set-aside, the government does not allocate a specific amount of contracts to VOSBs. What this certification offers is a spending goal of all contracts at 3% of total spending. Now, this might sound small, but in fact, amounts to $40 billion in contracts annually. The VOSB certification allows

Image by   pictavio   from   Pixabay   by Joshua Botello If you have ever asked: “what the heck is a bond?” don't worry, you aren't alone. Basically, bonds are contracts typically between three parties, protecting losses caused by one of the party’s not meeting contractual obligations. Here are the major types of bonds and when you might need them in your line of work. Surety Bonds So, if you’re a construction business then the surety bond would be for you. The surety bond is between your company, the customer, and the guarantor (the issuer). You pay the guarantor to take out the bond. If you fail to meet the contractual obligations to your customer, then the guarantor pays the fee or the fine to your customer. The SBA has resources for providers and even guarantees surety bonds in order to help small businesses compete for jobs. It’s worth checking to see if they can guarantee your surety bond. License / Permit Bond This type of bond falls under the umbrella cate

by Joshua Botello If you are looking to open a business in a particular city, a city business license is a must when it comes to operating legally. The purpose of the license is for cities to regulate what businesses are in the city and collect local taxes for all businesses operating within the city limits. I’ll cover all the things you will need to look out for and what information you are going to need for filling out the application. The first thing you want to know is where your business is going to be: a home business or a storefront? There are few differences, So let’s hop on to the internet and get to that application. Ok, so I’m in my web browser and starting on google.com. I am going to use our city as an example to go to cityoflaverne.org. Here I am on the webpage. What we need to do is navigate to the business department. Luckily it’s right here and we can just click on “business licenses” to head over. For the city of La Verne they only do printed applications, but w

by Joshua Botello An investor presentation drums up images of “Shark Tank”, where the founders create goofy, but memorable pitches with ridiculous propositions for investment into their businesses.  But that’s TV. In reality, it’s very different.  For starters, investors prefer a pitch deck. This is a slide presentation made in a program like Powerpoint or Keynote to set the scene and explain why they are needing the investment. The investors are serious and will grill you about all aspects of your business before they even consider hearing how much you are actually asking for. The pitch deck is all the data and rationale about your business and why to deserve the investment you are asking for. That’s why we created this infographic. It distills all the information needed to make a concise and persuasive presentation to the 11 must-have slides to make the presentation work and win your investment. I will also use some notable examples to illustrate how these slides work.

by Joshua Botello  A Sales Tax Permit or seller’s permit is a requirement in California for retailers if you sell a physical product in the state of California. Is that all, you say? California also requires a seller’s permit if you have inventory stored in California, have employees like independent salespeople in California, or if you have a website that sells products in California. So, now that we have that out of the way let's hop on to the computer and get into the application for filing that seller’s permit. Finding the Application Here we are on the desktop, and we are going to head to our browser and type in CDTFA.CA.GOV to get to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. So now that we are on the home page we need to navigate to the actual application. So we head to this register button, just below the header and click register. Now we have to go down about halfway down the page to “Register or Apply for a New..” and then Click business activity or lo

Photo by   Álvaro Serrano   on   Unsplash by Joshua Botello On March 19, 2020, the State of California issued a Stay At Home order for all residents and businesses (deemed nonessential) to close and minimize the spread of COVID-19. After approximately 7 weeks the order went into effect -- at the time of writing this article -- many businesses and workers have felt the stress of paying bills, protecting their families and livelihoods. Getting Back to Work Now that the end is in sight and a plan to open up the economy is nearly formed, many businesses will need to be “phased in” to opening back up. However, the riskier “hands-on” vocations will be scrutinized to maintain the safety of patrons and workers alike.  The question is: how can business owners ensure the safety of customers and workers while balancing a healthy financial recovery? Here are some ideas of what that might look like. Social Distancing Business owners will primarily need to protect their customers

by Joshua Botello If you own business and file taxes for yourself or employees, applying for an Employer Identification Number or EIN is required. The EIN is a 9 digit code that is assigned to your business and is used as your file your business taxes and employees file their personal taxes to track their wages. Luckily, this is super easy and free to apply for EIN with the IRS. Check out the full video on YouTube ! Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

By Joshua Botello Since the advent of the internet and its progression to mass delivery of takeout orders, restaurants and diners have had the opportunity to invest in technology to reach a larger section of customers. Since the coronavirus pandemic started, many business owners have been tested to embrace technology or ignore it. The challenge will be how many businesses will use technology to survive in the age of COVID-19 and beyond. So, here is a list of tips to get your business to “go digital” and live to open another day.  But first...Why is “Going Digital” important? Going digital as a restaurant may sound like an absurd proposition. Besides, many new restaurant owners start their establishments for the ambiance and service for customers.  78% of Millenials  focus more on service and experience than actual food quality. In 2017,  58% of customers  considered delicious food when choosing a restaurant. So what do you do? Customers are still looking for delicious food eve

by Sean Snider Building a website can sometimes feel daunting, but trust me it’s not hard at all. Nowadays building a website is really easy – even for those who aren't "Tech Savvy". And even if you don't plan to build the website yourself and hire it out this blog post will help. DIY vs Hire-it-Out First off, you need to have a heart-to-heart with yourself and decide if you are going to do this yourself or if this is something you are just going to hire out. I tell clients to consider three things to help make this decision. Do you have the Time? Do you have the Talent? Do you have the Treasure? ($$$) If you have the desire to learn how to build a website and you have the time then you can certainly save some of your treasure to do this yourself versus hiring it out. If you plan to hire it out – don’t fret. There are a lot of resources for you to help build a website inexpensively. Check out the e-lance resources below. "E-lance" is jus