University of La Verne SBDC Small Biz Blog

by Joshua Botello Are you looking to build an audience on Facebook for your business? Whether you have been in business for years or you are just starting out, figuring out how to use social media to grow your business is going to be a challenge. So here is a list of 4 tips you can use to build your following on Facebook.  Tip #1 Contact Existing Customers Tip number 1 is to Contact your existing customers: If you're currently and have existing customers who are also on Facebook, you want to let them know once you join. You can do this a few different ways by putting a Facebook like button on your website that connects to your business page so they know they can connect with you there.  If you have an existing email list let them know you are on Facebook and have a follow button in the email as an easy call to action to click.  If you have a brick and mortar location, post your Facebook page name somewhere visible for the customer to follow you and get all the latest information. Y

By Joshua Botello The world of grants is a hazy one, especially for the uninitiated. To outsiders, grants seem to be free money floating around that people are willing to just hand over and are ridiculously easy to get, but difficult to find (unless you know where to look). If by some miracle, one of those previous statements might actually be true (uh, no), the world of grants and business financing is confusing and difficult. There is a lot of information and misinformation in the world, so let's dispel the myths and uncover the truth about grants. But first... What exactly is a Grant? A grant is one of many forms of federal, state, county, city, corporate, or foundation funding. Within the federal government (the largest grant funder), Federal financial assistance is a broad term for the various ways the U.S. government distributes resources to eligible recipients. Simply put, a grant is any money that funds ideas and projects to provide public services and/or stimulate the ec

by Joshua Botello If you are looking to start digital marketing, a Facebook account is a good start to reach your customers, with over a billion active users. If you need to run a business from your Facebook account, track who views your page, and make sales with Ads you need to invest in a Facebook Business Page. A Facebook Page is a free and easy way to gather analytics on your audience, Schedule and post content, and use advertisements. So let hop on to Facebook and start-up that business page. The Set-up We’ll naturally start on Google.com. We need to make sure that we are logged into our Facebook profile so let's go to Facebook.com. We will type in our Facebook profile login and password. Verify you are logged in to our Facebook profile and then open a new tab. Now it’s time to open your Business page. On your profile, in the 2020 interface will be these buttons. Click the plus button and choose the page. it will bring up a page with a sidebar that looks like a profile. The f

by Joshua Botello Non-profits are some of the noblest organizations to help communities all over the United States. The National Council of Nonprofits describes nonprofits this way: “America’s 1.3 million charitable nonprofits feed, heal, shelter, educate, inspire, enlighten, and nurture people of every age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status, from coast to coast, border to border, and beyond... They foster civic engagement and leadership, drive economic growth, and strengthen the fabric of our communities. Every single day.” While some look to build a business others look to starting a nonprofit organization to make a living, by helping the community. Here is a list of the major differences between for-profit companies and nonprofits, if you are looking to start a nonprofit of your own. Profits The biggest myth with non-profit organizations is that unlike for-profit companies that can’t make a profit. The term non-profit is somewhat of a misnomer. Non-profit organizatio

By Joshua Botello Social media marketing has become the ubiquitous first step for business owners to take in digital marketing. It’s easy to start, free and most already know how to use the platforms. However, new business owners who are not well versed in marketing fundamentals forget the basic tenets of marketing for millions of users on each platform. These business owners think all users are potential customers and if they cast a wide net they will hopefully capture some of that business for themselves. In this article, we’ll cover 5 steps to getting started social media and how you can expand your business with digital marketing. Step 1# Know Your Customer One of the first basic tenets of marketing is to “know your customer”. If you have been in business for any length of time, you should know who your customers are. You may know them personally or you may be familiar enough with them because they buy often. Why does this matter? Well, many business owners are distracted by the in

by Joshua Botello One of the most consistently asked questions we get is: "How can I get more customers for my business?" Well, worry no more. We don't just have one way, we have 9 different ways to get more customers no matter your industry. Let's take a look at how you can build your customer base. 1. Rub Some Elbows If you need some new customers now, it might time to get out there and rub some elbows. This means networking and getting referrals. But where? Start with your local city Chamber of Commerce, they routinely have events and mixers multiple times per month, to get to know the local businesses. You can always attend these events as a guest to try them out or dive in and become a full-fledged member. You can also use LinkedIn or Facebook to join groups and network online and learn from other like-minded business owners. The other way is to tap some old or current customers and ask them for referrals. Start with the best customers first, as they will ha

by Joshua Botello Google My Business page is a directory listing for businesses that have websites or some kind of business information online. Because information is found online business owners can claim this information for their own business and use this as another property to promote their business right inside google search.  If you have a business you can easily claim your business and get control of those details but I’ll touch on that later.  This video is primarily for businesses that are just getting started and looking to start up their own google my business accounts. Now that you know what google my business is, let’s hop on to the computer and do the registration. There are two steps to this process. So let's start with step one. STEP 1 - Create Your Listing If you don’t have a google my business account and haven't started up yet, we will go to business.google.com/create and you will be greeted with this simple page. You can use this search bar to find your busi

Finding a location for your business is one of the most important decisions you can make. Deciding on the type of lease structure you might run into when renting a commercial space can be the most confusing part of the process. Here are the 6 most common types you might run into. Gross Lease Also known as a Full-Service Lease the landlord covers all the building expenses. This is a commercial  lease  where the tenant pays a flat rental amount, and the  landlord  pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership, including taxes, utilities, and water. This lease generally refers to a “base year” to start payments and stipulates a certain escalation in cost to cover inflation. The rent amount is calculated based on the cost of rent, with a reasonable markup and may include the cost of other services like janitorial or landscaping.  The advantage to this is that it is a flat rent cost similar to that of a conventional apartment lease and is regular and fixed per

by Joshua Botello I n this video, I'll be reviewing the EDDM tool from the United States Postal Service. The Every Door Direct Mail tool, from the United States Postal Service, is worth taking a look at if you are just starting out in your business or if you are just not into digital marketing for your local area. This isn’t for businesses that are primarily online. While this tool can be used online, more tech-savvy and digital marketing savvy businesses can forgo the EDDM in exchange for search and video ads. You just set up your business in a new city or you opened up a home business and want to advertise to the local community, here is a relatively simple and inexpensive option. It’s called Every Door Direct Mail and it's powered by none other than your US Postal Service! The basic idea is that you create a mailer, coupon or offer and blast is out to the local market. The catch is you do need to have an idea of your target market but once you have that it's super simple