University of La Verne SBDC Small Biz Blog

Hiring it out or doing it yourself? There are pros and cons to both and it really boils down to the 3 T’s: Time, Talent, and Treasure. These are more important to you given the situation and the likelihood of success in what you’re trying to accomplish. Time Well, we all know that time is precious! Whether it's my kids asking me desperately for 5 more mins to play their games with their friends before dinner or the business owners I know who pay executive coaches to help them regain an hour of their day by using time management techniques.  I’d say you have to ask yourself, “How much time would it take you to do it yourself versus hiring it out”. If what you’re trying to do time sensitive, or needs to be completed by a certain deadline you need to be real with yourself about your available time to get it done. Like Franklin Covey’s 4 quadrants - is this something that is urgent and important? For example, taxes. Maybe you need to file an extension and you don’t know how to do that,

  Learn all the steps you need to take to start a business: from developing your plan to market research to filing your licenses in today's simple step-by-step webinar.  For one on one personalized consulting: www.lavernesbdc.org/newclient Develop A Plan Business planning resources Get the business plan template (Business Plan Outline)   Know Your Market NAICS Code Lookup   LA County Library / Reference USA LA County Demographics Formalizing the Business   Franchise Tax Board - Forms of Ownership LLCs & Corporations Name Search Los Angeles County Name Search for FBN (Sole Proprietorships) San Bernardino County Name Search for FBN (Sole Proprietorships)  Domain Name Search    Licenses & permits lookup Record-Keeping Record Keeping Systems    LA County Library / Lynda.com / LinkedIn Learning Outsourced accounting  ( https://bench.co/ ) Find a QuickBooks Pro Advisor Find a Professional Business Taxes  IRS Publication 583- Starting a Business   IRS Publication 587- Busine

by Joshua Botello An income statement is the first financial statement that most business owners become accustomed to because it’s the easiest to interpret. Yet many of our clients just starting out are unsure how any of this financial stuff works. In this video, I’ll break down what an income statement is, its major components, and some useful formulas to better understand your business profitability. What is an Income Statement An income statement is a financial statement that shows how profitable a business is at a certain point in time. The income statement is also known as the profit and loss or P&L to show if they are making money by the job, month, or year. The major components of the Income statement include sources of income, expenses, and a net income or net profit to show how profitable the business is. The income statement is helpful because it itemizes expenses incurred by operations. All of these costs have a definitive number and business owners can pinpoint where t

Mark Hicks is an adjunct professor of management at the University of La Verne School of Business and Public Management. Professor Hicks also teaches a class as part of practicum where the students form a business, sell a product and donate the profits at the end of the term.  Mark is also a business consultant at the University of La Verne SBDC, where he helps clients looking to start a business with business planning, licensing, permitting, and small business loans. What is Company Culture? Company culture is the environment that is created within a business or organization. Culture affects how you think, what you do, and how you feel at work. When you look at organizations like Apple, you would understand that Apple is a culture of innovation and technology. Along with that culture, the employees enjoy perks and benefits from the company.  Culture is driven by the leadership at the top or the business owner, just as Steve Jobs or Tim Cook drives the Culture at Apple. Culture encompa

  Sensational Organizing Services www.Sensationalorganizing.com Elva Fonseca is the owner of Sensational Organizing Services, a professional organizing service for individuals and businesses. Sensational Organizing Services takes care of all the details including hauling away the unwanted items, decluttering, and procuring the organizational containers. Founded in 2015, the business was doing ok as they were getting clients, but Elva recognized there were still gaps involved with running her business that she wanted to address. “I didn’t go to school to run a business. I just knew how to do my trade and how to serve people, but as far as running a business was operating out of trial and error,” Elva explained. She reached out to the San Dimas Chamber and was eventually referred to the University of La Verne SBDC. The specific challenges Elva had were a steady flow of clients and communicating the pricing of her services with clients. “I didn’t know what my marketing strategy was to get

by Joshua Botello Introduction Many of our small business clients who are looking to get into business, lack the fundamentals in accounting to know how to judge the health of their business. In this first episode of a new series, I will show you the basics of accounting including financial sheets and how to use them. In this video, we are covering our first financial statement, the Balance Sheet. I’ll show what a balance sheet is, the components, and stay to the end on how you can use it for your business.  What is a Balance Sheet  So let's get right to it. What is a balance sheet? A balance sheet is a financial statement that is a snapshot of your business's health. The balance sheet shows your business’s net worth and it is broken down into 3 sections: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity. These 3 sections will always be in balance when looking at this document. This formula is often associated with the balance sheet: Assets - Liabilities = Equity  Typically, you will see balance

by Joshua Botello Starting your barbershop or salon seems like an easy proposition, especially if you've been in the industry for a few years. The barber and beauty industry is fairly regulated here in California and there are a bunch of hoops that you'll have to jump through to make your dream happen. In this guide, I'll give you a 5 step guide on how to start your barbershop or beauty salon. So let’s go... Business Concept The first thing you're going to need to figure out is what kind of services you're going to offer. Are you going to be offering straight haircuts or are there other services such as shaving or color that customers are going to want? You also have to determine whether or not you're going to be selling products such as hair care products or beard care in your location. When it comes to customers you'll have to decide if you're going to serve strictly men or women or a mix of both. Each type of customer will have their own set of nee

By Joshua Botello Getting a small business loan is an integral part of many small businesses to start up or grow. The most common SBA loans offered for small businesses are 7a and 504 loans. The terms of loans may seem confusing and small business owners may not understand which one they need or qualify for. In this article, we will break down the major differences between the two loan programs and which might be right for your small business. Difference #1: Eligible Business size Each type of SBA loan has business size requirements that may impact your eligibility. Eligibility for 7a loans is determined mainly by industry. For example retail, service or agriculture businesses' sales must not exceed the range of $750,000 - $33.5 million. For 504 loans a business’ net worth cannot exceed $15 million. Meanwhile, the average net profit (after taxes) over 2 consecutive years cannot exceed $5 million. Difference #2: Program Requirements The program requirements for a 7a and 504 loans

Operating a business is difficult territory for many business owners in this day and age. My guest today will help you navigate more treacherous territory: business law. My guest today is Robert Barrett, a lawyer and a professor of business law and cyber law for business students in the College of Business and Public Management. He is also a law professor at the University of La Verne College of Law. Professor Barrett will help you understand contracts, working with lawyers, along with all the pitfalls and perils of the modern legal environment of business.  So tell me, what is a contract? Let me start with a new business person who is not sophisticated and from the very basics and go from there. Contracts in law school is a full-year course…and business people don’t need to know what the lawyers know. After a full year of contracts as a law student, you still don’t really know anything. Of course like anything in school you need to get out there in the world and the first contract y