Course: SLF 130 Marketing Practices for the Small Business

Unit 5 Reading

SubTabs

- Unit 5
- Table of Contents (Selected)
- Unit 5 Glossary (Selected)

Business Partnerships Page 1

Reading adapted from

http://www.sba.gov/ U.S. Small Business Administration

https://www.boundless.com/business/small-business-and-entrepreneurship/ Chapter 7 Business: Boundless Business Open Textbook, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, CC BY-SA 2.0

https://www.boundless.com/marketing/branding-packaging/ Chapter 10 Marketing: Boundless Marketing Open Textbook, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, CC BY-SA 2.0

 | An aspiring business owner must get outside of his/her own head and get real world input. | Business Partnerships: Building the Brand
A start-up business gets support from outside the business and well as building from within. This section identifies resources and organizations that can help a small business owner successfully launch a business.

This section also discusses “building the brand.” Small business owners generally have a concept inside their own heads as to what the business will be…they can NOT function in a vacuum, however. It is said that we live on a “branded” planet.  Customers think in terms of “brands” and businesses of all sizes must use this concept to compete successfully in the marketplace.
SCORE provides counseling services to over one million entrepreneurs and small business owners annually. SCORE volunteers will review business plans, make suggestions about financing assistance, or review promotional and advertising plans.

The Census Bureau
As a start-up business how can population statistics by zip codes assist you in making decisions?

The “American Fact Finder” feature can be accessed from the Census Bureau site. A start-up business must confirm that there are enough individuals or households to support a new business. Since many small businesses serve upscale “niche” targets, the income and educational levels of a zip code(s) need to be higher than average.
SBA = Small Business Administration

So much information!

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Its mission is "to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters." The agency's activities are summarized as the 3 Cs of capital, contracts, and counseling.

SBA has at least one office in each U.S. state. In addition, the agency provides grants to support counseling partners, including approximately 900 Small Business Development Centers (referred to as SBDCs)  often located at colleges and universities, 110 Women's Business Centers; and SCORE, a volunteer mentor corps of retired and experienced business leaders with approximately 350 chapters.