2008 Woodie Awards
Small businesses, big ambitions
Nick Stockton
Issue date: 3/20/06 Section: News
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The conference was put on by the Small Business Development Center, with SBDC director Peter DeArmond at the helm. It was organized into hour-long moderated discussions, followed by lunch and energetic keynote speaker Garrison Wynn.
DeArmond addressed the audience for the first segment of the morning, appropriately titled "Planning Your Business." DeArmond's overall theme seemed to entail that failing to plan was planning to fail, and he outlined many important tactics one can take to provide solutions for any issue which might arise, whether obvious or not.
Following a 10-minute break were two paneled discussions moderated by local KGET 17 news anchor Gaylen Young. The first, titled "Financing Your Business," was chaired by Keith Brice, Scott Begin, Dana Fabbri and Linda Miles. Although they shared many views and opinions on business finance and startup, they each had individual interpretations of various financial practices. This sharing of different viewpoints made it easier for the audience to fully understand their options and obligations when it comes to securing funding for their ventures.
The common consensus was summed up by Brice, who outlined a successful finance strategy with "the Four C's; Capacity [for equity], Credit, Cashflow, and Character." He also added that one should "get to know your banker before you need them."
Miles added to that saying "get to know your insurance agent and your attorney as well."
The next panel discussed "Marketing Your Business," which entails everything that one does once they decide to start that business. Mary Beth Garrison, Marlene Heise, Lou Leto, and Cynthia Pollard were on the panel.
Their advice was well-aligned, as well as being rooted in common sense and made mentally accessible through their cooperative reasoning.
They made it a point to distinguish marketing from advertising and sales, which it is often confused.
Other key points of their discussion focused on implanting the image of one's business in every potential consumer's mind. To accomplish this, they assigned plans for identifying and targeting a demographic, as well as determining what a target demographic might be for certain businesses.