​KICK OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH A NEW OUTLOOK AND PLAN FOR SUCCESS

The New Year is a chance for “New Strategies”, “New Resolutions”, and “New Ideas”.
For Entrepreneurs it is a time to review and update plans, projections, procedures, budgets, goals, marketing calendars and more.  It is exciting and yet daunting-especially when you are in the midst of the day-to-day operations. Or maybe you have decided this is the year for you to follow your dream and be you own boss.

STOP AND TAKE A DEEP BREATH.  Help is just a web site away www.sdivsbdc.org. The San Diego and Imperial Small Business Development Center Network provides expert business advising at no charge and most workshops and trainings are free or a nominal charge. 
 
The SBDC is a partnership between the US Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) and helps the community provide a positive economic impact. The SBDC is funded in part by the Federal government, the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, MiraCosta College, many financial institutions and some local and state agencies. “Thanks largely to SBDC’s incredible support, we’ve been transformed into a growing, thriving $3M plus company. Their business advisors and trainers helped us create 10 jobs, raise $70K in capital and increase our sales $1.5M” states Carlos Melendez, CEO CM Solar.   
  
“The SBDC is our Best Friend! They helped us get financing for new equipment and employees, and increase our sales by $52,000.”  Exclaims Carlos Arreola, President of CM Auto Pros. In 2019, the San Diego and Imperial SBDC Network’s business advisors and trainers helped support 11,000 jobs, start 179 new businesses, access over $103 Million in capital and increase revenues by $62M.  
 
“The SBDC helped us secure a $1M loan towards the construction of our new organic packing facility creating 30 jobs  and increasing economic impact within the region,” Gina Dockstader, President Doc’s Organics. 
 
“Our objective is to help entrepreneurs and small business owners create, manage and run their business profitably”, states Sudershan Shaunak, Director of the North San Diego SBDC.  “We encourage existing small business owners to do a business review and update their business plan for the New Year.  Our business advisors assist in reviewing financials, projections, past performance, and future plans. New business owners are encouraged to attend the Entrepreneurship Academy. There is no charge for this one day program that provides information on starting a business”. 
 
 Here is Check List to Rev-Up Your Business in 2020

• Is your business legal and ethical?
• Is there a sustainable demand for your product or service?  Are you profitable?
• What is your competition doing?  Pricing, Sales, New Products, New Locations etc.
• Are you regularly managing and reviewing supply, demand, product, labor costs and budgets
• Are you controlling the costs or are they controlling you?
• Is your pricing covering all your costs and desired profits?
• Are you recording transactions in a timely basis? Are they accurate and understandable?
• Are you regularly reviewing your accounting data? 
• Are your personal and business bank accounts separate?
• Are your personal assets protected? 
• Create and constantly update a REALISTIC Budget.
• Regularly compare actual financials with budget and take immediate corrective action
• Do research on selling, pricing and costs (equipment, labor, employees, facilities, materials, utilities, insurance, marketing, etc.) This is important for start-ups and existing businesses to regularly check the costs of supplies to see if you can reduce them. 
• Project REALISTIC Sales Volume. This is SO Important. Check out competition, current pricing and industry standards. Listen to Your Customers
• Any new product launches, expansion plans and other items that will require a large cash-outlay?
• Update or write a business plan which is the road map to success
• Determine if you need funding - how much do you need and what for.
• Avoid being under-funded or overextended with a large loan payment. 
• Make sure you know your credit score (www.creditkarma.com), continue to monitor it and fix any negative items.
• Do your research and due diligence.  Lenders want to know about your character, credit and capacity to re-pay the loan. They want to know if you have collateral to protect the lenders investment, money to invest and conditions such as the economy, industry and purpose of funding.  

 
Small business owners and entrepreneurs can go to their local SBDCs for no-charge advice on writing business plans, business expansion, accessing capital, purchasing or selling a business, financial management, marketing, sales, social media, human resources, procurement, and more. The North San Diego SBDC is only a click or phone call away- visit us at www.sdivsbdc.org to register for workshops and the entrepreneurship academy or call 760-795-8740.
 
The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and the SBDC are now offering small business owners the opportunity to meet with an SBDC business advisor at the Chamber of Commerce on Monday afternoons.  Business owners can schedule an appointment by contacting the North San Diego SBDC 760-795-8740 or centerinfo@miracosta.edu
 
Lynn Pittman is a small business owner and the marketing and outreach specialist for the North San Diego SBDC.