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Provided
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Fall, 2007 |
Volume 1, Number 2 |
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We encourage you to forward
this newsletter to associates and other businesses! To contact us for counseling, click here. UPCOMING EVENTS The Greater
Knoxville SCORE Chapter will be hosting a series of Pre-Business Planning
workshops during the month of November.
If you live in the Greater Knoxville area and are considering
beginning a new business, or have friends or relatives who are considering
starting a business, we encourage you to attend one of these sessions. All sessions
will be conducted in branches of the Knox County Library System from 6:00 PM
to 7:00 PM as shown. Select the one that’s more convenient for you. For more information log onto our website www.scoreknox.org. Thursday,
Nov. 1 – Powell Thursday,
Nov. 8 – Farragut Thursday,
Nov. 15 – East Tuesday,
Nov. 20 – Thursday,
Nov. 29 – Main Library We will also
conduct this workshop in Go to www.roanestate.edu for detailed direction and enter
“directions” in the Keyword search.
You are welcome to bring lunch. Privacy
policy –You provided us with your email address either from
the application you completed when requesting assistance from SCORE, or when
requesting to receive SCOREBOARD.
This information will not be provided or sold to any outside agency
and will remain confidential. To unsubscribe from this newsletter,
please click here, and in the subject line, type the
word “unsubscribe”. |
Welcome to the second
edition of SCOREBOARD, a free business
resource from the Greater Knoxville Chapter of SCORE, Counselors to We want to thank those
who sent in comments and ideas for future issues. Here’s an excerpt from one email we
received. “My business is almost
ready to take a leap. However I do
need a successful business plan "re done". I think SCORE is an awesome "business
builder" for small business owners.
Most times our concerns are finding funds, and not so much on our
plans. And this can be a bigger
problem "down the road". So
thank you, to all the volunteers for helping "us" small business
owners start out RIGHT.” Please continue to
send us your input by sending us an email to: 1.
Tell us what subjects and topics you’d like to see
covered in this newsletter. 2.
Submit your own experiences of starting and growing your
own business: tips, what worked, traps to avoid, successes, and other
experiences. 3.
We welcome comments from our subscribers on our content,
so let us know how we’re meeting your needs. We’ve added two new sections in this
issue dealing with recent news and upcoming events that might have impact for
your business. Look for the “Business News” and “Upcoming Events” sections on this page. Throughout much
of the country, fall means FOOTBALL, whether its high school, college, or professional (and for some, all of the above!). Anyone who follows football knows that for
a team to be successful, research and planning by the coaching staff are
essential. Reviewing game film,
studying play selection, and matching strengths against weaknesses are not
only advisable, but necessary for success. The same is
true for business. Whether you’re considering
introducing a new product or service, applying for a loan, or considering a
new location, you must research your idea, make the proper plans, and then
execute them. And that’s our theme in
this issue – research and planning for success. So follow the links below to score a
touchdown for your business! Have a new product or service idea for your
business? One of the first things to
do is determine if the idea is marketable.
Kelly Spors, a writer for the Wall
Street Journal, provides some simple methods to conduct your initial
market research in “Testing
the Marketability of an Idea.” Market
research is essential for business, and should be one of the first tasks a
business owner undertakes. But how do
you do it, and in a cost-effective manner?
Jeff and Rich Sloan, creators and hosts of StartupNation.com, offer
some practical and inexpensive ideas in their article “Cheap
Ways To Get Market Research.” Why do some
football plays produce yardage gains and touchdowns, but others result in
lost yardage? Quite often the wrong
players, line-ups, or strategies were used.
The same is true with market planning and research - some tactics work
better than others. Read “6
Common Market Research Mistakes of Small Business” by Darrell
Zahorsky, the Small Business Information Guide for About.com, to find out
what NOT to do. When Small Is BIG How important is your small business to the ¬
Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. ¬
Employ about half of all private sector employees. ¬
Pay more than 45 percent of total ¬
Have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually
over the last decade. ¬
Create more than half of non-farm private gross domestic
product (GDP). ¬
Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises. ¬
Make up 97 percent of all identified exporters and
produce 28.6 percent of the known export value in FY 2004. On
August 7 the Greater Knoxville SCORE Chapter hosted a workshop on the SBA’s
Community Express Loan Program. Sue
Malone of Superior Financial Group explained the basics of the program, which
provides loans of up to $25,000 with no collateral requirements for virtually
any business purpose – expansion, start-up costs, marketing programs, capital
acquisition, even purchase of inventory.
As with all SBA loans, Community Express Loans are made through
approved lenders, with the SBA guaranteeing up to 80 percent of the
value. For more information on this
valuable program and to find lenders, visit the SBA
Web site. New Success Story Added to One
of the most visited sections of the Knoxville SCORE web site contains stories of clients who have worked with our
counselors. “Legends Of The Game,”
an educational board game created by Rick Mosley (pictured at left with
his wife Kathleen and SCORE Counselor Chuck Christiansen), has recently
been added. With assistance from
counselor Christiansen, it is now being marketed by numerous outlets
across the nation. For more information, read "Let
The Games Begin!"
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