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The SBTDC at UNC Wilmington is affiliated with the UNCW Cameron School of Business and is located next to the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Our experienced business advisory team offers confidential, in-depth business counseling to small- to mid-sized company business owners and management staff and to entrepreneurs preparing to launch their next venture.
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Heather McWhorter
Regional Director
910.962.4248 or
Robin Bennett
Business Counselor
910.962.3744 or
Diane Lantz
Business Counselor
910.962.2869 or
Gloria Monroe
Business Counselor
910.962.7307 or
Jamie Stalfort
Business Launch Specialist
910.962.0537 or
Donna Warren
PTAC Counselor
910.962.3566 or
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Welcome to the newsletter of the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC). The goal of the UNCW SBTDC is simple: to empower business owners and entrepreneurs to make businesses in southeast NC more competitive and more profitable. As described at
www.sbtdc.org
, our Center helps for-profit businesses in all industry sectors to start and grow with personalized business counseling assistance and specialized services such as international business/exporting, selling to the government, and technology commercialization. If your small business needs business assistance, contact your Business Counselor or
[email protected]
today.
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Please welcome Donna Warren, Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) Counselor, to our regional team. Prior to joining PTAC, Donna worked in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) as a Contracting Officer and Program Manager with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM) in St. Louis, MO and at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. In her career, Donna also worked as a Contracts Director of The Newberry Group, a minority, woman, service-disabled veteran-owned small business. We are so pleased to bring her expertise to businesses in southeast North Carolina!
Watch for new programs that she will be rolling out to help grow small business sales to the government in our region! Donna can be contacted at
[email protected]
or 910.962.3566. PTAC services are described
here
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GETTING STARTED IN SELLING TO THE government
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Contributed by Donna Warren, PTAC Counselor
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Selling to the Government...has the idea crossed your mind with regard to your business? You've come to the right place! Your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) Counselor is on staff to assist you with any questions you may have, to assist you with your first step.... the System for Award Management (SAM) and all of the steps beyond getting started when utilizing decision making tools in preparation for Selling to the Government. The next PTAC seminar to address getting started is on July 23 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. at the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). The following topics will be highlighted:
- Is selling to the government right for your business?
- How to register in SAM
- Identifying solicitations
- Getting started with marketing your business
You may register at the link below to learn find more about the mysterious idea of Selling to the Government:
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Hurricane Florence: SBA WORKING CAPITAL LOANS DEADLINE IS JUNE 14
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If your small business was economically injured by Hurricane Florence, working capital loans are still available from the U.S. Small Business Administration. "Businesses that suffered economic losses as a result of the disaster and want to apply for low-Interest loans from the SBA are urged to do so before the June 14 deadline," said Kem Fleming, director of SBA Field Operations Center East.
Working capital disaster loans up to $2 million are available at 3.675% for small businesses, and 2.5% for private nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years. The loans are intended to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other expenses that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. To be considered for this assistance, eligible entities need to apply by the deadline.
Please contact the UNCW SBTDC for additional information and assistance.
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CFO
s Anticipating future recession
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According to the
Duke University / CFO Global Business Outlook survey
, 82% of CFOs polled believe the country will enter a recession by the end of 2020. Nearly half believe it will happen by the end of 2019.
"All of the ingredients are in place: a waning expansion that began in June 2009 - almost a decade ago - heightened market volatility, the impact of growth-reducing protectionism, and the ominous flattening of the yield curve which has predicted recessions accurately over the past 50 years," said Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at the Fuqua School of Business.
"The U.S. outlook has declined, and moreover the outlook is even worse in many other parts of the world, which will lead to softer demand for U.S. goods," said Duke professor John Graham, who directed the survey.
The biggest concern cited by CFOs is difficulty hiring and retaining qualified employees. Others worries include cost of employee benefits, government policies, and economic uncertainty.
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MARKET RESEARCH AVAILABLE TO HELP INCREASE BUSINESS SUCCESS
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Contributed by Gloria Monroe, Business Counselor
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If you are looking for insights on customers or products, the SBTDC is a great research source available for small and mid-size businesses at no charge. Good market research can help you analyze locations and competitors, write job descriptions, learn regional pay rates, and identify/maximize trends and competitive advantages. Statistics, business lists, and maps are available to help you make better decisions. You can also get a broad range of financial, market, and demographic research reports customized to specific business and geographical locations. Contact your SBTDC business counselor or 910-962-3744 to learn more about the valuable
SBTDC resources
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TAKING the leap: From idea to business
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Contributed by Jamie Stalfort, Business Launch Specialist
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The SBTDC is introducing a new program to help start innovative businesses and tap into more startup potential in North Carolina. As part of the new Business Launch Initiative at the SBTDC, the Business Launch Specialists across the state are rolling out a new cohort-style learning experience for people who are looking to start a business. A cohort is a group of people who go through an interactive learning experience together.
The name of the cohort, Taking the Leap, alludes to the fact that starting a business can be extremely daunting, and it can be intimidating to take that first step into the unknown without having the tools to succeed. In this free four-week long cohort, participants will learn about different aspects of starting a business including identifying potential markets, writing a business plan, running the finances of a business, and marketing a business. Participants will work with mentors and peers in fun breakout activities designed to help strengthen their business ideas and prepare them for success.
This cohort will help participants to:
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Utilize a human-centered design thinking experience to understand future customers and their needs |
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Develop a unique, comprehensive business plan and fine-tune the value proposition |
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Learn about different sources of capital such as loans, grants, investors, and more |
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Learn how to develop and share your business pitch to potential partners and investors |
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Gain access to best practices for marketing a new business |
Taking The Leap is rolling out in different locations across the state, with the most recent one starting June 3rd - 24th in Wilmington at tekMountain. Spots are limited for each cohort so you'll need to apply using the link to reserve your spot!
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As a leader in a business, you have a fantastic opportunity to impact the lives in your influence - from your employees, to customers, to investors, to community partners, and so on... Whether you like it or not, people look to you for your vision, for consistency, and for guidance on a daily basis.
This is an opportunity for you as a leader to make peoples' lives better and to make our community better. How are you doing? Are you able to stay positive? Do you consider this an opportunity or a burden?
Try these strategies to start reinforcing positivity in your role as a leader (even in tough times):
- Practice gratitude
- Be curious and inspire a positive learning environment - great leaders are great lifelong learners and mentor others
- Write in a journal about successes
- Rehearse and share good news with others
- Express negative feelings but don't dwell on them
- Avoid negativity triggers
- Do not introduce negativity. Once negativity is introduced, it is hard to convert to positivity.
- Stay on the path of possibility
- Look on the bright side - and get others to do the same
- Believe in abilities, even after failure
Give it a try! It may help to increase employee retention rates and build new partnerships that could help to make your business even more successful. If nothing else, you may find yourself happier in your leadership role. Try this first step today: 
References
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We have a lot of information to share with you! While personalized counseling is the best way to get relevant information, we also recently created the SBTDC at UNCW Facebook page. Follow the UNCW SBTDC
here
to keep up to date. You can also connect with your Business Counselor's LinkedIn profile for announcements, and Heather our Director is on
Twitter
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