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Manage and Grow Your Business

Successfully managing a business requires specific management skills in addition to knowledge of key business practices. Within this section you’ll learn about leadership traits, decision-making skills, and how to manage your employees. Additionally, we’ll walk you through a host of important topics to manage your business including: marketing basics, setting prices, filing your business taxes, legal considerations, forecasting for future growth, and financing options.

Evaluate where your are with a SCORE Card

SBTDC Strategic Needs Assessment Tools
The SBTDC offers in-depth assessments in operations, marketing, finance, and business performance to assist you.  There is no charge for these services.  Contact your local SBTDC office for access to the following tools.  

Strategic Organization Assessment
An uncomplicated, web-based assessment of your company that takes you and each of your team less than 30 minutes to complete.  Results that help you and your team concentrate on your priorities and needed actions

Strategic Marketing Assessment
A straightforward, web-based assessment that takes less than 30 minutes for you and each of your team to complete.  A tool that helps evaluate an “integrated marketing” approach. Results to help you and your team concentrate on your marketing priorities.

Financial Analysis (Link to Attached Document 8 ProfitCents Flyer.DAT)
A web-based tool that takes financial data and quickly converts it into plain language reports complete with industry comparisons, ratio analysis, trend analysis, and even expectations. 

 

1. New Markets
2. Financing the Growth of Your Business
3. Business Incentives
4. Workforce Expansion
5. Develop International Business
6. Finding a Location for Your Expansion
7. Getting the Proper Insurance

 

1. New Markets

Sell to the Government

Federal Business Opportunities
By registering, you can search for government procurement opportunities, set up specified search criteria and receive opportunity notifications.

GovPro Media Online
Provides government product and procurement news and resources. You can also sign up for free subscriptions to Government Procurement and Government Product News Magazines.

North Carolina E-Procurement
Use the State of North Carolina’s online exchange, which streamlines interactions between state government buyers and vendors. A centralized source for the state’s award-winning procurement activities.

North Carolina Military Business Center
Contact the local business center to obtain assistance with military and federal contracting opportunities.  Information on this website explains these contracts and helps you determine if such contracts make sense for your business and how to get started. 

North Carolina PTAC
Contact the North Carolina PTAC to attend a training workshop or to receive one-on-one counseling to learn from the experts how to do business with the government.

Procurement and Minority Certification
Access BIC articles that discuss the reasons to do business with the government and get certified. Includes other pertinent and helpful topics related to government procurement and minority certification.

Small Business Administration
Provides government contracting information and opportunities for Women-Owned Businesses, HUBZones, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Opportunities.

Market Research Resources

Market Research Resources
The SBTDC offers the following websites as starting point for your business research activities. They are arranged in categories to help you expedite your search. 

NC LIVE
With NC LIVE, North Carolina libraries have statewide access to a rich array of electronic information including complete articles from over 16,000 newspapers, journals, magazines, and encyclopedias, and access to over 25,000 online print and audio books.

 

Internet Marketing Business Resources

The Basics of e-Business Minus the Confusion
Designed to provide the ideas and issues of e-business in very understandable language. This aims to remove the fear or misunderstandings about e-business so entrepreneurs can harness this powerful tool to better compete in today's global marketplace.

Use the Internet to Expand your Business
The SBTDC has written this e-Business Resource Guide to help you understand your e-business options; make sound, affordable decisions for your business; and learn where to go beyond this guide.

2. Financing the Growth of Your Business

There are a variety of financial resources that may be able to assist with your business expansion. In addition, there are also incentives such as tax credits that you may be able to use in your expansion. Explore the options that are available to you.

Capital Opportunities for Small Business
This 135-page guide serves as a resource for individuals seeking start-up financing, businesses hunting for expansion capital, and organizations that aid small businesses in obtaining financing in North Carolina.

Community Development Corporations 504 Real Estate and Equipment Loans
The CDC/504 loan program provides growing businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and buildings, including construction of new facilities, or modernizing, renovating or converting existing facilities; or purchasing long-term machinery and equipment.

Fueling Your Business in NC – A Guide to Financing for Small Business
This guide is a companion to SBTDC’s Capital Opportunities and was developed by the NC Rural Economic Development Center. 

The Inception Micro Angel Fund, LLC (IMAF) is a member-managed, seed stage, angel capital fund model designed to capitalize on the growth in entrepreneurial activity and venture financing.

Research and Development Funding Resources
Identify and access R&D funding sources like the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and other alternative R&D funding through the SBTDC. 

3. Business Incentives

There are many resources and incentive programs designed to help you grow your business. Most counties have a local agency that can tell you about these programs. Let the experts guide you and give you the information you need.

Local Economic Developers
This interactive map will help you find local contacts to help you expand your business in the Piedmont Triad.

North Carolina Business Incentives
Companies that meet certain requirements can take advantage of tax credits and other incentives includingsales and use tax discounts, exemptions and refunds, discretionary programs, and other cost-saving programs.

4. Workforce Expansion

Recruiting and retaining a talented workforce is key to the success of any business. When you are ready to add employees, your local JobLink Career Center can help you post your job openings, identify candidates; identify training grants, and more.

N.C. Community College System

Business/Industry Education & Training Programs
Customized Training
Workforce Development
BioNetwork

N.C. Department of Commerce's Workforce Services, including:

Employer Basics, addressing hiring, compensation and taxes.
Incumbent Worker Training, providing support for additional training and skills
JobLink Career Centers, providing community-based services for job-seekers.
Employment Security Commission of North Carolina provides information and services for companies and employees, including labor market statistics.

5. Expand My Business Globally

While difficult economic times are creating unique challenges for North Carolina businesses, companies that are willing to make the effort to break into the international marketplace are finding the endeavor worthwhile. The BIC has put together a number of helpful resources to assist you in entering or expanding into international trade.

North Carolina Department of Commerce – International Trade Division offers services to help NC companies export for the first time and to expand their export capability.

N.C. Department of Agriculture's International Trade Office and the department's Marketing Division helps bridge the gap between international buyers and North Carolina suppliers of agricultural commodities, value-added foods and forest products.

N.C. Ports Authority, with coastal and inland ports provides links to available international business resources. 

The SBTDC's International Business Development (IBD) program provides service to those companies needing assistance with export financing, either pre-export (export working capital) or post-export financing (getting paid for a shipment and/or helping the overseas buyer find financing to purchase a product.

The Piedmont Triad Partnership - Grantee and manager of Foreign Trade Zone #230.  A Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) is an area within the United States considered to be outside U.S. Customs territory. Sites are located in Alamance, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford and Surry counties, in a variety of industrial settings.

The Export/Import Bank of the United States  supports small businesses in the financing of U.S. goods and services and maintaining and creating more U.S. jobs.

US Customs and Border Protection
Access the website for information on regulations, licenses, and other import/export essentials.

US Small Business Administration Export Assistance Program
U.S. Export Assistance Centers located in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States, are one-stop shops ready to provide your small- or medium-sized business with local export assistance.

 

6. Finding a Location for Your Expansion

Find relevant articles, demographic statistics, and maps of community characteristics to assist you in choosing the community ideal for your business expansion.

Basics of Zoning Laws
Business.gov provides a plain English guide to zoning laws that can affect where you locate your business. 

Choosing a Location Checklist
The following checklist includes several questions you should answer before making your ultimate decision on where to open your business.

Demographic Data for Business Location Assistance
Demographics data such as age, income and ethnicity can help entrepreneurs figure out where to market and locate their businesses. Check your zip code now.

Piedmont Triad Demographic Analysis
Find population, demographics, and workforce statistics for the Piedmont Triad. 

Selecting a Location
Learn how you can best select a location for your new business.

Search Buildings & Sites in the Piedmont Triad Region
The Piedmont Triad Partnership provides a tool so you can review available commercial sites and buildings in the area.

7. Getting the Proper Insurance

Use the following resources to determine which kind of insurance your business should have then select an agent or broker experienced in small business exposures.

Types of Small Business Insurance

Business Owner’s Package (BOP) Insurance