Arkansas SourceLink Blog

Everyone knows how uncertain economic times can make it difficult to obtain a loan from a bank.  Uncertainty causes banks to be very selective when deciding which applicants to loan money to.  There is plenty of information out there that can help inform loan applicants on how to make themselves and their businesses look appealing to banks, but one way to increase the chances of getting that loan is to know what not to do.  In an article for entrepreneur.com, Catherine Clifford discusses 4 mistakes to avoid when applying for a bank loan.

Mistake #1: Underestimating the value of personal credit
Banks want to lend money to applicants who have been responsible managing their own personal finances. If an applicant can’t manage the money that directly affects themselves and their families, then what makes a bank think they will do any better with its money?    

Mistake #2: Applying for the wrong type of loan
Small business owners often use credit outside of its intended purpose. For example, if you buy a piece of machinery with a loan that was intended to fill a short-term need like employee payroll, then you risk being saddled with a loan that you can’t get out from under. 

Mistake #3: Expecting a loan without collateral or a plan to pay it back
Banks are in the business of making money, just like entrepreneurs and their respective small businesses. A banker won’t approve a loan that he doesn’t think has a chance of getting paid back. Be sure to state how critical the loan is for your business and include information on how you plan to pay the money back when applying for a loan.

Mistake #4: Waiting too long to approach a banker
Small business banking is about relationships. If possible, try to get to know your banker. Not only will you develop that face-to-face relationship, but you will also have the opportunity go get your business financials organized and in shape with a banker’s eye in mind.

These are all great tips to consider when thinking about and eventually applying for a loan for your small business.  Check out the resource navigator at www.arksourcelink.com to find more information on small business lenders around the state.  

Using LinkedIn to Help Your Business Grow

We all know how much social media has changed the way we communicate with each other.  Although it may not be as prevalent, social media has also changed the way small businesses do a number of things.  LinkedIn has consistently grown, now with over 135 million individual users and 7 million companies registered, it can obviously offer some value to entrepreneurs and small business owners. An article by Marla Tabaka, on Inc.com, entitled “Unlock the Secrets of LinkedIn” gives entrepreneurs and small business owners a starting point to begin using LinkedIn as a social media platform for their businesses. 

Researching Connections and Targeting Customers Using LinkedIn

In the article, Tabaka interviews Barbara Rozgonyi who suggests LinkedIn can be used to research connections and target customers for business development and gives the following tips for doing so:

• LinkedIn's advance search lets you target people, groups, and companies. Here you can type in a search term [skill, certification, industry, company, etc.]. Then, check the filters [location, company size, seniority, etc.] for a more defined search. You'll see results that include a photo, title, and connection to you—something you can't get on any other network.
• Check out LinkedIn's skills section. Here you can research skills and search terms. You'll find related terms, people and groups who best match the skill.
• Make a list of your target companies, go directly to the company site and locate someone you'd like to connect with. Then check to see what LinkedIn groups they belong to, join one of them and send them an invitation based on your common membership. This commonality will increase the odds of your invitation being accepted.

Integrating LinkedIn Throughout Your Sales and Marketing Strategy

Rozgonyi also suggests that you make sure to set up your own company’s profile on LinkedIn and make sure that it offers more substance than the quick description given on the company website.  Once you have your company page set up, she gives some tips to integrate LinkedIn throughout your sales and marketing strategy:

• Utilize LinkedIn's Card Munch app at networking events and on sales calls to connect to your prospects right away. Make sure you offer a free report or something else with value in your invitation to connect.
• Add LinkedIn's blog application to your personal profile to pull in company blog updates.
• Install the slideshare application into your personal profile. Upload a PowerPoint about your company's services and the presentation will appear on your profile.
• Invite customers to leave recommendations on the products and services page on your LinkedIn company page.

Using LinkedIn can be a great way to add value to both your company and your customer.  If you aren’t convinced yet, go check it out for yourself at www.linkedin.com.

Content contributed by Aaron Harris, Arkansas SourceLink, a proud affiliate of U.S. Sourcelink, America’s largest resource network for entrepreneurs.

Internet Security Essentials for Business

The internet is constantly changing the way we do things, everything from communicating with friends to shopping for groceries.  Of course, we all know how much the internet is changing the way people do business, the SourceLink affiliates are an example of this.  While the internet can make doing business easier, there are security issues that small business owners and entrepreneurs should be aware of when operating online.  In May 2009, President Obama called for a national public awareness and education initiative to promote internet security. 

After this initiative was put in place, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released the Internet Security Essentials for Business guide. The guide emphasizes the following points:

• All businesses should understand common online risks that may lead them to become victims of cybercrime. This guide is ultimately about business preparedness and resilience. 
• Perfect online security is unattainable, even for large businesses. But there are inexpensive practices that can be implemented to improve the security of your information, computers, and networks. 
• Businesses need to know how and to whom to report cyber incidents and online crime.
• Cybersecurity is a team sport. Taking the actions recommended in this guide will have positive consequences for the security of businesses, communities, and the country. The interconnectedness of computers and networks in cyberspace means that the public and private sectors share responsibility. 

The U.S. Chamber also teamed up with Microsoft Trustworthy Computing to provide businesses with an internet safety at work toolkit that teaches employees how to protect company information, customer data, and their own personal information.  Here are the highlights from the Internet Safety at Work PowerPoint presentation:

• Defend your computer:  All it takes is three simple steps: install all updates, log off when you leave your desk, lock up your laptop when you leave work.  
• Protect sensitive data: Make sure you think before you enter sensitive data, be suspicious of attachments and links, look out for scams and fraud, and create strong passwords. 
  • Think before you type by looking for the https (the “s” is for secure) and closed padlock in the web address bar of your browser.
  • Think before you click by being suspicious of e-mail and IM attachments and links as well as messages within social sites.
  • Be aware of tricks that make you click such as alarming messages, misspellings and grammatical errors, great deals, and requests for sensitive info.
  • Make sure to create strong passwords by keeping them secret, changing them often and making them strong.  A strong password contains at least 8 letters, symbols, and numbers and is not a word found in the dictionary.
• Protect devices on the go: Make sure your devices have the latest protection, guard devices like you do your wallet, don’t hand-carry sensitive data, and use caution if using a thumb drive in another computer.

Internet safety for business is becoming more and more important today.  There is a lot more detailed information available through Google and other sources. 

Source: http://www.uschamber.com/issues/technology/internet-security-essentials-business

Content contributed by Aaron Harris, ARKSourceLink,
ARKSourceLink is a proud affiliate of U.S.SourceLink , America’s largest resource network for entrepreneurs

Using iTunes U to Learn About Entrepreneurship

When most people think about iTunes, they think about downloading the newest songs and movies to put on their phones, tablets, or other devices for entertainment.  However, the iTunes U section of iTunes is an educational repository that allows users free, 24/7 access to lectures, videos, and podcasts from some of the most prestigious universities in the world.  Anyone who wants to learn about entrepreneurship or owning a small business can find useful information within iTunes U.    In this blog post, I will highlight some of what we at Arkansas SourceLink feel are the best small business/entrepreneurship collections within iTunes U. 

The first collection we recommend is the “Duke Entrepreneurship Education Series” (DEES).  The DEES is a comprehensive program designed to introduce key concepts necessary for a future in entrepreneurship or venture capital.  The videos in this collection include Financing 101, Entrepreneurship 101, Building Your Team 101, and Business Plans 101 among others.  These videos give entrepreneurs a baseline to being the journey to gaining entrepreneurial knowledge!

The next collections come from the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.  Everyone knows that pitching your business idea to potential investors is a huge part of getting your business off the ground.  The first collection is titled “Elevator Pitch Best Practices”.  It includes videos that address the overall purpose of an elevator pitch, organizing your thoughts, and making the deal.  The other collection from the University of Arizona is titled “Presentation Skills for New Ventures”.  The main idea of this collection of videos is making effective presentations.  It includes videos with tips on all facets of giving presentations, from PowerPoint to body posture. 

The last collection that we recommend comes from Stanford University.  This collection is not necessarily for educating oneself on topics related to starting your own business, but rather about what is going on in the broad world of entrepreneurship.  The collections are called “Stanford Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders” and are split up by season and year.  Each collection contains discussions on a number of topics such as technology, social entrepreneurship, and other related fields. 

While these are some of our favorites, the amount of excellent content on iTunes U seems almost endless.  If you find these interesting, we suggest you go check it out!

Content contributed by Aaron Harris, ARKSourceLink,
ARKSourceLink is a proud affiliate of U.S.SourceLink , America’s largest resource network for entrepreneurs

Connect Arkansas, an affiliate of the Arkansas Capital Corporation, has announced a new program, ArkansasSourceLink, that will bring cohesion to a fragmented support system for entrepreneurs in the state, facilitating growth and creating more opportunities for small business.

Sponsored by Connect Arkansas, ArkansasSourceLink will bring together all the resources to support startup and business growth throughout Arkansas, and make those assets easily accessible through a web portal and a hotline, using the U.S.SourceLink® model and The Resource Navigator® technology.

“We found out about U.S.SourceLink through discussions with the Kauffman Foundation. We chose U.S.SourceLink because we felt it was the best solution available and fit our needs better than anyone else,” said Emerson Evans, GIS program manager at Connect Arkansas.

“Currently, the resources for new and existing entrepreneurs are fragmented and spread out across the state, making them difficult to use and sometimes impossible to find,” Evans said. ArkansasSourceLink will bring these resources together through the web portal.

ArkansasSourceLink’s early supporters include the Arkansas Capital Corporation and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. The project is funded through the National Telecommuniation Administration’s broadband stimulus funding grant.

Source: http://www.ussourcelink.com/about-us/news/2011/06/10/arkansas-sourcelink-supports-statewide-business

Arkansas Sourcelink came about due to the 50^th anniversary of the Arkansas Capital Corporation (ACC).  Staff from ACC went out and talked with about 200 people throughout the state (representing resource providers and entrepreneurs) on what was needed to create an entrepreneurial environment second to none for Arkansas.

Out of that listening tour came a number of needs but one of the top three was the ability to find out about resources that are available to help entrepreneurs and small business owners.

ACC started exploring what was available in the marketplace and that’s when it saw Sourcelink was being launched in peer states.  Sourcelink created the ability to do three things: 

1. Consolidate into one place a directory of what the state had and just as important, what the state was lacking to support entrepreneurial growth. This also allowed the resource provider community to all get together and talk about how we were meeting the demands of the marketplace.

2. Ability to follow up and make sure people were getting the help they needed in a timely manner with feedback for the resource providers.

3. Ability to generate real time data on the companies here in Arkansas: how many are starting, what do they need, where are they located, and the economic impact from having them located in the state.