In years past, developing and launching a small business with a sophisticated digital platform could have required a software team, marketing staff, outside agencies, significant capital, and a long development cycle. Those days are over. As this story will show, today a team with just two people can use artificial […]
Author: Nancy Dahlberg
Why your small business marketing may not be working – and what to fix first
Many small business owners assume poor marketing means they need to overhaul everything at once. But according to Emily de Armas, a business consultant with Florida SBDC at FIU, that approach often creates more confusion than results. During a recent FSBDC at FIU webinar, de Armas encouraged business owners to […]
How resilient is your business really? Have a plan for hurricane season – and beyond
It’s hurricane season, and the time to prepare is not when a storm is threatening. The time is now. A new webinar by Florida SBDC at FIU, the small business developments center with Florida International University’s College of Business, will help you get started. It features a panel of experts […]
How Nicole Bronson cultivated a blooming floral business in Miami
This success story begins long before Nicole Bronson registered her small business, Anointed Florist & Gift Shop. It starts with a 12‑year‑old girl sweeping floors in a Miami flower shop after school, learning all about a floral arranging business she didn’t yet know would become her life’s calling. “I enjoyed […]
Following her heart: How Diana Figueroa built Intus Health with support from Florida SBDC at FIU
For Diana Figueroa, building a business was never only about selling products. It was about creating a movement centered on health, wellbeing and human transformation. As founder and president of Intus Health, Figueroa has transformed a deeply personal passion for wellness into a growing e-commerce company that offers Ayurvedic herbal […]
FSBDC at FIU’s Business At Its Best Awards showcase entrepreneurship, community partnerships and Student Impact
By Cynthia Corzo / FIU College of Business The Florida Small Business Development Center (FSBDC) at FIU Business honored entrepreneurs, students and community partners whose innovation and leadership are helping drive economic growth across Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys during its annual Business At Its Best Awards. They recognized a […]
Behind the numbers: A big year of impact for Florida SBDC at FIU and 1,400 small businesses
Last year, Florida SBDC at FIU, the small business development center within the university’s College of Businesses, helped close to 1,400 small businesses with business planning, growth strategy, marketing and communications, access to capital, government contracting, and much more. The center’s business consultants provided over 13,000 hours of no-cost consulting […]
Program graduates share what they learned
As 2025 comes to a close, small businesses can set themselves up for even more success in 2026 by pursuing key educational opportunities. Right now, your small business can apply for exceptional grant-funded small business programs taking place next year. Don’t delay: For two of the programs, applications close in […]
Novak Technologies evolves and expands globally, with help from FSBDC at FIU and STEP grants
When Augusto “Tony” Lizarraga reflects on the nearly 25-year journey of his Miami-based company, Novak Technologies, one theme stands out clearly: adaptability. Founded in 2000, Novak Technologies began as a supplier for major petroleum companies such as Shell, Mobil, Texaco and others by providing the equipment and solutions needed to […]
How 2 MRI techs built a business to fill a critical need in Keys healthcare
When MRI technologists Tony Martinelli and Lucas Wheeler looked around their workplace three years ago, they saw more than patients. They saw a problem that desperately needed solving. Working at Lower Keys Medical Center, the only hospital south of Marathon, the two men were on the front lines of imaging […]
