Small business owners, do you need more information to make better decisions about exporting? Of course you do, and a recent Webinar by Florida SBDC at FIU provided a wealth of good advice about how to do just that. Here are some of the resources available through Florida SBDC at […]
Marketing
Owners of CAO Bakery & Café cook up a sweet success
Caution: this story may make you crave a pastelito, or three. Step into a CAO Bakery & Café and you’ll find a menu of original Cuban and Cuban-American favorites. The small business takes the beloved Cuban bakery tradition into the next generation, offering cafecitos, pastelitos and croquetas, along with a […]
Interested in local government contracting? We have some tips for you
“You need to dream big. Do not box yourself in, do not think things are not possible, “ said Ed Haynes, of Haynes Security Services. “But you have to prepare yourself for success.” This successful Miami-Dade small business owner prepared for the world of government contracting with the help of […]
Celebrate local businesses and #ShopSmall on Saturday and all holiday season
The annual tradition of Small Business Saturday will look and feel different this year. Some years cities in South Florida planned special events and entertainment — not so much this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But in 2020, more than ever, our small businesses need your support. Small Business Saturday, […]
Pitching to a big enterprise? Here are tips from the other side of the table
Leila Blacking is the senior strategy team leader for innovation at Publix Supermarkets, a Fortune 100 grocery retailer. She has been on the receiving end of hundreds of pitches by small businesses seeking Publix’s business, including food businesses, logistics companies and tech startups. Her advice can help a small business […]
COVID resources: Free 5-hour digital marketing course available for small businesses
BizHack Academy and the Village of Pinecrest have joined forces to offer any business impacted by COVID-19 a 5-week crash course in digital marketing – at no cost to the small business. This training is funded through the federal CARES Act. This five-hour course will cover how to use digital marketing to drive revenue and increase brand awareness. Each week, it will […]
How a small business 10Xed revenue by diving into e-commerce and learning from others
Remaking an old-school B2B company into an e-commerce success story would not have been possible without a lot of hustle and the power of a knowledgeable network. In 2017, after Dan and Kim Hannon moved to Palm Beach County, they acquired Aabaco Environmental Industries, a spill containment and safety supply […]
2021 Florida International Trade Expo is going virtual
COVID-19 shut trade shows down, closing off one of small businesses’ largest marketing and networking channels. Even so, the shows have gone on – albeit virtually. One small business owner told me this week he was supposed to be at his industry’s largest trade show but instead he is on […]
A fighter, Half Moon Empanadas rolls out new branding, store reopenings and expansion strategy
Nearly six months ago, I interviewed Pilar Guzman Zavala, owner of Half Moon Empanadas, after she had to shut all but one of her company’s 13 locations for Argentinian style-empanadas, including the lucrative Miami International Airport sites. She and her husband and co-founder, Juan Zavala, were looking at zero sales […]
Keep customers coming back: Ways to make your small business and website more welcoming
In the best of times, customer retention is critical to small business success. But these days, with marketing dollars being slashed and customer acquisition budgets going down the drain, it is more important than ever to hold onto your customers. Acquiring a new customer is five times more expensive than […]