The year 2020 kicked off like a winner for Cheeseburger Baby. The Super Bowl, the Miami International Boat Show and the South Beach Wine and Food Festival were huge for the small Miami Beach business known for its tasty classic-style burgers and accompaniments that have served celebrities, residents, workers and […]
Strategy
How small businesses use crowdfunding to raise capital – even during a pandemic
In the challenging capital-raising environment that we are in, entrepreneurs have been increasingly tapping their own crowds. That crowdfunding appears to be trending now perhaps shouldn’t be surprising. In survey after survey – even before the coronavirus crisis – access to capital is always one of the biggest challenges cited […]
Key to resiliency: Reacting quickly and decisively with plan to survive and grow again
OBE Power was on a roll. In February, the energy startup had been installing its electric vehicle charging stations at a fast clip, it had just hired a CTO from Apple, and was in the middle of a capital raise. The company had enjoyed 36 straight months of revenue growth. […]
COVID-19 is your wakeup call: Do you have a company succession plan? We have tips for you
The COVID-19 crisis is just one more reminder about the importance of a succession plan. A smart succession plan is just good business, protecting your legacy, company. Customers, employees, and relatives when a family business is impacted. Most large companies have them, but many small and mid-size business owners avoid […]
Building a startup? Get on board with an amazing board
In launching or growing a startup, there’s one tool every entrepreneur needs in their startup toolbox: A knowledgeable, honest and trusted advisory board. Startup expert Ricardo Weizs, a consultant at Florida SBDC at FIU that specializes in startup growth and access to capital, believes many startups lack industry expertise – […]
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 […]
Grit v. Glam: The 2 faces of Billion-Dollar Entrepreneurship
By Dileep Rao – Guest Contributor Billion-Dollar Entrepreneurs (BDEs) are defined as entrepreneurs who have built ventures from startup to more than $1 billion in sales and valuation. Billion-Dollar Entrepreneurship (BDE-ship) is defined as the process used by BDEs to build these ventures. This blog explains the difference between the […]
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 […]
Covid crisis spurs coffee business to refocus on core strengths and community connection
The java tastes unique and delicious in a shop that delivers an uplifting and welcoming experience. And all the while, the proprietors are successfully facing down the challenges of the pandemic economy. Gail Hamilton Azodo and her husband Uchendu Azodo opened SIPS, a coffee roasting company and eatery, in July 2019 […]
The state of small business now and 6 ways to move forward
Not a headline you want to see: Miami metro area in top 10 in U.S. for business closures. But here we are. In Yelp’s most recent economic impact report for September, which focuses on business closures caused by Covid-19 from March 1 through August, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro region had […]