Small businesses are the heartbeat of our community and the Yavapai College SBDC exists to help you thrive.
“I was driving around town one day and Maggie chased me down to share a flyer and tell me about this program,” said Rob, co-owner and head brewmeister. “I showed the flyer to my wife and we decided it might be worthwhile to apply.”
Over the next several months, the SBDC team will meet with the owners to identify one to three key challenges to help Insurgent Brewing Co. to pivot, attract more customers and increase revenue.
Have you seen “Small Business Revolution” on Hulu (smallbusinessrevolution.org)? The SBDC Small Business Makeover program is patterned after that, but on a much smaller scale, designed to address some of the challenges the ongoing pandemic continues to present. Many small businesses throughout Yavapai County are still struggling despite any disaster funding they may have received.
Thus, the Yavapai College Small Business Development Center, which operates as part of the YC Regional Economic Development Center, launched the Small Business Makeover program in January. Thanks to new funding we received from the CARES Act, we were able to bring additional resources to help us plan and launch this as a pilot program for new clients. Our goal is to expand this program to all SBDC clients next year as another set of tools and resources to help small businesses thrive.
The Small Business Makeover program will continue through Sept. 20, during which time, three more Makeover of a Lifetime winners will be selected. All applicants are entered into the “Mini Makeover Bootcamp” series, with the Makeover of a Lifetime winners receiving more in-depth, hands-on help from the SBDC team, subject matter experts and other resources. All participants will receive one-on-one confidential coaching with SBDC consultants in addition to access to training, tools and other resources to address their specific needs. A cohort for Hispanic-owned businesses is also underway to address the specific challenges these business owners encounter because of language barriers, access to capital and other issues. The SBDC is partnering with the Arizona Commerce Authority to provide some of these subject matter experts and access to their Small Business Academy, an online workshop series facilitated live by industry and subject matter experts.
Three more application deadlines are set for March 31, April 30, and May 31. To date, 22 business owners from a wide variety of industries have applied for the Small Business Makeover program. The next Makeover of a Lifetime winner will be selected in April from the next round of applicants who applied before March 31.
Eligibility is reserved for small business owners with fewer than 500 employees and revenue less than $15 million. They must be structured as a for-profit entity, have operated their enterprise for at least three years and have not received active coaching from the SBDC in the past five years. Business owners who contacted the SBDC once or twice last year for assistance with disaster funding would still be eligible if they did not receive ongoing coaching on their business operations.
Visit mybusinessmakeover.com/apply to fill out an application. These services and resources are no cost to the business owner, thanks to the funding and support of the Small Business Administration and Yavapai College. Don’t pass up this opportunity to keep your business dream alive.
Small businesses are the heartbeat of our community and the Yavapai College SBDC exists to help you thrive. QCBN
By Jeri Denniston
Jeri Denniston is the director of the Small Business Development Center.