Dream Focused – Business Minded

March 2018

Art + Law: Fort Collins – April 13, 2018

Join us for a full day of legal workshops for attorneys, creative professionals and arts organizations. Registration includes workshops, lunch, entertainment and networking. Colorado Attorneys for the Arts – CAFTA will share information about their program of pro-bono work for the arts and creative industry and share knowledge of Intellectual property and legal issues for creatives (as it relates to Music, Performing Arts, Visual & Design Arts and Literature) 

The workshop includes an interactive networking lunch and live entertainment! 

$15 pre-register/$20 at the door

Art + Law Registration


SBDC Day – March 21, 2018


Celebration of SBDC Day set for March 21, 2018
Businesses have always celebrated ribbon cuttings, grand openings and company anniversaries, and for a second year they’ll be able to celebrate the people who help them turn their dreams into reality – Small Business Development Centers.  America’s SBDC Day is set for March 21, 2018, a day that will unite nearly 1,000 SBDCs across the country and the hundreds of thousands of clients they’ve served in their near 40-year history.
SBDC Day is a national proclamation of the success of America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) on the success of the nation’s dreamers, innovators and doers – America’s small businesses. 
“It’s great to see SBDCs, their clients and supporters come together to celebrate SBDCs and their amazing clients. With SBDC support small businesses around the country raised over $5 billion in capital and created nearly 100,000 jobs,” said Charles “Tee” Rowe, President & CEO of America’s SBDC.
Since 1980, 63 state and regional Small Business Development Center networks have provided free one-on-one consulting to small businesses at nearly 1,000 locations throughout the nation. A new business is opened with the assistance of the SBDC around the country every 30 minutes; a new job is created every 5.5 minutes; more than $100,000 in new sales are generated every 8.2 minutes, and small businesses are able to obtain more than $100,000 in capital every 10 minutes. 

America’s SBDC network is a partnership that includes the U.S. Congress, SBA, the private sector, and the colleges, universities and state governments that manage SBDCs across the nation. SBDCs provide management and technical assistance to an estimated one million small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs each year. Small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs can go to their local SBDCs for free, face-to-face business consulting and at-cost training on writing business plans, accessing capital, marketing, regulatory compliance, international trade and more.

Small businesses, partners, and advocates are invited to help spread the word about SBDC Day using the hashtag #SBDCDay. On March 21, participants are encouraged to share how their local SBDC has created a difference in their life and community. SBDCs nationwide will collectively share, in real time, the success stories and notable impacts SBDCs collectively have on the small business community at large. This special day will also be celebrated through public relations initiates, campaigns, and online and in-person events.
For more information about America’s SBDC and the services they provide visit https://americassbdc.org/

Consultant Spotlight – Nikki Larchar

This month, we turn the Consultant Spotlight on Nikki Larchar, Co-founder of simplyHR. Nikki specializes in all things human resources and employee-related challenges. 

Nikki brings a unique blend of work experience, ranging from managing employees at both small and large establishments to consulting business owners with all of their human resource needs. With over five years of work experience in human resources and over ten years of her career dedicated to managing teams, Nikki has experienced human resources both at the front lines of a business and as a consultant to business owners. 

Partnering with business owners has provided Nikki with a sense of fulfillment. With an enthusiastic attitude and a SHRM-CP certification, she is eager to help your work family! In her free time, Nikki enjoys trying new restaurants and breweries in Fort Collins, taking her dog Albert for long walks, and playing music with her husband (she plays guitar and sings). 

5 Questions for Nikki Larchar:

1) What’s new with you and your business?  We are currently working on a harassment training tool in the form of a comic book! We are so excited to bring a fresh and innovative approach to the way that business owners, managers, and HR departments provide workplace harassment training. We’re also going to be crowdfunding the project, which is a new adventure for us. We also recently updated our website to have a client login. We are now able to provide the most up to date forms and documents and keep our clients updated on the latest HR rules and trends.   

2) Biggest Human Resources issues for 2018?  Harassment training and prevention is most certainly high on the list. We are also seeing a lot of questions come in around marijuana use, remote workers, and as always, the continued updates to rules and regulations that can sneak in during the year.

3) What do you enjoy most about consulting?   I love getting to know other business owners, find out what they do, and then offer my help in the best way possible. HR can be a tricky subject so I love when I get to work with other entrepreneurs to talk about how HR impacts their business.

4) Favorite St. Patrick’s Day activities in Ft. Collins?  Since I live and work near Old Town and I love going out and getting at least one green beer, it’s only St. Patrick’s Day once a year! And I’m pretty sure if I was drinking green beer on any other day, people might look at me weird.    

5) One piece of advice for anyone looking to start a new business? Get ready to make mistakes! The beauty of entrepreneurship is that we get to try things out and if it doesn’t work we can change it. So get ready to make mistakes, to change and adapt, and to have fun while doing it!


Find out more about Nikki Larchar and her business at simplyHR
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