Blogs

Real Estate for Retailers Tuesday, February 9, 2016 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM Speaker: Andy Smith, Chrisland Commercial Real Estate Our first 2016 Small Business After Hours is on the way!  In his fast-paced and interactive presentation, Andy Smith will help new and experienced retailers better understand critical factors that are often minimized (or even ignored) when retailers seek property for their ventures.  Andy’s goal is to equip the small-business owner with knowledge that helps …

Story: Kat Rico Photography: LifeStorm Photography What do cheese and art have in common? Both excite the pallet and have rich stories, according to The Fox and the Crow owner Tina Mooney, a cheesemonger and art history major. The Fox and the Crow brings artisan cheeses and meats to mid-town Fort Collins. They understand that the world of artisan cheese can be intimidating and have crafted their shop to welcome people who may stumble in …

On Tuesday, November 10th, we held our final “Small Business After Hours” event for 2015! First off, we want to say thank you to all of you who chose to attend. Your feedback helped us build these events into a regular part of our programming for 2015 and based on your responses, we will be carrying them forward into 2016! Secondly, we want to thank all of the people who participated as panelists and instructors. …

Health & Wellness Business – Funnel Vision Tuesday, November 10, 2015 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Speaker: Reu Smith, Customer Acquisition Expert Do you have all the pieces for a great marketing plan but don’t know how to start putting them together?  Funnel Vision will help you understand the right piece to use as your starting point, and how to put your marketing pieces into action to complete the entire marketing puzzle picture. We will …

On October 20th, the Larimer SBDC held our second Small Business After Hours event targeted at the restaurant and food product industry. We pulled together a great panel covering a variety of restaurants and a food manufacturer to specifically address workforce issues faced in these industries.         Carolyn Reed Silver Mine Subs Franchises Ryan Houdek The Melting Pot, Rodizio Grill, Social Mark Havens Cafe Vino Josh Skow Canyon Bakehouse Restaurants and food …

Colorado Creative Industries Grant As part of the Larimer SBDC’s mission to connect local businesses to helpful resources, we are pleased to inform local “Creative” businesses about a $2500 Career Advancement Award grant opportunity from Colorado Creative Industries (CCI), the state organization responsible for supporting and growing our Colorado artistic community! The Opportunity: • This grant helps support Colorado creative entrepreneurs and artists by stimulating their commercial creative business, thus producing improved revenue, new audiences, …

Do you have valuable knowledge or a particular set of skills you’d like to share with small business owners? The Larimer SBDC is seeking instructors to develop and teach new classes for the Larimer SBDC beginning in January 2016. We are entering our planning stages now, so please submit your ideas and contact information to: Terri Donovan-Keirns terri@larimersbdc.org Program Coordinator| Larimer SBDC We’re looking for classes that will be unique and challenging for our entrepreneurs. …

Doing Business with the Government Tuesday, October 20, 2015 9:00 am  – 11:00 am Larimer County Building Have you ever thought about government contracting but didn’t know where to start? Join us for an interactive workshop about what government agencies buy, how you can market your products and services to federal and state agencies, and where to find opportunities.  You’ll also learn about the small business certification programs that can help you get your foot …

Our Small Business After Hours series is proving to be a hit! Nearly 30 people representing a wide variety of retail shops throughout Fort Collins attended our September 22nd event. Alyson MacMullan of Peak Retail Group gave us some great takeaways for retailers to remember as they enter their holiday planning period. 1. Lay all your key dates from November through January (yes, January) on a physical calendar • Sometimes you may see correlations on paper …

Restaurant & Food Industry Workforce Issues Panel Tuesday, October 20, 2015 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm No matter what business you’re in, attracting and retaining top talent is always an issue. How do you retain and reward good employees? How do you successfully recruit qualified employees? What workforce issues are you dealing with now? What works? What doesn’t? Just for our restaurant and food businesses, we’ve assembled a great panel of professionals to address these …