On Friday September 7th we transformed our parking lot for our annual shindig. The occasion? A night of food, fun and festivities to honor our financial and resource partners throughout Utah. It’s no secret that our state is ripe for budding entrepreneurs and the numbers don’t lie. According to the Small Business Administration, 96.7% of businesses in Utah are small businesses. Utah also won America’s Top State for Business in 2016 by CNBC. So what does this have to do with a Friday night party at the UMLF? We know it takes a village to support and grow emerging businesses in Utah and we can’t do it alone. With an amazing network of partners we can meet existing demand for resources and time required by new and growing companies. Whether they need help with business plans, cash flow statements, counseling, mentorship, funding options or an ongoing network, we know our Utah partner organizations are up to the task of helping all small business owners succeed.
Invitees included our esteemed partners such as the Salt Lake Chamber, the Women's Business Center, SCORE Miller Business Incubator, Suazo Center For Entrepreneurship, Dixie State Business Resource Center Southern Utah, University Business Resource Center, Utah Valley University Business Resource Center, Box Elder County Business Resource Center, Sustainable Startups, Investable, Salt Lake County Economic Development and Westminster College to name a few. So with everyone invited, what is a party without good food and entertainment? While there are many amazing companies in Utah to choose from, we were able to pull from our own network of amazing clients for the job. Dashing Events provided the styling and event rentals key to any successful event. Need to make a parking lot look good? Liz is your girl! (In addition to our office manager, Andi! Since our theme was New Orleans we knew we needed excellent food and music to do it proud. While listening to the tunes of David Halliday Music, guests were able to fill up a plate of gourmet soul food from Casual Cuisine and then top off their meal with a fresh crepe from French eatery Monsieur Crepes. Lastly, attendees could get their photo taken by the owner of Snap Shop Photo, get a mini massage from Mountainside Spa, sample tasty BBQ from Big Daddy Hill’s BBQ, pine over Stone Mountain Designs and peruse Everything Utah’s awesome local-themed gifts. Not bad for a work party if we do say so ourselves! We would like to extend a big, big thank you to everyone who came to our event and to those who were there in spirit! Helping entrepreneurs grow their business is no easy feat and we sincerely appreciate the year-round support and hard work of all of our partners and are excited to keep working together for years to come. Also big thanks to our clients who helped us make the party a HUGE success. Lastly thank you to our financial partners who make all of our work possible: Zions Bank, Medallion Bank, Bank of the West, JP Morgan Chase, Synchrony Bank, Key Bank, UBS, American Express, First National Bank, First Utah Bank, Washington Federal, Ally, Merrick Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of Utah, Bank of American Fork, Mountain West Small Business Finance and Banner Bank. Until next year, cheers! Thinking about re-branding your small business? It may be a good time to look at some new fonts and eye catching designs! You only have one chance to make a first impression...what does your logo, font, and icon say about you or your business? Is your color theme out of date? Do you LOVE it? Ask your customers! Do they LOVE it? If not, it may be time to re-brand!
Logo Fonts and Colors Changing your logo, profile, and/or icon can be intimidating at first, but is a great way to keep your currents customers engaged in your product/service and attract new ones to your business. Trends for 2018 include keeping Logo fonts clean and simple. Colors can be tricky to choose, but sites like Logo Lounge can help. In a recent article Bill Gardner shared, "Colors are merging and blending, and gradients are now part of our color dialogue. A lot of this has to do with apps like Instagram—which, in fact, has a gradation as part of its logo. " Sticking with one color can be a good way to keep consistency, but adding a color gradient may just what you need to catch a customer's attention. Watching big brands like Instagram, Arby's, and Red Robin change their logos can be very insightful. They spend large amounts of money on A/B testing to find out which font styles and logo designs resonate with their customers. Scrappy entrepreneurs can save time and money and just learn by watching and applying what they do. Where do I start? If you are seriously considering a rebrand, start with researching popular brands in your industry. Find 3 or 4 you really love, copy them, and play around with them in photoshop. You can also DIY a new logo on site like www.canva.com (one of our favorite go-to's for inspiration and easy design help) or if it is in your budget you can hire a local designer like Highlo Designs (our new favorite designer out of Park City!) Print some fake business cards on your computer with a logo design you might like. See how it looks and feels to you. Does it tell your business story? Does it make customer trust your brand? Evoke emotion? Connect? Stay True Whatever you decide to do, be sure to stay true to your business vision and mission. Let your logo reflect the passion you have for your business and your drive to give your customers the best experience working with you. Photo Credit & Feature to Highlo Designs, Park City, Utah. Have you ever had an idea for a business? Almost daily we have individuals come into the Utah Microloan Fund and ask us if we think they have a good business idea. Do you want to know what we tell them?
These are just a few questions to consider when thinking about starting a business. We also encourage you to reach out beyond friends and family for feedback on your business. Creating and distributing a google form survey on Facebook, creating a focus group, or connecting with business owners already in your industry will also give you a good idea of whether or not you have a good business idea. At the end of the day be sure you do your homework when starting a business. Make sure it is worth your time and energy! Although running a small business can be an exciting adventure, it takes a lot of hard work. Are you ready?! -Emily Ashby, Small Business & Nonprofit Consultant Start your year off with a strong accounting system!There are many resources out there for small businesses to keep their books so its easier than ever to keep your finances on track. If QuickBooks is not working for you, we've compiled several online services that we've heard good things about!
BUILD YOUR FACEBOOK FOLLOWING
Start the new year off by building your business Facebook page! Invite your current followers to
Happy New Year! Blog Post by Emily Ashby Small Business Owner & Training and Marketing Manager at the Utah Microloan Fund. |