Polk Small Business Development Center at the Central Florida Development Council » News

2012 Growth Conference May 23 11:30AM- 4PM

priscilla — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:02:48 +0000

2012 Growth Conference
Wednesday May 23, 2012
11:30AM – 4PM
In honor of National Small Business Week, the Small Business Development Center hosts its annual Growth Conference, so you can gain the tools and learn the strategies to grow your business.

Where: Central Florida Development Council (Lake Myrtle Sports Complex)
2701 Lake Myrtle Park Road
Auburndale, Florida 33823

Registration is closed. *Due to a computer error on the registration page, please contact the office at 863.534.5915, if you’ve previously registered to confirm your attendance.

Schedule:
Small Business Week Growth Conference

11:30am – 12:00pm -Registration

12:15pm-1:15pm Wells Fargo lunch and banker panel (lunch sponsored by Wells Fargo) (contact the SBDC office at 863.534.5915 to request a vegetarian plate.

1:30pm – 4 pm Speed consulting with accountants, lawyers, bankers, insurance agents, and SBDC consultants
Event Sponsored by:

SBA Small Business Profile

priscilla — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:32:13 +0000

Small businesses totaled 2 million in Florida in 2009. They represent 98.9 percent of all employers and employ 42.3 percent of the private-sector workforce. Being such a large part of the state’s economy, these businesses are central to Florida’s health and well-being. Click below to read entire story.
Small Business Profile

Export News

priscilla — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:23:16 +0000

For business owners, expanding into a foreign market can be a difficult decision. The uncertainty of whether or not your product will be successful is just one of many questions you may have when it comes to insuring international success and increasing your bottom line. Many of the same lessons followed in local business start up can be applied when looking internationally. First, do you know your target market or markets? Do you know the laws and cultural preferences of the market and most importantly will your product actually sell? If so you will want to develop a selective export market strategy and focus on those top markets that are going to yield the highest results. Next, do you have the commitment of your company from top to bottom? This applies to large companies as well as local small businesses. The management team of your business is going to take on additional responsibilities once you reach the point of export readiness. Can your management team handle these responsibilities and do you have their full commitment? Third, do you have the capacity and working capital to produce and fill the product orders? Finally, and probably the most important is do you have a budget? The average commitment from U.S. companies is $250,000 for travel, tradeshows, a marketing database, legal fees and various other costs associated with expansion.

If you have been in business or are starting out and want to consider expanding into a foreign market there are many resources available to business owners. First, attend some local export seminars. The US Department of Commerce, World Trade Center Association and the District Export Council can provide counseling and seminars to assist business owners. For local Florida business owners Enterprise Florida (www.eflorida.com) provides assistance to companies expanding to the Florida market or Florida companies looking to expand overseas. Enterprise Florida provides export counseling and advice to Florida manufacturers, export intermediaries, and services companies. Enterprise Florida can also help identify federal sources of funding that can help finance exporting.

Still unsure of whether or not you are ready to export take the export questionnaire at export.gov

http://export.gov/begin/assessment.asp

Exporters’ Roundtable May 23rd 8AM – 12PM

priscilla — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:00:01 +0000

Wednesday May 23, 2012
8:00AM – 12:00PM

This is an opportunity to meet companies like yours who are interested in expanding their sales into international markets. You may also network with the roundtable experts and members of the Florida District Export Council, SBDC, SBA, Department of Commerce, and Enterprise Florida for additional questions.

Where: Central Florida Development Council
                    (Lake Myrtle Sports Complex)
                    2701 Lake Myrtle Park Road
                    Auburndale, Florida 33823

Registration: Space is limited and is on a first-come/first served basis
For registration and payment, please contact Rachel Kreissl, Commercial Officer, Tampa Bay Export Assistance Center at Rachel.Kreissl@trade.gov or to register, click here

Questions: Contact Rachel Kreissl at 727.464.4166 or email: Rachel.Kreissl@trade.gov

Schedule:
Exporters’ Roundtable
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
8:00am – 8:30am – Registration
8:30am – 11:00am – Roundtable Session
11:00am – 12:00pm – Optional one-on-ones with presenters
Cost: $10.00 per per person (includes continental breakfast)
To read flyer click: Polk Exporters’ Roundtable -2012

President Highlights the Importance of Small Business Development Centers in Helping Businesses Expasnd Globally

priscilla — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:31:23 +0000

click below for full story:
President Highlights the Importance of Small Business Development Centers in Helping Businesses Expand Globally

USFP & Blue Sky presents “Raising Money From Angels”

priscilla — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:38:24 +0000

Is your small business in need of financing? Have you considered Angel Investing? This workshop will teach you what you need to know about Angel Investing by a firm who represents entrepreneurs, emerging entities, and investment funds in commercializing and protecting innovation and intellectual property. Click below for more details.

Raising Money From Angels

Google Offers Free Websites to Florida Businesses

priscilla — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:53:49 +0000

A new partnership between Google Inc. and the state of Florida will bring free websites to small businesses statewide. Click here to read more.

1st PolySTEM Conference-April 9, 2012

priscilla — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:24:35 +0000

Building the STEM capacity will have a long term positive economic impact! Innovation, economic prosperity, and education are the mission of STEM initiatives. We at the University of South Florida Polytechnic are dedicated to building STEM capacity. (click below to read entire story)

1st PolyStem Conference

IRS-Revised Payroll Tax Form Now Available to Employers

priscilla — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:59:55 +0000

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today released revised Form941 enabling employers to properly report the newly-extended payroll tax cut benefiting nearly 160 million workers. Click below to read entire story.

IR-2012-27 Payroll Tax Cut

25th Annual Government Small Business Conference- May 2-3, 2012

priscilla — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:00:08 +0000

Dancing with the Government:
The Pathway to Winning Government Contracts

The Small Business Development Center and Procurement Technical Assistance Center at the University of South Florida make your pathway to winning government contracts easy by bringing buyers from federal, state and local government agencies and prime contractors all in one place.
To view flyer or to register, click below:

25th Annual Government Small Business Conference

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