Are you in the process of starting your small business? Or maybe you have already started, but you’re not established yet? What if you found the business support or coach that you need to help you make the process easier? Programs such as Small Business Development Centers (SBDA) and SBA are committed to helping entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses.
In this episode of Building Better Businesses with Catalyst Consulting, we have Sarah Truglio, a certified business advisor at WSBDC. Her role is to provide in-depth business counseling and coaching for new small and existing businesses. She explains how she fell in love with helping small businesses grow and how she gets involved in making the process easier for entrepreneurs.
Listen in to learn the importance of going through the right hiring process to hire the right people for your new small business. You will also learn the importance of maintaining a supportive relationship with your lender and bank as a small business owner.
What You Will Learn:
- [0:37] Intro
- [2:28] Get to know Sarah the family woman, lover of art, and a fun fact about her.
- [4:38] Sarah explains how she helps entrepreneurs as a certified business advisor with the WSBDC.
- [6:01] When she fell in love with working with small businesses and providing them with resources.
- [7:46] Why she enjoys helping people start with their business projects and make the process easier.
- [13:57] The strengths and weaknesses assessment tests that entrepreneurs take at WSBDC.
- [15:49] The four big mistakes that business owners make when starting, according to Sarah.
- [22:31] How they help small businesses go through the right hiring process for them.
- [28:46] The complex process of going through a lender when starting as an entrepreneur.
- [36:41] The different places to look for startups grants to support your business.
- [38:42] How WSBDC helps women-owned and minority businesses get certified.
- [42:25] Tips on how to approach starting a business to have a successful beginning.
- [46:21] How to recognize business failure and when to bring in a professional to help you.
- [51:10] Sarah on where to find easily accessible business resources for startups.
Standout Quotes:
- “Probably eighty-five percent of startup businesses are self-funded, most banks don’t want to take the risk.”- Sarah [32:44]
- “You really need to make sure that you’re working with people that want to work with you and support you as a small business.”- Sarah [34:30]
- “People have to stop looking at failure as a bad thing; it’s a growth experience, and it’s not always a bad thing.”- Sarah [49:16]
