SEFP territory shifts north

A New Year brings unknowns, challenges and opportunities. SEFP territory lines have shifted north to include 11 communities in McCook and Turner Countys plus Tripp and Menno, SD. The Greater McCook County Alliance wrote a successful grant application, without which, the contract for services would not have happened and therefore we are grateful for this USDA Rural Development program.

SEFP's base of operations is still the Southeastern Electric Cooperative Inc. corporate building in Marion, SD. I will continue traveling to the entrepreneur at their convenience but I will NOT initiate business ideas or motivate anyone to start, expand and/or retain a business. The individual needs to have PASSION to go forward.

SEFP services remain the same which include educating the entrepreneur in the basics of business, developing and packaging their business plans which includes financial projections for 3-5 years into the future, based on past performance and/or fixed costs.

QUICK STATS - 5 new inquiries in December, working with 18 different projects currently. There are several 1st & 2nd Dollar presentations from 2009 yet to be scheduled in 2010. Activity levels in 2009 increased over 2008 but were similar to 2007.

Old Chinese Proverb

Assistance from an Enterprise Facilitator is described very nicely in an Old Chinese Proverb.....

GO to the people
LIVE among the people
LEARN from them
LOVE them.
START with what they know,
BUILD on what they have.
But of the BEST leaders,
When their TASK is accomplished,
Their WORK is done,
The PEOPLE will remark,

"WE HAVE DONE IT OURSELVES."

USA Small Businesses

The SBA Advocacy Report was published in 2008 detailing how many businesses there are according to the number of employees in the USA and each State. Small businesses according to the SBA are "any business with 500 or less employees". In 2006, there were 6 million firms or .3% of the businesses have 500+ employees and 108,631 firms had 100-500 employees or 1.8% of all the firms in the USA. That means that 78% of ALL firms in the USA have 9 or less employees

In the same SBA Advocacy report detailing all the States, South Dakota had 21,925 firms in 2006 and 75% of them have 9 or less employees!

It seems to me that emphasizing entrepreneurial assistance is a valid way to raise the economy, "one job or one business at a time".

2009

A new year...........

Every new year, we wonder what it holds.

It holds what we cling to.

Will you cling to hope or grief?

Is your hope or grief in God or yourself?

What is God capable of?

What are your capabilities?

Wishing you a new year filled with hope.

Boost your Sales this Merry Christmas

From www.whizbangtraining.com

24 Ways to Save Your Sanity and Boost Your Sales This Holiday Season

1. Attempt to add-on to every sale.
2. Load up on impulse items.
3. Sell up.
4. Keep demonstrating.
5. Making shopping easier.
6. Eliminate buying resistance.
7. Offer gift wrapping.
8. Get out on the selling floor.
9. TRAIN and COACH your staff.
10. Keep a close eye on your best sellers.
11. Always know the status of important orders.
12. Increase your store hours.
13. Make shopping FUN.
14. Have lotsd of sales games for your employees.
15. Put a spiff on high-margin, high volume items.
16. Mark down slow moving merchandise on time.
17. Use bag stuffers.
18. Collect names and addresses.
19. Decorate your store.
20. Make your regular customers feel special.
21. Wear good shoes.
22. Eat well and drink lots of water.
23. Get as much sleep as you can...Zzzz.
24. Smile. Remember, it's Christmas!

Rural Community Development

The criteria a rural community needs to gather BEFORE hosting a new prospective business includes the following:
1. Demographic Characteristics
2. Labor Force Characteristics
3. Leading Employers by All Sectors & Individual Sectors
4. Companies new to the area in the last 3 years and/or have expanded within the last 2 years
5. Military Base & Installations closest
6. Research Base - top 50 based R & D personnel closest
7. Higher Education Resources: 4-Year Institutions closest
8. Higher Education Resources: Community Colleges closest
9. Vocational/Technical Center Resources excluding Community Colleges closest
10. Average Salary by Selected Occupation
11. Workers Compensation & Unemployment Insurance
12. Labor-Management Relations
13. Transportation available
14. Taxation in State and City
15. Occupancy/Supply
16. Utilities in area w/contact information
17. Environmental
18. Government
19. International Resources
20. Quality of Life - parks, arts, productions, organizations
21. Available office building(s)
22. Existing Office Site Profile
23. Available Industrial Building(s)
24. Existing Industrial Site Profile

Planning is crucial to success

"Make a plan or you have a plan for failure". Do you think this mirrors your experience?