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| Home | About Us | Starting a New Business | Expanding A Business | Programs | Resources |
| 1. Business Assessment · Growth Resource Allocation (No Cost*) | ||
| 4. Comprehensive Training (Low Cost) | 2. Earn More & Work Less with a “Business Game Plan” (No Cost*) | |
| 3. Personalized Strategic Planning + Implementation Counseling (No Cost*) |
*Funded by SBDC's "Friends of Small Business"
"The Chessboard" Image © Copyright Agnès Dodart, www.agnesdodart.com, used with permission.
"[The Business Game Plan] gave me real life situations that would come up in my business and forced me to think through solutions and next steps. It all ties back directly to what I learned at the SBDC and really reinforces the concepts in their reality. It's also a great opportunity to network and have fun at the same time."
– Renee McNally · HR Solutions, LLC · Churchville, MD
"SBDC's Business Game Plan session taught me more in three hours than some business courses did in three days (I even had to pay for those). I learned principles that are setting me up for a lifetime of business success."
– Steven Bradley · Bradley Electric, Inc · Bel Air, MD
What are your reasons for being in business? Did you want to be your own boss, make more time for your family, have a better lifestyle or more money? If these benefits are taking longer than expected, then the SBDC can be the answer.
The purpose of working with our team of business counselors and instructors is to reduce the likelihood that you fall into common small business traps. A question we ask our clients is “Do you own your business, or does your business own you?” Our GROWsmart program will help get the income, lifestyle and time with your family that you're looking for.
Every relationship with the SBDC is different, but we offer four key services that will help you get the results you want from your business.
- Business Assessment – Growth Resource Allocation: You and an SBDC counselor discuss how your business currently works and determine what needs to be done to rectify particular issues in the business. We will create a list of items to be acted on within a specific time frame and in a sensible order, and immediately identify specific federal, state and local resources. To make an appointment, e-mail sbdc@harford.edu or call 443-412-2237.
- Earn More & Work Less with a "Business Game Plan": A 3 ½ hour session combining training and counseling to show you how to increase your profits by using SBDC's The 5 Drivers of Your Bottom Line©. Learn to work on your business while using the activity-based learning program "LEVERAGE." Invented by Australian billionaire and entrepreneur Brad Sugars, LEVERAGE, used by thousands of existing business owners around the world, gives you a hundreds of strategies and systems to build your game plan on how to be successful. To make an appointment, e-mail sbdc@harford.edu or call 443-412-2237.
- Personalized Strategic Planning + Implementation Counseling: As the business owner, you can’t structure and facilitate strategic plan development and participate fully all at the same time! That's where SBDC comes in. We structure and facilitate your planning process to create a vision for change and guide you and your team to make key decisions about your small business' future. Resources are brought to you, including market research data, accounting, cash flow management, etc.
- Comprehensive Training: To supplement our counseling, we provide the following comprehensive training to strengthen your business. See below for the comprehensive training schedule.
Town of Bel Air · City of Havre de Grace · Point Breeze Credit Union · Freedom Federal Credit Union · Web Ad.vantage
Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development · Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union (APGFCU)
Harford Business Ledger · Dryer Vent Wizard · Harford County Public Library · Susquehanna Workforce Network
Current Schedule for Comprehensive Training
For Harford Sessions, click here to download the registration form for Nuts and Bolts and Small Business Success.
Complete and send in Harford Community College’s registration form with payment. Click here or call 443-412-2376 for details about registering for fee-based classes.
Thriving in a Recession: Worried about a recession? Not sure what to expect? In this class you will learn about economic cycles, recessions and other trends. Topics will include what areas are impacted by recessions and how to prosper during a recession.
Course: 45414TH 10/15 6:30-9:45PM, Joppa Hall, Rm. 008
Tuition: $59, Course Fee: $0
Networking: Networking is the most effective way for professionals to grow their business. This brief class will cover quick tricks and tips to becoming a better networker without appearing to be a slick salesman or suffering from the fear of public speaking.
Course: 45759TH 11/10 7-9PM, Havre de Grace Hall, Rm. 104
Tuition: $49, Course Fee: $0
Developing Your Potential: So often we spend too much time coping with proble4ms along our path that we forget why we are on the path in the first place. Students learn the importance of purpose in their lives. They will go through specific steps to develop mission/vision for their lives. View the inspiring video "Even Eagles Need a Push," based on David McNally's best-selling book. Look closely at the five qualities of confident, empowered people. Participants will be challenged to increase their personal control by being proactive rather than reactive. Choose to go and grow beyond the achievement of success to the satisfying fulfillment of significance.
Course: 45312W 12/9 9AM-4PM, Edgewood Hall, Rm. 219
Tuition: $109, Course Fee: $5
Sessions held at Cecil College (To register, call 410-392-3366, ext. 605 or e-mail training4success@cecil.edu):
Managing Small Business Financial Performance: Explore real life scenarios when managing a small business. This course provides new and experienced entrepreneurs with techniques to successfully manage events that occur through the natural growth of a small business.
Course: BIF120-01W 10/14 & 10/21 6-9PM, Elkton Station, Rm. 210
Tuition: $95, Course Fee: $0
Small Business Financing... the Bank's Perspective: Discover how a bank evaluates credit requests from small businesses. This course will touch on all the major factors evaluated by banks including cash flow, collateral, and owner's equity. Afterwards you will be able to make good decisions regarding seeking credit and preparing for the process.
Course: BIF121-01W 10/28 & 11/4 6-9PM, Elkton Station, Rm. 210
Tuition: $95, Course Fee: $0
“The SBDC kept me going and on the right track. In the beginning, it's hard to know what to do next. They kept me focused and kept pushing me. They became the friend you needed when you felt frustrated and all alone.” – Glenn Gustafsson
