TSBDC at Vol State Celebrates Five Years of Helping Small Business

The numbers speak for themselves: 925 clients, 106 business starts and 337 jobs created and retained. Those are just a few of the accomplishments for the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) at Volunteer State Community College. It’s the five-year anniversary of the TSBDC and business owners have plenty to say about the help they’ve received.

“We wanted to expand our catering business, to owning a large event facility and with the TSBDC’s help we did it,” said Christopher Newton of Chef Christopher’s Catering and EPIC Event Centre in Gallatin. “We started with a business plan and lots of advice, which led to the purchase of a million dollar facility. TSBDC is the first place to go when starting or expanding your business.”

“Our time spent with the TSBDC has been extremely important to the success of our business,” said Linda Alkasem of Café Rakka in Hendersonville. “His expertise working with small businesses has been such a valuable tool for our restaurant.”

Charles Alexander is the director of the TSBDC at Vol State. He offers free and inexpensive workshops for small businesses that address their most pressing needs, as well as one-on-one business consulting free of charge. There has been an overwhelming response from the local community and surrounding counties to the services offered by the TSBDC. 3,687 people have attended the 233 classes and workshops held over the last five years. Alexander was recently named a 2012 Business Champion by the Gallatin Chamber of Commerce.

Visit the website www.tsbdc.org to see what workshops are available. To schedule an appointment to meet with a business counselor e-mail charles.alexander@volstate.edu or call 615-230-4780.

The NFL Offseason: Building Your Business through Free Agency and the Draft

(Non Peyton/Tebow Edition)

I hate to admit it, but this is one of my favorite times of year in sports.  NFL free agency and the draft are for football nerds.  Every year we see the best teams, the Patriots, Packers, Giants, Steelers, show great patience during free agency and sign mid-level guys that fit their system.  They build through the draft and have long term success.  The bad teams, the Redskins, Browns, Bills, usually get the wrong free agents for their system, take leftovers, and draft poorly.

The same concept goes for your business.  It’s important to hire the right person, for the right job.  Too often we go for the first person with little experience, without a proven track record, or with a questionable attitude.

Below are 3 examples of things for you to look for with a Tennessee Titan feel.

1. Attitude matters as much as production. – Remember Albert Haynesworth?  He was a dominant defensive tackle and his best years with the Titans were when he was playing for a new contract.  As soon as he got his $100M contract with the Redskins he fell off the map. 

The same goes when you are looking for your next office manager.  Just because he shows flashes of brilliance when it comes to managing schedules, you better make sure his attitude is good.  If not, it will have a negative impact on the rest of your team.

2. Look at their track record – In the 2007 draft, the Titans were desperate to find a break away running back to pair with LenDale White.  So in the 2^nd round, they reached on Chris Henry, a running back from Arizona, who didn’t even have 1,000 rushing yards during his entire collegiate career.  They fell in love with his potential.  He was fast, but that was it.  To correct the mistake, the Titans drafted Chris Johnson in the 2008 draft.  He has the same or better speed, and had great college production.  In 2009, he set the NFL record of 2,509 scrimmage yards in a season.

When you get ready to hire that hot shot kid right out of college, look at their work history, extracurricular activities, and references, before you try to make a square peg fit in a round hole.

3. You can’t turn a C player into an A player – Speaking of LenDale White….he led the NFL in touchdowns in 2008, primarily because the Titans put him in at the 2 or 3 yard line and let him punch it in for the score.  They always put him in position to succeed.  When he had to do things on his own, he didn’t fare so well.  He is more or less out of the league now.

If you hire the wrong salesperson and realize it after a 90 day probationary period, it is best to part ways and start over.  Continually putting them in closing appointments that you set up for them or letting them just babysit key accounts won’t make them a good salesperson.

We don’t even have time to go into the importance of checking out referrals (Pacman Jones) or have someone that “can’t be told nothing” (Vince Young). 

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses. To register for go to http://www.tsbdc.org/.

Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 www.volstate.edu/tsbdc