Newsletter: July 2006

A note from our director...

For many families, June marks a month when schools are out and summer vacations begin, a time when life temporarily slows down a bit. However, it appears Loudoun Entrepreneurs have not been told of these changes! During our time of transition, we continued to counsel many clients on how to start their businesses and on strategies to expand their businesses. Clients also took advantage of our seminars on small business loans and branding to educate themselves in these two very important areas.

Thank you for suggesting seminar topics! We are listening to you. In July we will present seminars on Recordkeeping and Home Office Deductions and Low-Cost Marketing Communications, and in August on Market Research and Business Plans.

You, our clients, often ask how you can help the Center. Here is a painless way – please send us a testimonial about the Center and the services we provide! We would love to hear from you. We will be using your testimonials as we continue to promote the Center to our stakeholders. This is a wonderful opportunity to promote your business and help the Center at the same time. Also, many of you will be receiving our Economic Impact Survey in July. Please fill that out and return it to the Center. The information is confidential, and it may help us secure additional funding from the SBA.

Sincerely, Robin Suomi Executive Director

Featured Business

Tally Ho Theatre 19 W. Market St. Leesburg, VA 20176 Proprietor: Judith Wilson

Learn how Loudoun County SBDC helped a Leesburg business keep movies on Market Street, as told by Judith Wilson...

Tally Ho had been closed for two years when a business associate presented an opportunity to partner with him in reopening it. One reason the project interested me was that the theater nearest to Leesburg was 12 miles away. However, we had only a few weeks to complete due diligence and make an offer!!!

I contacted the National Association of Theater Operators, and they put me in contact with an operator of multiple theaters in Arizona. He became my mentor, providing a wealth of information which helped us to develop projections. Based on our research, we decided Tally Ho would open again! I then contacted the Loudoun County SBDC, and they offered us direction on licensing, registration, developing a business plan and legal matters. Although the contributions of both the aforementioned organizations were critical, I must say that God had his hand in it as well. We were able to obtain our business loan without a complete business plan and very little down payment. Additionally, we were able to borrow funds for working capital and leasehold improvements.

Tally Ho reopened in the fall of 2002 with all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Our grand opening was a fundraiser for Loudoun Hospital. We premiered the Robert Duvall film, “A Shot at Glory”, with Robert Duvall present for the opening. It was a red carpet affair with the who’s who of Loudoun County. But after all the excitement of the grand opening, reality set in. We planned to show intermediate-run (4-week-old) movies as well as art films, and we would have the flexibility to add live performances and comedy. However, with only 10 to 20 people per show, we quickly discovered that this format was not working. I switched to first-run movies; the first mainstream film, “Sweet Home Alabama”, produced lines around the corner! Since then, our programming has been first-run, family fare.

Another business plan change is that my partner departed from the business two months after we opened, but Tally Ho weathered that, as well. I have had the support of my husband, children, a great staff, my friends at Fizzmedia, the Town of Leesburg and, of course, the wonderful people of Loudoun County.

Website: www.tallyhotheatre.com

SBDC Report

Ten Reasons to Love Virginia Small Business From the SBA Office of Advocacy

10. Small Businesses make up 97.8 percent of all Virginia employers.

9. Small businesses create more than 50 percent of the American nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).

8. Small patenting firms produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.

7. The 567,830 small businesses in Virginia are located in every community and neighborhood.

6. Small businesses employ 48.1 percent of Virginia’s nonfarm private sector workers.

5. Home-based businesses account for 53 percent of all small businesses.

4. Small businesses are 97 percent of America’s exporters and produce 26 percent of all export value.

3. Virginia saw an estimated 24,134 new small firms with employees start up in the last year measured.

2. There are approximately 93,800 minority-owned businesses and 157,100 women-owned businesses in Virginia, and almost all of them are small businesses.

1. The latest figures show that small business creates 65 percent or more of America’s net new jobs.

Business Tip of the Month

Your Logo: Do you want to start branding your business? One of the first steps is to create a company logo as a way of establishing your business image and recognition.

If you are designing a new logo or want to improve an existing one, decide if you want the logo to be font-based, abstract, or illustrative of what your company does. Then:

Think about the message you want your logo to convey. Tie the logo to your mission statement or your slogan.

Look at logos of your competitors. Notice the colors they are using. Differentiate your business from them.

Design three or more possibilities, including colors and forms, and ask your target market to help you select. Have a contest!

Because you will be using your logo in your marketing material and publications, remember to keep in mind how it will look in different sizes and on different backgrounds.

Keep it simple! Test to see if it is memorable! How do you do that? Have people look at the logo for 10 seconds and try to re-draw it with reasonable accuracy. If they can do this, you are in good shape!

Finally, a graphic artist can often do wonders with a logo. Remember that your final goals are to brand your business and get logo recognition.