This will be the last blog post for 2016, new weekly posts will begin again in early January!
The Alexandria SBDC wishes all of its clients and supporters a very merry holiday season and a prosperous New Year! We enjoyed celebrating with many of you at our annual Holiday Kickoff reception on November 18th when about 100 revelers networked while feasting on savory bites from
Meggrolls and some homemade sweet treats. This was our final event of 2016, during which the Alexandria SBDC held 34 Workshops and Roundtable events with over 730 attendees, participated in approximately 400 counseling sessions totaling over 1, 000 hours, and responded to hundreds of phone and e-mail inquiries through our website. We truly value our relationships with our clients and look forward to working with all of you in the New Year.
For those who like to plan ahead, a January Workshop and Roundtable are already posted on our events page. We are starting off the year talking about updating your branding and marketing, so be sure to take advantage of those opportunities. We are in the process of planning many more informative workshops and events for 2017 – feel free to send us your ideas! Remember to contact the SBDC at all stages of your business. In addition to startup assistance, we have specialized resources that can help with financing, federal and state contracting, hiring and employer issues, social media and marketing, retail assistance, nonprofit assistance, and many other areas.
Early in the New Year we will be sending out our Annual Impact Survey to our clients. Please watch for the survey and complete the few short questions about how your business did in 2016. The aggregated results of this confidential survey are crucial to the Alexandria SBDC’s funding request to the City of Alexandria, the SBA, and the financial institutions and others who support our efforts to offer free services to the Alexandria Small Business community. These funding partners like to see that those using SBDC services are getting value from the resources the SBDC provides.
Finally, though this is a very busy time for most small business owners, we hope that you will take the time to enjoy the season with your family and friends. There are several events in Alexandria that will put you in the spirit right in your own back yard – see the website of our colleagues at Visit Alexandria for ideas, www.visitalexva.com.
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