Surviving COVID19: Taste Oil Vinegar Spice of Downtown Fredericksburg Benefits from PPP For one of downtown Fredericksburg’s most cherished small businesses, Taste Oil Vinegar Spice, 2020 got off to a great start. The first few months of the year brought increases in sales to both the Fredericksburg and Culpeper locations, and the Culpeper shop was in the midst of a move to a larger, more desirable storefront. All of that came to a sudden halt in mid-March. On March 18, they sent their employees home on with no expectation of when they would reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s owner Deb Foley, like virtually all other businesses, had to quickly learn how she was going to keep her business afloat to survive this unprecedented situation. Deb focused solely on her online sales, working 6 days a week to keep up with orders. Deb fulfilled online orders and met customers for pickups which brought in just enough revenue to cover expenses. When she heard about the … [Read more...]
Phase II: 6 Important Questions for Reopening
Virginia Reopening Phase 2 started June 5, and many local businesses are beginning to reopen The governor and his team created a 41-page manual full of mandatory requirements, best practices, and resources for businesses to follow while reopening. This manual provides detailed guidance broken down by industry segments. You can access the manual here. As you reopen your business, it is important to communicate with your customers that you are following the state guidelines and doing all that you can to protect their health, as well as the health of your employees. Many people are reluctant to be out in public yet, so it may be necessary for you to continue some of the practices that you initiated during the shutdown and Phase 1. These practices can encourage your customers to do business with you, but only if your customers are aware of them. These practices and policies will include: 1) Will you require customers to wear masks while in your business? 2) How many customers are … [Read more...]
Changes in PPP Forgiveness Rules
Congress has steps taken steps to simplify the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) and allow for greater flexibility. The Senate and House have both passed the PPP Flexibility Act, which the President is expected to sign into law today, June 5, 2020. The bill will give business owners more time to use the PPP money and allow more flexibility in how they spend it. Key changes are: The amount required to be used for payroll was lowered to 60%. A stipulation was added that if the 60% threshold is NOT met, then none of the PPP loan will be forgiven. The period for repaying any unforgiven loan balance was extended to 5 years. The period during which to use the PPP money was extended from 8 weeks to 24 weeks. The deadline to rehire workers was extended to 12/31/2020. Please keep in mind that 100% of the PPP money may be used for payroll, if needed. Be sure to document how you use the money, so that you can prove you have complied with forgiveness rules. There is still PPP … [Read more...]
Use predictive analysis to give your business a competitive advantage
DEADLINE EXTENDED! Apply by September 16 The UMW College of Business is looking for local companies and organizations who are interested in using predictive analysis to give your company competitive advantages. This is an opportunity to find market insights that provide actionable results for your business. Email Dr. Garcia to Apply Types of predictive model examples: Predict whether a customer will switch to a competitor over the next year Identify and characterize different customer segments from purchasing data Intelligently recommend products (Amazon & Netflix) Predict how a political advertisement will impact someone's likelihood to vote for a candidate Learn more UMW Center for Economic Development The University of Mary Washington Center for Economic Development is in the College of Business, an AACSB accredited business school. The Center for Economic Development operates the UMW Small Business Development Center, the UMW EagleWorks … [Read more...]
Group of student entrepreneurs begin semester-long business startup program: StartUpUMW
Every semester, the UMW Center for Economic Development works with entrepreneurial undergraduate students from UMW and Germanna Community College to help them develop a business idea. Every week, the students meet different members of the Fredericksburg community—lawyers, bankers, accountants, and business owners—who share expertise in business ownership and management. The students learn from real-world entrepreneurs and professionals, and apply the skills and knowledge to their startup ideas. At the end of the semester, the students pitch their idea to members of the local business community and have the option to participate in an investment pitch competition in the spring. So far, 53 students have completed StartUpUMW, and 22 student businesses have been launched. The students have majors that range from sciences, and languages to business administration, and include representatives from the Bachelor of Liberal Studies (BLS) program. Many students incorporate social missions … [Read more...]
Dr. Edward DeVilliers, Recipient of the 2018 Veteran Owned Business Owner of the Year
Fredericksburg, VA: On Wednesday, November 14th, Dr. Edward DeVilliers received the 2018 Veteran Owned Business of the Year Award at the Veterans Business Bootcamp event held by the Stafford County Economic Development Office. The Veteran Owned Business Award was established in 2013 at the University of Mary Washington Center for Economic Development to recognize entrepreneurs who served our country through military service, established a successful enterprise, pay it forward through their trade, and have a commitment to the community. “Marines take special pride in developing leadership traits, such as judgement, dependability, integrity, decisiveness, initiative and loyalty,” said Susan Ball, the Director of the Fredericksburg Small Business Development Center. “[Dr. Ed DeVilliers] learned those lessons well and applied them to establish and grow a great technology solutions company.” Dr. Edward DeVilliers joined the Marine Corps and held positons such as field artillery … [Read more...]
Small Business Roundtable Discusses Video Marketing
Small business roundtables are cohorts of entrepreneurs and business owners that come together to share and learn from one another. The University of Mary Washington Small Business Development Center (UMW SBDC) currently hosts two bi-monthly roundtables: one for women business owners and one for food manufacturers in the Fredericksburg area. Each meeting is dedicated to a different business theme where either a guest speaker will present or business owners share what works and does not work for them. These conversations inspire or aid their small business neighbors. Last month, the roundtables focused on marketing and featured two guest speakers, Jaime Garza, owner of Ignite Cinemas, and Emily Whittacre, from CVTV, who spoke on video marketing. Jaime’s business specializes in video marketing and video production for small businesses. He shared four types of videos that every business owner needs: customer testimonials, frequently asked questions, live streaming video, and … [Read more...]
Blogging Expert Shares How to Achieve an Online Presence
Fredericksburg, VA: The University of Mary Washington Small Business Development Center hosted its first blogging seminar on Tuesday, July 30 to a full room. The seminar focused on the benefits to small businesses of adding blog posts to their marketing mix to improve SEO and drive traffic to a business’s website. Takeaways from the seminar included how to optimize websites for search engines, the need to create a content calendar, how to write blog posts that bring higher visibility in search engines, and ways to increase your reputation as an authority in respected fields. The speaker, Corinne Schmitt, owner of Wondermom Wannabe, is a professional blogger and SEO expert. She began blogging in 2013, writing what she wished she had known when starting out as a new parent. Her blog quickly gained subscribers and she started to focus her efforts on topics she knew and were of interest to her readers. Corinne shared that the key to her success was writing for the enjoyment. … [Read more...]
New Businesses at 821 Caroline Street
On Friday, July 19, 2019 the Fredericksburg Main Street welcomed two new businesses, X-Quizit Coffee Roasters and Abner Butterfield Ice Cream Company. Abner Butterfield Ice Cream Company was launched in 2012 by Edward “Ed” Wright. His passion for ice cream led him to teach others how to make it and he is now an expert. Ed met with Susan Ball, UMW SBDC Director, to conduct market research and identify financing to purchase a brick and mortar building. X-Quizit Coffee Roasters opened their business in 2017. The UMW SBDC helped Brianna and Gus Lopez secure financing through the Fredericksburg Main Street micro-loan program to expand their product offerings. In addition, Brianna is involved with the Food Manufacturing Owner’s roundtable that meets bi-monthly and is supported by the UMW SBDC. The two businesses share the space at 821 Caroline Street. Gus, co-owner of X-Quizit shares, “We’re excited about the growth opportunities we have available to us here with Abner B’s and the … [Read more...]
Grand Opening for Hiner’s Diesel and Auto LLC
Hank Hiner and his family spent most of their lives working in the automotive industry. This month, they found a way to turn their passion and experience into a family business: Hiner’s Diesel and Auto LLC located in Tappahannock, VA. Hank is the owner, his son Chris is the lead mechanic, and his daughter Kristy reconciles the books and manages the office. “The only diesel auto repair shop close by was either Fredericksburg or Richmond,” said Hank. “Each destination is close to an hour drive.” Hank is a United States Marine Corps veteran, who wants to help out his fellow veterans in the community by offering discount on services. With the help of Joy Corprew at the UMW SBDC in Warsaw, they worked together to write a business plan and to find a 504 loan program to secure funding. The Hiners chose the Rappahannock Economic Development Corporation (REDCO) to help them purchase their building in Tappahannock. While preparing the newly purchased property for the grand opening, … [Read more...]