FREE training in Transportation Careers Program

Need Training to Find a Job?   This may be helpful, and if you're living in one of the seven counties mentioned, it's free .....

2014 Transportation Careers Training Program
Applications accepted now through May 16, 2014
Training starts June 2, 2014 at York Tech Community College

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) (South Carolina Division Office) are pleased to announce the 2014 Transportation Careers Training Program (TCTP) will be managed by Construction Solutions Team, Inc. The program will allow up to thirty-five participants to receive the National Center for Construction Education and Research certification as well as other credentials.

Pre-employment Training will include OSHA 10 Hour Construction Standards, SCDOT Flagger Certification, Construction Math, Blue Print Reading, Site Layout, Job Readiness Skills, Basic Life Skills, Construction Basics, and more.

After successfully completing Pre-employment Training, fifteen participants will transition into Heavy Equipment Operator Training and fifteen participants will transition into Commercial Driver’s License Training.

All training costs will be covered by the SCDOT/FHWA program.

Applications will be accepted from individuals residing in the following seven counties:

• Cherokee
• Chester
• Chesterfield
• Fairfield
• Lancaster
• Union
• York

Individuals must meet the following criteria:

• Unemployed, underemployed, minorities, women, and/or economically disadvantaged;
• A high school graduate or have obtained GED;
• Pass a pre-course drug test and submit to random screening;
• Have reliable transportation to and from the training site;
• Be physically able to withstand the rigors of the construction industry (this includes inclement weather, traffic, night work and heavy lifting); and
• Willing to travel at the conclusion of the program if hired by a highway construction contractor.

Get moving today! Your next job can be the start of an amazing career!!
For more about the 2014 Transportation Careers Training Program, and on Participant Responsibilities, please contact Sandy at (704) 807-2627 or e-mail at Sandy@ConstructionSolutionsTeam.com

Link for Application: http://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20140430/52/14/16/30/32a728cac39e6f9c8fdd3a21/2014_TCTP_Application.pdf?utm_campaign=SC+residents+get+your+career+moving%21&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=2014+TCTP+Application

Don't Get Caught Short! Be Prepared to Recover from Disaster

Business owners need to develop emergency/disaster plans   Recovery times from natural disaster or man-made disasters are about the same, so whether your business experiences an electrical fire, wildfire, vehicle crashing through the window, flooding, tornado or hurricane damage, you need to consider all those possibilities BEFORE a disaster hits if you don’t want to lose your business.   
for their businesses.

Small business owners frequently don’t have their own financial resources to recover from disaster, and seldom have created a disaster plan to include preparation for financial loss (insurance), or things like employee loss or employees’ inability to come to work, even if your business itself is open.  If half your city is under water or without electricity, or your employees become homeless during a tornado, it will affect your business even if the office or storefront itself is completely untouched.  And what happens if the disaster isn’t your disaster, but one experienced by a supplier that you depend on for your inventory?  

If a customer should ask you, “What assurances do I have that you’ll be able to honor this contract in case of disaster?” don’t be caught off guard.  Get prepared with answers that will help put them and you at ease.   Think – “What if?” and consider every possible disaster and result; then work up your disaster plan and see that every key employee has a copy and knows how to proceed if a problem arises.  Start here:

•  Get proof of preparedness from the large companies you depend on, to insure that they are ready to supply YOU if they’re caught up in disaster 

•  Determine how you can create cost-effective, sustainable preparations

• Get adequate information from employees to be able to reach them or their families in more than one way in case of emergencies.    

• Know what information you’ll need to gather in an emergency and where it can be found: safe deposit box, digital files on CD, paper files?   Keep a hard copy and electronic duplicate set of these records off site.  (Remember, if your town is without power, no number of CDs or digital files will help you.) 

• How will you communicate with your employees and/or clients? 

• What specific immediate tasks would each employee be responsible for getting done if you could not communicate immediately?   Where are they to go, who are they to try to reach? 

• What tasks could be done from another location and where would that location be?   Does everyone who would do those tasks know where that is?  Could you have a tentative plan for more than one location in case of community-wide disaster.

Also ….. keeping a weather radio handy and knowing the NOAA Weather Radio codes and how to use it for information regarding weather, routes to be taken in emergency in your area, etc., is a good idea.  Read and download whatever applies to you here:  http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/stations.php?State=SC

Disasters happen, but they don’t have to put you out of business ….. pre-prepare and sleep easier at night!

Get Your Small Business Online!

Getting your business online means more visibility, more customers and more sales!

SAVE THE DATE NOW! 

Thursday, May 15th, 6-8 pm, a  "Getting Your Business Online" workshop is being sponsored by the Winthrop Region of the SC Small Business Development Center in its Rock Hill location. 

Getting your business online means more visibility, more customers, and more sales. Learn how to do it right! 

The workshop will be held in Room 415 of the Thurmond Building on Winthrop University's campus. Workshop details, a map, and registration information are located at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/getting-your-business-online-registration-11038170465.   

Call (803) 323-2283 if you have more questions. 

15 Tips from Google for Creating a Search Engine Friendly Website

 Did you build your own website? Are you trying to build one? It may be harder than you thought it would be. Using a template website can help you create nice-looking pages; using web building software can do the same. But the prettiest website won't matter if no one can find it. This video has 15 tips from Google's team to help you boost your search engine rank. And if you're in our greater Florence, SC area need a website for your business, but can't create it yourself .... and can't afford to hire a webmaster, call our regional SC SBDC office at Winthrop University (Rock Hill) (803) 323-2283 ..... they can work with you via email and telephone and help you get a search engine friendly website very affordably.

It's 2014 ..... do you know where your business is?

In the world of small business, there are many options to describe companies .... flat, but hanging on ... growing quickly ... ready to grow ... ho hum ...  Which one describes your small business?

Are you making enough to support your family and plan for their future, pay your employees to help them do the same, buy a new piece of equipment now and then, and still have a few dollars left at the end of the year? If that's what you want, then you're moderately successful already. Maybe that's enough for you ... that's something only you can know ... everyone is different.

If you still aspire to be self-supporting, maybe hire an employee or two so you can have a day off, and have a little cushion fund for security ... but you aren't there yet, then you have some work to do, and we need to talk about basics and work with you to do a financial analysis so you can see where you might do better in that area; or help you develop a basic marketing plan that can be worked consistently as a regular part of your business to encourage steady growth.

Or perhaps you're doing very well in business but want more .... WAY more! Maybe you want to get a business loan to grow by expanding your location and creating more jobs to bring in more business; or opening a second location to serve a wider area; maybe you want to sell franchises for your business concept; or become certified to bid on government contracts or begin to export your products. These are all things that can be done in pursuit of growth, and we're happy to help you develop a logical and financially solid plan to do that.

SBDC services are free (with the exception of workshops and building websites). You can call for appointment, bring your ideas and your records for the past couple of years, and we'll meet with you for a confidential free consultation to begin your growth for this new year. How often does someone actually offer you something "FREE" that really is free? We don't take money from our clients .... the Small Business Administration and the State of SC pay us to help solid companies plan to grow and create jobs.

Call (843) 661-8256 to schedule an appointment to get your business growth started. We'll help you stand out in the small business jungle!

5 Ways to Market Your Business for the Holiday Season

The holiday season is rapidly approaching and now is the time to take advantage of marketing techniques that will offer sales success in the upcoming months. In this article by SBA community moderator, K. Murray, there a few “budget-friendly” ideas to help you get started with holiday marketing for your small business.

If your small business has a presence on social media, then a contest is usually a popular way to engage your customers and remind them of the products and services you offer that would be great gift ideas. The key is to have a clever #hashtag and an incentive such as a prize or discount on your offerings. Another marketing tip is recognizing your loyal customers and taking the time to make them feel extra special. You can give them special offers, sneak previews, free shipping or secret sales. This type of marketing can result in additional business and referrals for your company.

One way to stand out from competitors is to host an open house or special event in your restaurant or store. Use this type of event to showcase holiday season gifts and allow customers to sample your holiday menus and merchandise in advance.  You should pair this event with light refreshments such as hot chocolate or apple cider to get your customers into the holiday spirit. On their way out, you can give a special offer or coupon that invites customers back to make their purchases at a discount. A great holiday idea, which was created by Illana Bercovitz who offers small business trends, is to offer helpful tips during a stressful holiday season. You should consider your industry, product, or service and how you could provide advice that makes your customer’s lives easier.  According to Ms. Bercovitz, “everyone appreciates useful advice and your customers will thank you for pushing content that makes their holidays slightly less stressful.” Remember to use an original #hashtag to maintain brand awareness across platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

The last tip is to use a historical marketing device, email. Although some may say that it is overused, email remains an easy and inexpensive way to maintain contact with existing customers. The effective way to use email is through permission marketing which means reaching those customers who have requested emails from your business. These include existing customers and those who have expressed interest in your business.  You should also keep these tips in mind if you plan to use email to support your holiday marketing efforts:

·         Keep the e-mail short and sweet. Link directly to the content of interest so you make the process as easy as possible for your customers.

·         Clearly state the email’s intent in the subject line. For example, "A Special Offer Just for You. Thanks for Your Business in 2013.”

·         Be festive in your design. Appeal to the sights of the season with a special design for the holidays.

·         Follow online marketing rules. Don't forget that online marketing is regulated, so whatever tactics you employ be sure to follow government guidelines that apply to list management, SPAM and other guidelines.

What Do You Really Know About the Affordable Healthcare Act? Come Learn.

There is so much confusion and misinformation floating around about the Affordable Healthcare Act and its implication for individuals as well as business owners, that we want to make every effort to insure that our local business owners and managers understand it and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Register today to participate in this important workshop being offered to business owners free of charge at Winthrop University in Rock Hill.  It will help you navigate the process and understand what you need to do for yourself and your employees.

 

REGISTER HERE!