Blog.News

The ACCION Business Center recently partnered with Google and their Texas Get Online campaign targeted at small business owners. In today’s world nearly everyone’s vocabulary contains the phrase:  Google It. So the question becomes, if you are a business owner, can Google find you?

For 45 small businesses this answer will become yes! On Saturday January 28, we met at the beautiful Progreso Hall – part of the Avendia Guadalupe Association – to learn about what products are available through Google to help small business get online. To everyone’s delight we learned how easy and affordable it is to get online, grow your web presence and ultimately grow your business!!

So here are the facts:

97% of Americans look online for local products & services…

…and 51% of small businesses do not have an online presence or website!

So, I challenge you today – to get your business online!

Did you know that small businesses are the fastest growing job segment in the nation?  Many times business owners are by themselves building their business, but it doesn’t have to be that way! That is why we are here. Would you like to help business owners with your expertise?

ACCION Texas Inc. would like to invite you to become part of our volunteer corps. A corps member is a person who has a specific talent/expertise that they are willing to share either
in a roundtable for strategic planning with a business owner, provide mentoring or individual consulting for a small business owner, or be a guest lecturer.

Every day we work with business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, and as 2011 winds down, we hope you’ll consider joining us in supporting aspiring and established entrepreneurs in 2012. So we are looking for a few good folks to assist in supporting business owners in:

Sales, Marketing & Branding, Market Resesarch, Strategic Planning, Business Financials Guidance and Consultation, Legal (Business, HR, Patent etc.), Marketing/Sales, Real Estate, Human Resources/Payroll, and more.

If you are interested please fill out the following interest form and email us directly here. indicating your area of expertise and any relevant experience and where you’d like to volunteer. We have staff throughout Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri! You can locate our offices here.

We look forward to working with you and finding a space where you can share your talent. Please note you don’t have to be a business owner to do this, you can be part of a big business or corporation and provide your expertise to businesses trying to grow! On Behalf of our Team, thank you for your consideration.

P.S. If you haven’t heard, check out Starbucks’ campaign to create jobs in partnership with organizations like ACCION Texas Inc. here.

We just wrapped up another great event that focused on the importance of making a great impression — professionally, financially and virtually. It was hosted at one of my favorite coffee shops, Frosted Delights by Joyce, which only added to the uniqueness of the day!

We invited Amy from Barton, East and Caldwell, Wes and Danny from Vuepoint Creative, and Troy and David from Capital One to share their tips with the group. After an interactive two hours, everyone walked away with some great advice that they can easily translate into improved customer service, better networking skills, and a more productive relationship with your banker.

We would like to thank all the business owners and entrepreneurs who attended the session, the presenters and Frosted Delights for making this such a productive morning.

September 28 was a big day! We concluded our fist ACCION Biz Pitch Competition, and we ended the day with inspiring conversations led by 26 incredible individuals. We could not have asked for a better turnout, the audience included inspiring entrepreneurs, established business owners, ACCION clients and ACCION friends – so thank you to everyone who came out to support ACCION and our past, current and future clients; together we make a huge impact on our economy.

Our co-chairs Darryl Byrd and Blanca Aldaco kicked off the day and introduced Celina Pena, VP of Business Support. Celina set the theme(s) of the day – open, energizing and inspiring. We began the program and showcased our 3 biz pitch finalists: Building Team Solutions, Elisa Riebeling Ministries, SPARKATOUR.

Two of our three judges Eliot Garza and Andi Rodriguez had an opportunity to ask a series of questions to the finalists; and after a quick replay, each finalist had one minute for his/her final thoughts. And with that, the voting began! Via text messaging and traditional paper ballots, the audience voted Elisa Riebeling Ministries as their favorite. They walked away with some incredible prizes from our sponsors Capital One, SeeKing HR, SWEB Development, TPR, NSide Magazine, and Kirk Marketing.

We wanted to host a unique event featuring roundtable discussions because it is during these events that we see our clients’ eyes light up. A mentor, even if the time is brief, can provide more guidance, advice and inspiration than any book or training. Hosting the competition in conjunction with the event, gave each of the finalist a platform to showcase their organization.

Thank you to our sponsors Capital One, Guerrero CPA, Wells Fargo, HEB and Frost without your support we could not continue to work with entrepreneurs and small business owners throughout our community.

To everyone who attended, I hope you had a great time and stay tuned for next year’s schedule!

We are so excited about the speakers who will share their wisdom and bright ideas with us during our 4^th Annual Symposium INSPIRE.PITCH.TALK. on September 28^th at the Pearl Stable.

Each presenter has a unique expertise, experience, and personality and you don’t want to lose your seat for this luncheon.  We designed this event specifically for the inquisitive minds – who want to talk shop, share ideas, and build upon the energy that is sure to surround us on September 28^th.

Each speaker will have 8 guests – hopefully YOU—at the table over a family style luncheon to learn from them, ask them questions, and more importantly to network and build your business relationships. So we ask:

Do you want to get inspired to start or grow your own business?

Are you ready to ask how did you do it?

Are you wondering how to be successful? What the economy is like now?

Or maybe you just want to absorb and be inspired? Either way, we want you to roll with us and experience a quality, high impact luncheon that will leave you inspired and ready to succeed.

So who’s at the tables?

Gary Hoover will blow your mind with his initiative, wisdom and passion for entrepreneurship.  @ 30 from Bookstop to Hoover’s World… or $41.5 m to $117 m.

Johnny Hernandez, from catering, True Flavors, to creative restaurateur La Gloria and Market Depot to two more!

Diana Barrios Trevino from cooking when they were children to growing a family legacy with their cuisine and commitment.

Steve Nivin, SABER Economist – he can forecast your sales (not!) but he can share trends that you need to know about as it relates to growth and trends in San Antonio and South Texas.

Are you interested in learning more, getting connected or understanding the construction industry in Central Texas? Join Mike Kaiman with Turner Construction for lunch!  Or trying to understand the sub and prime world? Then join Julissa Carrielo from Tejas Premier.

For the complete list of speakers, visit our Expert Biz Strategy Sessions page and register today!

Want more? Watch our video!

I recently sent out an email to some supporters and friends of ACCION to ask them to send me their number one tip for they would share with a business owner. I was overwhelmed by the responses I received, so I wanted to share them with you all!

From Leanne, SeeKing HR

My philosophical tip is . . .
Faith, Passion, Pay It Forward
Have faith in God and in yourself.  Have passion for what you do and the service you provide.  Pay It Forward – Always.

Realistically . . .
Remember that it is OK to ask for help.
Know your customers as well as you know yourself.
Competition is not bad; surround yourself with the best in class and learn from them.
Remember . . .no does not mean never, it means no right now.

From Brandon, Zaragoza Resources

If you do everything- absolutely everything- you MIGHT succeed. Anything less and you will fail.

From Michelle, A Turtle Loves Me

Mondays – Use to contact vendors only ~ NEVER call a client on Monday, unless they contact you first!

Tuesday – Use for meeting existing clients

Wednesday – Use to catch up from Tues. meetings & prepare for Thursday meetings

Thursday – Use for meeting existing clients

Fridays – Use for meeting NEW clients and/or taking existing clients out to lunch (they will give you up to 2 hours on Friday without realizing it)

From Iris, PTAC

You must have a passion for the industry you’re going into; don’t just go into something for the money. However, behind your passion, you must have a plan.

From Magaly, SWEB Development

0. Determination

1. Consistency

2. Timeliness

3. Never Over Promise

4. Always deliver with quality

5. Love  what you do

6. Thank everyone that works so hard with you to make your business successful

To have the opportunity to meet and have a great conversation with some incredible individuals ranging from  April Ancira, Diana Barrios Trevino, Gary Hoover, Frank Herrera and Bruce Davidson make sure to register for our annual business symposium INSPIRE.PITCH.TALK on September 28 2011. To pick who you want to sit with and buy your ticket, click here!

We just wrapped up another Launch Pad Series, a  strategic business planning class, on August 9th! Launch Pad is a 4-week series designed to provide the important tools and resources needed to start or expand a business. During the first class, we emphasized the importance of being able to answer and understand Who? What? How?…the fundamental questions one needs when planning to take a business/idea to the next level.

The second class we focused on defining the customer persona and market, and discovered how many FREE resources are out there for small businesses and entrepreneurs. To round out the series, the third class focused on the importance of understanding where you AND your business sit financially. We broke down the most important information and made sure the participants understood how to apply it their own businesses.

After three weeks of absorbing the material, bonding with their peers and fleshing out their plan, the participants pitched their business to a panel of experts who provided insight and advice.  Overall, it was a great success, and we are more than excited to stay in touch and to see how they continue to grow and shape their business.

We received excellent reviews and we thought we would share a few!  “Very Educational and Inspiring!”; “I loved that everything was explained in simple terms”; “Gain more confidence in being able to start a business.”

At ACCION Business Center we LOVE to work with you while you flesh out your own business plan! Stay tuned for the next Launch Pad Biz Series, or make an appointment to come see us and start business planning now!

It is well known that small business owners have to wear many hats. You are the manager, the marketing team, the planner, and the list goes on and on. And as a small business owner, it is important to take advantage of the resources available to us! In today’s world social media is king. It is a powerful tool that can be used to connect you to a huge online community. Two striking examples in the past few days include California asking stars to tweet about the closing of the 405 and President Obama recently hosting a town hall on TWITTER! I know what you are thinking— my business is not California and I am not the President…and that is okay!

When chatting with some of our clients, I often hear “Who is going to follow me?”, “What if no one likes me?”, “I have nothing to say!”… My answer is you have to start somewhere! A great way to start is to serve as a resource to your (potential) customers and partners. You could share interesting stories, articles and events; or when you meet a fellow business owner, share their story on your page. This way by serving as a resource and promoter of others, you will begin to be recognized not only as having a great social presence, but also as a business owner invested in and dedicated to your customers and your community.

I recently read an article published in the New York Times by MP Mueller, founder of Door Number 3, a boutique advertising agency in Austin. I wanted to share it with you all because Mr. Mueller gives us two examples of small businesses taking advantage (and reaping the rewards) of social media. I encourage you all to read it and look at the one-sheet guide on how to get the most out of social media tools!

If you are interested in learning how YOU can take advantage of Facebook and Twitter, make sure to register for our very own Social Media Class with featured speaker Luis Sandoval from SWEB Development on August 19^th!

This past Tuesday, June 28, ACCION celebrated the opening of the new Lending and Learning Center. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we wanted to thank all those who attended and those who continue to show their support to our organization.

Mayor Julian Castro, County Judge Nelson Wolff and other local and community leaders spoke on the importance of small business and the sheer determination of the entrepreneurs in our community. Following the speeches, the celebration moved into our very own plaza.

While the objective of the day was to celebrate the Lending and Learning Center, the true focus was on our clients.  San Antonio Rental and Party and IAMA Coffee House and Music School provided the food and coffee; Polo’s Photo captured the spirit of the day, and Bumble Bee Flowers provided beautiful arrangments for each house.  Our four vendors, Frosted Delight, Jasper Stone, Cabinetry Plus and Amici Hair and Nail Studio showcased their products which ranged from wickless candles to an incredibly delicious buttercream cake featuring the ACCION logo.

All in all it was an incredible day. Looking back at it now, I realize what a special community we are and how thankful I am to be apart of such an incredible (and big) family.