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The first section in the FAQ we reviewed this week is about registering a business name. For just a fifteen-dollar registration fee, a business can be protected from naming conflicts (SBDC Wisconsin). I have found name creation to be one of the most difficult steps for our business assignments. You want to have a business name related to the type of goods or service you provide. The problem is that, unless you have a completely original business idea, others have already put effort in creating and registering names for your type of business.

We have learned the importance of establishing a brand for your business. You wouldn’t want someone else to use your business name to make easy profit for themselves. Though, the real problem is the possibility of the other business damaging your brand’s goodwill or confusing customers. WWF is an example of this (Abuwa). World Wildlife Fund began using the name long before the company Titan Sports decided to use the WWF acronym to do business as the World Wrestling Federation. The wildlife organization believed their brand was being damaged, so they sued Titan Sports, who was then forced to stop using WWF. It is hard to say how much this blunder costed both companies overall, but it was substantial and could have been avoided by Titan being more diligent in the naming process.

Similar mistakes can be avoided in our businesses by checking state and federal trademark databases before deciding on a name. LLC and corporation business names are automatically registered during the process of obtaining legal status (Murray). However, sole proprietorships and partnerships may operate for years before finding out they need to change their name because it is already being used. We must be careful to avoid simple and costly errors like this by following recommendations like those found at the SBDC of Wisconsin.

Works Cited

Abuwa, Mathaeus. Here's why WWE changed its name from WWF. n.d. Article. 23 February 2019. <https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/heres-why-wwe-changed-its-name-from-wwf>.

Murray, Jean. How and Why You Should Register Your Business Name. 10 July 2018. Article. 23 February 2019. <https://www.thebalancesmb.com/register-business-name-3974576>.

SBDC Wisconsin. Business FAQs. n.d. Website. 24 February 2019. <https://wisconsinsbdc.org/business-faqs>.

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SBDC-Alyssa Boggess                                                                                                                                                                                                            Upon looking at the frequently asked questions page you can see tons of useful information that would be very beneficial in the preparation of a business plan. These links to sites that provide information on how to obtain a sellers permit, information containing market research, and another with health requirements. I think the most beneficial links to use in the preparation of our business plan would be those such as the one with business plan samples (this will help to see how a well written business plan should look like) and another with information on starting and growing a business ( this will help to see what we need to look for when trying to gather information for the initial startup). One things I found interesting is that there is only a $15 free to register a business' name with the state. I honestly thought that it would cost more. Another interesting thing I saw was that there is a link with information on running a business within Wisconsin. Within that site you can find a link to everything you need to know about starting a business; provides you with the requirements of starting a business. There is also a link to access tax information and other forms a business may need. 

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SBDC-Alyssa Boggess                                                                                                                                                                                                            Upon looking at the frequently asked questions page you can see tons of useful information that would be very beneficial in the preparation of a business plan. These links to sites that provide information on how to obtain a sellers permit, information containing market research, and another with health requirements. I think the most beneficial links to use in the preparation of our business plan would be those such as the one with business plan samples (this will help to see how a well written business plan should look like) and another with information on starting and growing a business ( this will help to see what we need to look for when trying to gather information for the initial startup). One things I found interesting is that there is only a $15 free to register a business' name with the state. I honestly thought that it would cost more. Another interesting thing I saw was that there is a link with information on running a business within Wisconsin. Within that site you can find a link to everything you need to know about starting a business; provides you with the requirements of starting a business. There is also a link to access tax information and other forms a business may need. 

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While reading over the FAQs on the SBDC site, I found it fitting to look into a little further on "Do I need a sellers permit and how do I get one?" because it talks about sales forecasting which is what we are working on for the portion of our business plan. A sellers permit is required by an business with retail sales or rentals and when requesting this permit, the business must provide sales forecasting amount for sales tax liability anticipated. Here is another important reason to be able to provide forecasting when developing a business and being prepared in the business plan will come to use. I think the SBDC site is a great resource site for small businesses that are being developed or when creating a business plan to help understand all the angles of the business.

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After reviewing the FAQS on the page we were provided, I decided to dig a little deeper into the question "Where can I get market research to help me make business decisions?" I found that this was one of the most important questions that I ran across on the page. After clicking the link provided under the question it takes you to a page that has a vast variety of different snapshots for small businesses. This page would give you an ample amount of information or market research. Some of the services that they also provide that will help you with your business decisions include, documents, brochures and promotional materials; secondary market research data; demographic information location; site location analysis; business plans and financial ratio information; basic patent and trademark searches; pertinent business articles, e-commerce, market research, rural business and site location training. I think this site would be a good asset when it comes to any questions you might have about small businesses.

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When reviewing the frequently asked site I decided to look further on the question "Where can I get market research to help me make business decisions?" I decided to click on this because our group recently struggled with creating a market plan because we were unaware of how to find this information. I believe this site would have been very beneficial to us while writing the marketing plan. This question is answered with 2 different links that can be clicked, if you click on the second one you are directed to a site that brings you to Wisconsin Innovation Service Center. This site offers qualitative and market research on various types of jobs. This would be a valuable site when looking for information to help steer your plan and educating yourself on various topics.

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When reviewing the frequently asked site I decided to look further on the question "Where can I get market research to help me make business decisions?" I decided to click on this because our group recently struggled with creating a market plan because we were unaware of how to find this information. I believe this site would have been very beneficial to us while writing the marketing plan. This question is answered with 2 different links that can be clicked, if you click on the second one you are directed to a site that brings you to Wisconsin Innovation Service Center. This site offers qualitative and market research on various types of jobs. This would be a valuable site when looking for information to help steer your plan and educating yourself on various topics.

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Danielle Arentz

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Wanting to be an entrepreneur the SBDC offers how to start a business, there are different business topics to explore and there are 10 steps to follow in starting your business.  The topics that can be explored are: planning the business, launching the business, managing the business and growing the business.  Another article that I found is a step by step guide on starting a business.  Starting a business isn't for the faint of heart, it is a huge journey but in the end it can be the most rewarding experience.  To be your own boss is no easy task but there are resources out there to help entrepreneurs.

For the business plans these resources can be helpful by knowing tips on how businesses start. The SBDC website can be helpful because it provides help on all topics when it comes to businesses and entrepreneurships.  There are multiple resources and with business plans there are so many aspects to look at but the article I found seemed helpful because it starts at the beginning which are the ideas in someone's head. It also talks about a business plan and then step-by-step it goes through how to incorporate certain things at certain times. I can't wait to read what others have found to help develop our team business plans!

Works Cited:
“Small Business Administration.” Small Business Administration, www.sba.gov/.
Rivera, Andreas. “How to Start a Business: A Step-by-Step Guide.” Business News Daily, 7 June 2018, www.businessnewsdaily.com/4686-how-to-start-a-business.html.

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The SBDC National Information Clearinghouse serving the Small Business Development Center website is an extensive website dedicated to the development of small business. It is packed full of detailed information on multiple business models and types. In relation to our group project I searched for social media and internet marketing. The resulting page was a good starting point for anyone looking to use social media marketing. I checked out Google Analytics which is a free service Google provides to account holders.

The great thing about internet marketing is it more measurable than traditional marketing such as television or newspapers. Simply tracking how many users isn’t enough, but if you can determine age and location from Google that is extremely useful information (Su). Learning who your customers are and what their behavior is will continue to evolve and increase as more value can be measured from a business’s marketing expense.

Works Cited:

SBDC. Social Media & Internet Marketing. April 7, 2011. SBDCNet.            http://www.sbdcnet.org/industry-links/social-media-internet-marketing-links

Su, Bill. What is Google Analytics, and why is it important to my business? Medium.        May 16, 2017. https://medium.com/analytics-for-humans/what-is-google        analytics-and-why-is-it-important-to-my-business-8c083a9f81be

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For this week’s discussion, I found an article on the SBDC Website describing a new boot camp sponsored by the SBDC Network of Wisconsin and the Food Finance Institute (FFI). A federal grant of $100,000 was given to be used to advance the state’s small food and beverage businesses. The goal of these sessions is to “combine  industry-specific training, peer networking and one-on-one consulting to provide the tools necessary to build a more resilient food business (Specialized Training).” Sessions include such topics as how to develop a financial plan, create and understand proper financial statements, and optimize a business model. This program is designed to help young or new food business owners and farm businesses.

This site is valuable to us as we create our business plans because it offers learning resources for business fundamentals, management, and company ownership. These tools come in the form of online consultants or courses and in-person classes. It also provides a list of resources to help with just about any topic. Locations can be found across the state, with one being located right in La Crosse on Badger Street.

Works Cited

“Specialized Training to Optimize Growth, Resilience for Wisconsin’s Food and

Beverage Businesses.” Wisconsin Small Business Development Center,

https://wisconsinsbdc.org/news/specialized-training-optimize-growth-
resilience-wisconsin%E2%80%99s-food-and-beverage-businesses. 21 Feb.
2019.