The "Small Business and Side Hustles" newsletter connects you to Library and community resources and programs to help you start or build your business! In November, we're thinking about "Black Friday" and how you can leverage it and other big shopping days this holiday season to boost your retail sales.
What deals are you offering at your small business? Are you offering your products for sale online? Are you promoting your small business during Small Business Saturday?
Learn how to build a small business website with Shopify or start a side hustle by selling on Amazon or Etsy. We also have some community partners offering some great workshops for anyone thinking of starting up a new business!
Holiday Shopping Days, Explained
The phrases "in the black" and "in the red" are used in the business world to describe profits and losses. The growth in sales was not always the case on that day and the phrase had a different meaning in the 1950s...
According to dictionary.com, factory managers first started referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving as Black Friday because so many of their workers decided to falsely call in sick, thus extending the holiday weekend. Now, Black Friday is described as the day stores begin to turn a profit for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States.
Small Business Saturday was founded by American Express in 2010 and officially cosponsored by the Small Business Association since 2011. It has become an important part of the busy shopping season for small business owners.
Cyber Monday is an e-commerce term referring to the Monday following the Thanksgiving weekend. The term Cyber Monday was coined in 2005 by Shop.org, the online arm of the National Retail Federation.
#Books We Recommend
Small Business Revolution by Barry McCarthy
This book offers listeners the opportunity to learn how to grow and thrive in their business in any environment, from a booming economy to a post-pandemic marketplace. Whether you're just starting to plan your new business or you are a seasoned veteran in the small business trenches, you'll discover a wealth of information to help you structure your business to reach customers, find talent, understand finances, and so much more.
The Small Business Bible by Steven D. Strauss
A comprehensive, easy-to-read, A-to-Z library of everything a small business owner would need to know about starting and succeeding in business. Discover candid advice, effective techniques, insider information, and success secrets to boost your confidence. This updated edition is even more accessible, with easy-to-follow information from starting, running, and growing a business to new chapters on green business practices, technology tips, and marketing tools.
Invent and Wander: The Collective Writings of Jeff Bezos With an Introduction by Walter Issacson offers listeners a "master class" in business values, strategy, and execution. Each insight offers new ways of thinking through today's challenges (and more importantly, tomorrow's). Everyone from CEOs of the Fortune 100 to entrepreneurs just setting up shop to the millions who use Amazon's products and services in their homes or businesses will come to understand the principles that have driven the success of one of the most important innovators of our time.
Amazon FBA: Learn How to Sell on Amazon FBA and Start a Profitable and Sustainable Online Business Today by Aaron Michael
Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) is the amazing service the world's biggest online trading company uses to daily send products to millions of customers around the world. What few know, is ordinary people wanting to start their own profitable online business can piggyback on this finely-tuned sales machine. This book explains how.
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#Courses We Recommend
43 Ideas for Starting a Side Business
In this course, Dana Robinson, a serial entrepreneur and attorney, shares 43 ideas for making additional income. Ideas include: "Sell something on Etsy" and "Sell on Amazon store, FBM, or FBA."
Building a Small Business Website with Shopify with Carrie Dils
Do you have a small business that you’re looking to take online? Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the world, powering over a million businesses in more than 175 countries. Learn how to plan, design, build, and open an e-commerce website using Shopify.
Workshops & Opportunities
So you have an idea for a business. What’s the first step? Join us for How to STARTUP Your Own Business: Tuesday, November 14 @ 2-4 p.m., Main Library.
Take the idea that has been forming in your head and see if you can turn it into an actual business. In this mini-workshop, we'll go over business concepts and discuss the steps to a successful start. Learn vital networking and business development skills with UNF Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Workshops are followed by a one-hour Popup Shop with the SBDC staff where one or more of their expert business advisors will answer your small business questions on the spot!
JSEB Equal Business Opportunity Forum Kickoff Event: Thursday, November 16 @ 6-8 p.m., Main Library Conference Center
"The City of Jacksonville Equal Business Opportunity Office is committed to empowering the city’s small business community through its educational initiatives, community engagement goals, capital access program, and the growth of contracting opportunities. The Jacksonville Small and Emerging Business (JSEB) team is eager to hear from Jacksonville’s small business community on ways to better support and serve the local businesses of this great city!” - Gregory Grant, EBO/JSEB Administrator
Are you ready to become an entrepreneur? Join us for Entrepreneurship Basics with EY on January 23 at 6 p.m. at West Branch Library.
Measure your entrepreneurial mindset! Learn the basics of what entrepreneurship is and activate your inner entrepreneur in this free one-hour workshop.
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