It's been a while...
Our first meeting took place on Feb. 6, 2018, and we had to push several tables together to fit everyone. The group grew quickly with standing room only at many of our meetings!
A lot of things have changed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Although we are not meeting in person at this time, I am working on some exciting new initiatives and partnerships, and can't wait to share them with you. One initiative is to develop an advisory board so that more of you can be involved in the direction of the group. No major commitment required. If you are interested in more information, please let me know.
A little self-promotion
**I would not be promoting my business in this update if I didn't believe that we can help your business overcome some serious pandemic related challenges**
Bustle & Grow has been providing virtual services for years, so when the business world changed drastically because of COVID-19, we were ready to help our clients. We have heard from many businesses about the good and the bad, and we are grateful for the opportunity to help them. My team remains committed to helping you grow your business and having a positive impact on our local economy. Feel free to reach out if we can be of service bustleandgrow@gmail.com.
Our website got a makeover
A lot of things have changed since we launched our website and we are loving our new look and enhancements. You will notice a small business news section by Bustle & Grow where we post helpful information that is applicable to small businesses. Since Bustle & Grow hosts and maintains our site, it made sense to merge the two. Check it out... same address! sacopeevalleynetworking.com
COVID Funding
There's still time to apply for COVID relief funding for your business, including those who are self-employed. Before you assume you won't be approved, or that it is too confusing of a process, give it a try - it's not that scary!
Here is an overview of the options.
Stage 3 Reopening Important Info
Is your business part of the stage 3 reopening plan?
The Maine SBDC, in partnership with the University of Southern Maine, has developed the Small Business COVID Crisis Survey. The goal of the survey is to help us better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses throughout Maine.
They need to hear from business owners, like you, to better understand your challenges and needs going forward. Your feedback will help determine future programming and service offerings.
Just because you are not doing business the same way, or have tons of people coming into your store, doesn't mean that you should take the entire day off!
There is always something that you can be working on to help your small business. Every little thing you do is just one small piece of a bigger puzzle. We've come up with 20 things you can do today that will help your business tomorrow. Here's a link to the full infographic.
Remember: what would your boss say? ;)
I hope to see you again (in-person) soon... please feel free to reach out if I can help!
Stay well,
Cristina
