YOU ARE AT / DISCOVERY CALL HUB
Thank you for requesting no-cost/confidential consulting services from the Widener University Small Business Development Center (SBDC)!
To prepare for your discovery call, please be prepared to discuss the four questions below and use the buttons to find a brief introduction to our capabilities/limitations, request free resources, and learn about funding assistance :
Discovery Call Preparation
In preparation for your discovery call, please answer the following questions:
1. What is the current status of your business?
2. Over the next three months, what are your three (3) biggest objectives for taking your business to the next level?
3. How can the SBDC assist you?
4. Use the Growth Wheel and identify the 3 biggest challenges that your business currently faces.
Resources
Guides and Resources for Immediate Assistance
We know that you are eager to start working on your business. As a result, we have prepared several downloadable resources to help you chart your path. Please use the form below to click on the resource guide you would like to receive. If you select multiple guides, you will receive separate emails with each.
Widener SBDC Capabilities
Our mission is to help small businesses start, grow, and prosper. Our services are offered at no-cost to you and provided under total confidentiality.
We assist entrepreneurs by offering one-on-one consulting services and delivering educational training programs. The SBDC will work with you to build knowledge and management skills to overcome the challenges that arise in your small business. While we can guide you through these issues, it is ultimately your responsibility to accept and implement the recommendations. Some common challenges that we guide entrepreneurs through are but not limited to:
- Starting a Business
- Loan Preparation
- International Trade
- Business Planning
- Social Media
- Government Procurement (APEX)
- Website Building & Updates
- Financial Projections
- Environmental Management (EMAP)
Our Limitations
Working with the SBDC will not guarantee business success or outcome achievement. We also do not have funds to loan or grant.
We will not: Negotiate on your behalf, Write your business plan, Act as an employee of your business, or Provide legal/accounting services.
Our Team has worked with many business owners in the community over the years. We’ve found the best engagements – with the best outcomes, are ones where the client drives the engagement.
Ultimately, we recommend an 80/20 expectation in that 80% of the work will need to be completed by the client and 20% by the consultant. This is due to the fact that business success can ultimately only come from the business owner, and our team strives to support and guide the owner as best we can. Please keep this in mind as you begin your consulting engagement with us!
Our Procedures
In order to ensure you receive the best path of assistance, we start all of our engagements with a discovery call to learn about your business, needs, and status to define your path to success – in addition to answering any initial questions that you may have. You will then be assigned to a consultant in our office who will work with you on the challenges discussed during the call. Your primary consultant may loop in other team members if an issue arises that falls outside their scope of knowledge.
Please be aware that all of our consultants have a lengthy book of clients and make a good faith effort to get back to you as quickly as their schedule allows. You are always able to reach out to wdsbdc@widener.edu or call 610-499-109 to relay your message to our internal team or reconnect with a consultant.
Consultants will provide guidance and recommendations on how to advance in your business but they will not chase you down to ensure that you’re following through on your next steps. Once you’ve completed the next steps discussed, you must notify your consultant to see if/what the next steps are.
Funding Opportunities
While we can’t provide any funding, our center is strongly connected with local bankers and organizations about external funding opportunities for our clients. We have specific consultants that can help prepare you for connecting with these funders, however we do not guarantee funding. Please be aware that funding for start-ups is very difficult to come by and rarely available. While we try our best to stay on top of pre-venture funding opportunities, programs change very rapidly and may not be available at the time of your need.
We try to stay aware of local grant opportunities and notify our clients by updating our funding & resources page: https://widenersbdc.org/funding-government-resources/. Other sources we recommend are: https://grants.gov/ & https://helloalice.com/funding/grants/.
If you become aware of a grant funding opportunity that you would qualify for, we are happy to discuss the application process with you. However, we require that you express interest in a specific grant opportunity.
