Is 2020 the Year You Go Into Business?

Was your New Year’s Resolution to start your own business? January has come and gone and February is drawing to an end, too. Have you started your business yet? Statistically it’s likely that you haven’t, but why? Research has shown that Resolutions fail not because we’re all quitters but because of the way we design our resolutions. We make broad goals that feel too large and end up quitting.

So what should we do? Rather than tackle a large goal, like say “start a business,” make a smaller, more specific goal. If you’re in the 80% of Americans who have already abandoned your New Year’s Resolution don’t give up just focus on that first step. A good first step on the path to starting your own business is coming up with a business plan.

Don’t know anything about business plans? Don’t worry there are many good resources available for people who need help crafting their business plan. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has a helpful tutorial on writing a business plan on their website. The Denver Public Library allows all cardholders access to their Business Plans Handbook, which consists of a collection of business plans that will provide you with an example on how to write yours.

You can also participate in the SBDC’s many low-cost classes designed to help business owners in all stages of starting and running a business. Several of these classes focus specifically on getting started! You can find a list of all “getting started” classes on the Colorado SBDC website.

Colorado Safety Supply

Starting out as a dream in 2012, Valerie Boyd developed her knowledge and contacts within the safety equipment industry to move forward with confidence in 2014. Valerie started to make the dream a reality. Coming from a family working in the structural steel industry, Valerie’s top priority is to keep families safe by keeping workers safe. Colorado Safety Supply does just that, providing safety training and equipment for construction job sites. Located in Aurora, Colorado

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Meier Skis

“The whole idea is to keep it as local as possible,” says Matt Cudmore who started Meier Skis in 2009. “We emphasize home-grown, local wood and a product coming right out of Glenwood Springs.” Matt, who had been making skateboards for several years, began making the skis using primarily Colorado-grown beetle kill pine, working in a one-car garage. As the story goes, he gave up searching for “the next perfect ski” and decided to build

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Southern Ute Cultural Museum

Lynn Brittner, Executive Director, started planning the Southern-Ute Cultural Center and Museum over ten years ago. The Center’s opening this past May was her reward for years of dedicatedly holding the vision. Brittner’s relationship with the Southwest Colorado Small Business Development Center started way back at the beginning. She needed help and only had three staff. A grant from the Administration for Native Americans provided funds for her to take Board members to visit other

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Broken Arrow

Bob O’Borne was taught by his father at the age of 5 to shoot a long bow. When he was old enough, he harvested the mighty “Wapati” and joined the United States Air Force. He traveled around seeking out different animals with his bow until he settled in Colorado. Bob has always had a desire to own his own shop but did not have the time or opportunity. He believed, “You will never rise to

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American Wiping Rags, Inc.

Shelley McPherson will be the first to tell you that starting her own business from scratch was very challenging both mentally and physically. Even with Shelley’s past managing experience with a wiping rag business her father started in California, there were still challenges. Incorporating her dream of operating her own business with her desire to make a difference in the world through recycling led her to create a line of unique and practical products she

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Power to Play Sports

With completion expected in the spring/summer of 2016, Power To Play Sports brings the first-ever Events Center of its kind for youth basketball in northern Colorado. As the premier youth organization in the Rocky Mountain region with an established clientele reaching national participation, the venture brings northern Colorado to the forefront of family-destination. Established as a full-time corporation in 2008, PTPS has quickly raised the quality of youth basketball leagues, tournaments and developmental instruction throughout

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