News and Media

Make the Connection Between Employees and Prospective Employers

Monday, January 30, 2023

Quality, engaged employees are one of the engines that put life into a small business. Finding those individuals is often an extremely difficult and time-consuming task for owners and human resource managers. What’s Next CEO is a new resource in Washington County for business leaders to find or train employees. Additionally, residents looking to enter the workforce can get access to organizations that can help them expand their skills or advance their careers. Connecting employers with prospective employees What’s Next CEO has a resource database that specializes in assisting small businesses with their workforce needs. These organizations provide direct job placement service...

Be Part of the Collective Strength of What’s Next CEO

Monday, January 23, 2023

Being a small business owner or entrepreneur can feel like a lonely, overwhelming cause at times. The Washington County Community Development Agency’s new program - What’s Next CEO - offers business executives critical support with the tools, resources and opportunities necessary to run a successful company. Leadership across companies operating in the Twin Cities East Metro region can benefit from the collective knowledge gained by others over years of experience in various disciplines. View our diverse partners available to offer their expertise now, from resolving supply chain bottlenecks to developing consistent streams of quality workforce sources. What’s Next CEO is her...

Comparative Analysis: Where Does Your Business SizeUp?

Monday, January 16, 2023

If information is power, then SizeUp is the most powerful tool your business needs! SizeUp is a free business intelligence tool available with What’s Next CEO to help business leaders make smarter decisions. Having difficulties finding suppliers to complete your operations and customers for your finished product? SizeUp will provide maps of each. Trying to understand the impact of potential competitors in a new sector you may be interested in pursuing? SizeUp will not only locate them but can benchmark how your business would stack up against them. Put SizeUp to Work for Your Company SizeUp can also help identify the bes...

Hiring? You May Qualify for the Worker Opportunity Tax Credit

Monday, January 09, 2023

The Worker Opportunity Tax Credit allows businesses to reduce their tax liability by up to $9,600 per new hire, regardless of the size of the business, as long as it is for-profit. Workers qualify even if they are part-time or seasonal. There is no limit to the number of new hires an employer may claim in a calendar year, so this can save your business a lot of money if you’re in the hiring phase. Worker Opportunity Tax Credit: How to Apply To apply for the Worker Opportunity Tax Credit, you’ll need to meet the IRS 28-calendar day filing deadline from th...

How to Register with SAM.gov & Pursue Government Contracting Opportunities

Tuesday, January 03, 2023

Registering for SAM.gov is one of the first steps a business must take to pursue government contracts. There are contracts released through this platform for all types of government agencies, ranging from small one-time procurement opportunities to multi-year contracts. Washington County businesses can use this opportunity to grow and we encourage you to do so. How to Register with SAM.gov While there are a lot of questions to answer to finish the registration, it is definitely worth the time and effort if you get a government contract. Before registering, watch this video to learn what to expect so you can gather th...

How to Find Solutions to Supply Chain Challenges

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Supply chain challenges are impacting businesses in Washington County and throughout the world. Locally, we are fortunate to have an ecosystem of local companies who can sometimes step in to fill supply gaps. Through What’s Next CEO, we hope to connect business owners to solve this issue further. In addition, organizations like the SBA have put out information on resources and tactics that can help to shore up supply chains. In “The Bottom Line: Finding Solutions and Navigating Supply Chain Challenges,” representatives from the SBA and local businesses discuss some of the best practices they are seeing for solving supply chai...

Don’t Go into 2023 Without Considering These Small Business Trends

Monday, December 19, 2022

It’s difficult to understate all the changes the business landscape has seen in the past few years, and yet entrepreneurs have responded with incredible adaptability. Perhaps that is one of the biggest reasons small business owners are optimistic about the future. In fact, 66% expect revenue increases and more than half plan to expand their business in 2023. Click here for the complete article.

SBA Announces End-of-Year Capital Benchmarks Showing Historic Support for Small Businesses Under Administrator Guzman

Monday, December 19, 2022

Agency provided nearly $43 billion through small business capital programs in Fiscal Year 2022, 504 Loan and SBIC programs reached historic funding levels and small dollar and export loans increased as Administrator advanced reforms to close capital access gaps for underserved communities. Click here to view the complete article.

Tips from Lawyers on Buying or Selling a Business

Monday, December 19, 2022

The SBDC’s video titled “Realizing the Dream: M&A Under $100k,” showcases law professors discussing how to help entrepreneurs buy or sell a small business and how they have structured the deal. “Small business deals can sometimes be more complicated than mergers of large corporations,” said Tom Sharbaugh, Director of the Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic at Penn State Law. “There are a lot of deals under $100,000, such as selling a barber shop or a restaurant and these entrepreneurs typically can’t afford to hire a full suite of accountants to complete audited financial statements, for example. In fact, we often see employee...

U.S. Small Business Administration Announces Strategic Alliance to Support Small Business Exporters

Monday, December 19, 2022

“SBA’s new agreement with BAFT recognizes the impact and ingenuity of our small business exporters and the important role our lending partners play in funding their growth,” said Administrator Guzman. “Our joint efforts to increase resources to BAFT members and grow the number of lenders offering SBA international trade products will expand access to capital. By doing so, this work helps deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to create opportunities for small businesses, and strengthen our economy for all of us." Click here to view the complete article.

New Growth Loan Fund Supports Washington County Entrepreneurs

Monday, December 12, 2022

A new loan fund is available for Minnesota's entrepreneurs - the Growth Loan Fund. “Minnesota was recently named by Startup Genome as the 4th top emerging startup market in the entire world,” said Commissioner Steve Grove. “If you look at the ecosystem here, the proximity to the Fortune 500 market, the access to talent we have - this makes us an incredible place to start a business. But getting the capital you need to get moving can be challenging. That’s why we have launched the Growth Loan Fund.” The fund provides loans directly from DEED to innovative technology businesses that hav...

Join other small business owners at the What’s Next CEO Roundtable

Monday, December 05, 2022

Challenges and issues arise for small businesses on a seemingly daily basis. Nothing helps those running these businesses as knowledgeable peers who ‘have been through it before.’ Fortunately for those in Washington County, What's Next CEO Roundtable offers exactly that helpful forum. What’s Next CEO Roundtable is a professional business meeting between peers - not a networking event. The group will consist of individuals responsible for the whole operation of a business with annual revenue between $500,00 and $5 million. Participants will be able to have open, confidential discussions in a secure environment to exchange information and ideas on concerns, problem...

News and Media

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3rd

2.9%

14.8%

News and Media

Why Washington County?

3rd

3rd

2.9%

14.8%