Finding Financial Resources

You have come up with a business plan for that burning desire to become your own boss and to release that creative drive that is within you.  You have spent several years working and reading books and going to school to gain expertise and experience.  You are now finally ready to start that business and look for funding.  You have gone to the bank and they have rejected you.  What do you do now?  Where do you turn?  How can you get help?  Your young, low-income, low wealth without good credit rating and you want to start your business in the community where you’ve grown up.

Well don’t give up.  You’ve come too far.  Did you know there are programs out there to help you in your situation?  In this article I will describe two such programs that will help you get the funds and support you need to make your dreams of being economically self sufficient become a reality.

The first program I will describe is called is the Opportunity Finance Network, www.opportunityfinance.net.  It is a national network of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) whose main purpose is to help low-income, low wealth, disadvantaged individuals who want to start businesses.  These private financial investors have given out more than 30 billion dollars to urban, rural, and native communities through 2011.

The second organization, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Coalition, www.cdfi.org, is the unified voice of CDFIs.  This organization does all they can to ensure the underserved get equal opportunity to resources.  CDFIs have helped thousands of businesses by providing:

·      Credit Unions

·      Community development loans funds

·      Training

·      Technical assistance

·      Retail banking services

·      Community development venture capital funds

These are just two resources that ensure that ambitious underserved entrepreneurs get equal assess to finances and support so they can fulfill their dreams of becoming economically self-sufficient.

Retrieved from http://www.opportunityfinance.net

Retrieved from http://www.cdfi.org

http://www.opportunityfinance.net

Mobile Marketing- Getting It Right

Mobile marketing is an area that is exploding on the scene.  Everyone has a mobile device and the implications for digital marketers coming out of school now can mean that you can be in great demand if you master this new technology. Some of the ways that mobile marketing can be used are still in the infancy stage. It is a new territory just waiting to be explored.  As a business entertainment student coming out with skills and knowledge on how to incorporate this into the marketing campaigns, you have no competition.

The mobile marketing association has teamed up with comscore to help identify the trends and habits of those who use these mobile devices so that marketers can take advantage of the opportunity to reach these customers,http://www.mmaglobal.com/mobile-barometer(MMA/Comscore, 2013).  They looked at five European nations to get demographic information on mobile users and here is what they found in the United Kingdom:

·      49.5 million of people have a mobile device.

·      33.9 million have internet access

·      45.4 million are sending text messages

So if you want to meet your target audience, you should be sending text messages to them on your mobile device.

In an article called, SMS Marketing: Guide To Get It Right by Michael R,  http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/sms-marketing-guidelines-to-get-it-right-35313/#more-3531/, he states 91% of Americans have their cell phone near them all day long.  What is going to be important is how to use this technology.  Just imagine students coming out of school now that have been taught the basics of the new technology.  You will be in demand like computer scientist were thirty years ago and still are today.

Now what do you have to do to get it right?  According to Michael R, :

·      Send customers promotions, coupons, or information that has value to them

·      Pay attention to “buying periods” for instance if you’re a nightclub, send a text about a special during happy hour or late night

·      Use sweepstakes to build your database

There are so many ways to incorporate SMS into your marketing campaign and graduates trained in digital marketing will have their choice of  jobs if they do!


MMA/Comscore Mobile Barometer(2013).  Retrieved From http://www.mmaglobal.com
M. R,( 2013, Aug 15).  Marketing Guidelines To Get It Right.  Retrieved from www.Mobile Marketing Watch.com