Small Business Blog

5 Documents to Prepare for a Small Business Loan

Entrepreneurs must prepare five main documents before applying for a small business loan. These vary depending on the lender, the...

Venture School Winners | Spring 2015

Nine entrepreneurial teams graduated from Iowa Western’s first Venture School yesterday. Throughout the six week program, our teams...

Trade Secrets | Protecting Your Competitive Advantage

A trade secret is any confidential piece of information that provides your small business a competitive advantage over rivals. As such,...

Trademark vs. Copyright vs. Patent | Protecting Your Small Business Name & Logo

Multiple times per week, clients ask me how to go about protecting their business names, company logos, and catchy slogans. They...

Logos | How To Create a Logo for Your Small Business

As a small business, your logo is your main identifying mark. It portrays what you stand for as a company; is one of the first things...

Pricing Strategy | Higher Quality vs. Lower Price

Determining how to price your products and services is a tough decision all entrepreneurs face. Small business owners — especially those...

Value Proposition | Creating “Gains” From Customer “Pains”

This week, the Iowa Western Small Business Development Center staff spent time in Iowa City watching its Venture School kick-off. Iowa...