Kansas SBDC June 19, 2018 Leave a Comment

Cyber Security Training for Employees

In November of 2017 our HR director attended a local SHRM meeting. Brian Dennis with Kansas SBDC Cyber Security was there talking about cyber security and training. While our director shared what she learned, we set it aside. At this time, cyber security wasn’t on the top of our to do list.

Over the past several months sensing a growing number cyber attacks all around us, we began thinking about how we were going to get our team of 25 quickly up to speed. We needed training that was realistic and easy for our team to get behind that wouldn’t really interrupt our work. So we gave Brian a call.

After talking with him, we decided to use the online cyber security training from the Kansas SBDC.

We’ve taken the initial assessment and know our risk score. We’ll be rolling out the training soon to all of our employees.

Our goal is to reduce our risk, provide our people with effective training, and keep everyone focused on our business.

— Engineering Firm, 25 employees, Kansas

Why Kansas SBDC cyber security training for employees

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we break down the complexity of cyber security.

We make it possible for all businesses to reduce their risks in real time. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

We help business owners and decision makers faced with HIPAA and other regulations and businesses that need to comply with new NIST standards to continue doing business with the federal government.

Our clients include pharmacies, manufacturers, and business services. Our clients are trying to comply with regulations on their own so we assist them to ensure they are not only in compliance, but more importantly, pull together a manageable plan to protect their businesses.

Learn more about securing your business. kansassbdc.net/cyber

Contact: Brian Dennis | brian.dennis@ku.edu | 785-296-3331

Take the quick online assessment.

Kansas SBDC February 6, 2018 Leave a Comment

Kansas SBDC Cybersecurity

KANSAS SBDC CYBER SECURITY Our clients are often trying to comply with industry regulations on their own, including HIPAA and NIST cybersecurity framework standards.

THEY WANT help securing data, help developing information architecture, training on best practices, to reduce risk

WE PROVIDE evaluation of current practices, training, development of policies and procedures, and connect them with external providers and other resources they need to protect their businesses

THEY BENEFIT by connecting with the right resources for their needs – saving time and money

Our current clients include pharmacies, manufacturers, and business services.

Do you need help weighing your options? We invite you to contact a location near you when you are ready for assistance.

Business advising is confidential and at no cost to the owner. SBDC services are made available to you and your business by funding from the U.S. SBA, Kansas Department of Commerce, and university hosts and other partners. Curious? Read our FAQs.

So, how does this work?

First, to become a client, you sign up online. Next, a center rep near you will contact you to cover your next steps. Next steps may include an online assessment, training, or it may be a one-on-one meeting with a business advisor.

When you meet with a business advisor the advisor’s role is to listen to you and learn about your marketing challenges in a judgement-free environment. The advisor will ask about your goals, your needs, and your expectations. They’ll ask about the implications that your cybersecurity has on other aspects of your business. We know that cyber issue don’t exist on their own, so to really help your business, we like to look at the whole picture.

When you and your advisor agree on a plan of action, we’ll proceed.

What you might discover when working with the Kansas SBDC on cyber security issues

You might find that we work best as objective outsider that can be there to talk through ideas or to serve as a sounding board. Or you may need us to dig in and help you prepare or revise a business continuity or cyber security plan. Or you may find that you need us to get deep into the details and work together to develop strategies and tactics to test for your solution. Whatever approach works best for you, we’re here to assist.

If we discover that what you need is beyond our scope, we can refer you to cyber defense providers operating as other small businesses in Kansas. Even if we refer you to outside resources, you’ll find that we willing to be there to work with you as you implement new programs in your business.

Want to get started? Sign up online.

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Kansas SBDC January 18, 2018 Leave a Comment

Business Services in Kansas

Services

By guiding small businesses through our services including strategic planning, market evaluation, and more, our clients have reported a significant impact on their business in the form of profitable business expansion, increased sales, as well as job expansion and retention – outcomes that show in our clients’ success.

This year you can learn more about the services our clients use by typing in the service (i.e. market research) in the search box on any page of our website to connect with more stories and resources.

Some of the key areas where we consistently help our clients are the areas of marketing, business planning, and financial analysis. In addition to advising, we refer and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed. Our clients include business service providers, retailers, and others in business-to-consumer B2C and business-to-business B2B entities.

Any business can access any of our services no matter where they are located in Kansas.

Kansas SBDC Core Services

Marketing

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we help them get their hands around ‘all things marketing.’ We make it manageable for businesses to evaluate their advertising, promotion, and sales efforts.

Often our clients come to us looking for help with marketing choices and are frustrated with trying to evaluate options on their own. We help them weigh the options to make effective decisions that in turn can help their businesses succeed.

Business Planning

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we help them develop business plans that make sense. We help business owners that are expanding, reorganizing, or just starting.

Often our clients come to us looking for help with the idea of developing or modifying a business plan. We help them cut through the extras, dive deeper into the analysis, and focus on what they really need to develop a workable plan.

In addition to assisting with business plan development, we help with other organizational choices. Our goal is to make it manageable for businesses to evaluate their market opportunities, project cash flow, and leverage the right financing.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Business Planning

Financial Analysis

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we help them make sense of their numbers. We help business owners that are scaling up, reorganizing, or just starting.

Our clients come to us often looking for help with the data they need to be watching and what cash demand can mean to their business, . In other words, we help them focus on managing by the numbers instead of having them numbers manage them.

As the needs of small business owners have changed, we’ve kept our core services while adding specialized assistance to keep up with their needs.

The following are specialty services we offer at the Kansas SBDC. Advising is offered at no cost to the business. Fee-based consulting is offered for businesses that need a more hands on approach. In all areas we advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Financial Analysis

Kansas SBDC Specialized Services

Cyber security

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we break down the complexity of cyber security. We make it possible for all businesses to reduce their risks in real time. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

We help business owners and decision makers faced with HIPAA and other regulations and businesses that need to comply with new NIST cybersecurity framework and standards to continue doing business with the federal government. Our clients include pharmacies, manufacturers, and business services. Our clients are trying to comply with regulations on their own so we assist them to ensure they are not only in compliance, but more importantly, pull together a manageable plan to protect their businesses.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Cyber security

Technology Commercialization

For Kansas SBDC innovators, we break down the complexity of commercialization. We make it manageable for businesses to run their existing business while expanding through research and development. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed and ensure the engagement on both sides of the table is more productive.

We help innovators interested in working with the U.S. government and private enterprise by connecting the idea people with the people that need the ideas. Our clients include individual developers as well as industries such as biomedical, software development, and UAS. We help our clients make meaningful connections to take the next steps in commercialization.

Succession and Exit Planning

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we help them through the challenge of leaving their business. We make it manageable for business owners to evaluate their options with confidence.

We help business owners who are interested in selling their business to internal or external buyers. By working with owners on how to make the most of their business value, we address their retirement or exit financial needs, and plan for what happens after they sell. Our advising helps reduce the stress of the process.

Our clients include business owners in a variety of industries that want to transition their business to their children, to employees, or to partners as well as sell the business on the market to an outside buyer. Our clients are often unsure of what steps to take to make a smooth transition so we help them plan for a future with which they can be comfortable.

Exporting and International Business

For Kansas SBDC business clients we make it manageable for small businesses to thrive locally while expanding globally. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

We help business owners who are interested in expanding their sales to new overseas markets. They may just be trying to find buyers for their products or deciding on which markets to enter. Our clients include business services, resellers, and manufacturers. Business owners are often unsure about the processes, rules, and regulations as well as the time and effort it will take to explore new markets. We help them determine if and how exporting fits with their overall business, how to find the right markets, establish the right distribution chains, and price effectively to preserve profits.

Market Research

For Kansas SBDC business clients we break down the complexity of market research. We make it manageable for small businesses to stay focused on their current day-to-day operations while helping them develop plans for the future.

We help business decision makers from the operations, sales, or marketing side of business by finding the data they need to make critical marketing decisions. By providing our clients with research they can use, we help our clients break down the complex data into actionable information. Our clients often couldn’t afford extensive research and became overwhelmed when deciding what data to use. Using our research with our one-on-one advising we’ve helped our clients determine where to locate, which markets to pursue, and which markets to avoid.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Market Research

Strategic Planning

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we break down the complexity of strategic planning. We make it manageable for small businesses to stay focused on their current day-to-day operations while helping them develop plans for the future. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

We make it manageable by providing a customizable approach to fit their specific needs. Our clients include business service providers, manufacturing, retail, ecommerce, and high tech. Our clients come to us at a point where they need a team from the outside to provide a fresh look into their businesses. So we help our clients develop strategies they can live and work with while meeting their current obligations and future goals.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Strategic Planning