HUUB

Market Research

Maximize your Google Grant in Three (Mostly) Easy Steps

Mastering P&L Magic for Small Business Success

The Beginner's Guide to P&L Statements

The Small Business Trifecta

Gathering Your People: Crafting a Diverse Video Content Strategy to Engage Your Target Market Across Social Media

Nonprofit 101 - Questions Answered for your Mission-Driven Life

How to DIY a Service Website to Get SALES (Not "Visitors")

Beyond the Contract - How to Create a Culture of Collaboration

The Secret of (Good) Marketing - Eliminate Brain Calories

The Sales Lead Black Hole: Mastering Lead Generation in the Digital Age

7 Right-Now Website Changes to Boost Your Response ASAP

W2 Employees vs. 1099 Contractors

AI/Automation in Small Businesses

The Domino Effect of Leadership

Do’s and Don'ts of Running a Nonprofit in 2024

Spring Cleaning Your Employee Handbook

Training Lab - TikTok

In this guide, we'll explore how adopting a new mindset can revolutionize your approach to selling and help you enjoy the process like a boss. From building genuine connections to showcasing your expertise, these tips will make you feel confident and authentic about your sales techniques.

This session provides clear frameworks, real-world examples, and expert insights to help you confidently assess your company's value.

5 Steps to Get Better Clients While Working LESS This Year

Gain insights from experts on navigating business tax planning and insights on key areas like changes in the tax landscape and deductions.

Any marketing video, regardless of its length, should include four central components. In this session, Steven Burkhart discusses each of these components and explains how you can combine them to create a compelling video script. Steven, has his own branding agency where he helps clients find their uniqueness and stand out.

Is your marketing strategy ready for the busy holiday season? Learn practical tips and tricks you can use to help you craft a next-level marketing strategy for the holiday season.

Learn to use Canva for captivating social media content that boosts your social media. Led by the Arizona Microcredit Initiative, this class teaches you the skills to create eye-catching visuals and engaging posts. Come with your business ideas, leave with shareable content!

People are expected to spend even more this year with a projected $1.77 trillion in sales. E-commerce spending is also expected to rise 10-15% in 2023, which would add an additional $278-284 billion in sales. If there’s ever been a time to sell your business’s products and services online, it’s now.

Recruiting for your small business can be challenging, and it can become even more demanding in the lead-up to the holidays. Join our webinar to discover three effective methods for enhancing your recruitment strategy, enabling you to attract top-notch employees.

Learn how to sell your products online. We'll walk through listing your products for free with Google Business Profile and Merchant Center. And we'll show you one way to sell on your website, using an E-Commerce store built with Shopify. Plus, learn about more helpful tools to stand out online, such as Local Opportunity Finder and Grow My Store.

In this workshop, we’ll:

Discuss the Products tab in a Google Business Profile

Introduce Google Merchant Center and the basics of creating a free  account and a product feed

Show you how to set up an E-Commerce website using Shopify

Kevin's Bio:With over 10 years of experience in Business and Marketing, Standing 360 is dedicated to helping grow brick-and-mortar businesses. With Professional 360 Photography to show transparency, getting a business on Google and Apple maps to ensure customers know how to get to your front door, and to make sure that the business's best foot is put forward for your future and current customers. We are a full-service Marketing Agency that helps small businesses out with their Websites, Google My Business, Yelp, Apple Maps, Street View Virtual Tours, and your Physical and Digital Marketing for small businesses.

If you’re a small business owner who needs to buy large equipment or real estate, there’s a smart financing option you may not have heard of: SBA 504 loans. These government-guaranteed loans only require 10% down and have low, fixed interest rates to reduce costs and worry. 

Join Scott Morris from Gateway Bank to learn:

The benefits of SBA 504 loans vs. other loans (including other options from the SBA)

Who is a good candidate

How these loans work

How to get SBA 504 financing

If you’re curious about bringing your existing business online, or you’re just starting a business and want to know where to begin, it all starts with a domain: your online address and home on the web.

In this session we’ll cover:

The benefits of owning a domain

Helpful web terms to know

How to get the most out of your domain

Kevin's Bio:With over 10 years of experience in Business and Marketing, Standing 360 is dedicated to helping grow brick-and-mortar businesses. With Professional 360 Photography to show transparency, getting a business on Google and Apple maps to ensure customers know how to get to your front door, and to make sure that the business's best foot is put forward for your future and current customers. We are a full-service Marketing Agency that helps small businesses out with their Websites, Google My Business, Yelp, Apple Maps, Street View Virtual Tours, and your Physical and Digital Marketing for small businesses.

Learn how, when, and why you should pay yourself as a business owner and how this investment can help your business grow.

Learn from an expert how to build a resilient business with the right relationships.

Discover the importance of government and corporate supplier diversity programs and how to get certified to get the most out of them. 

Learn how ChatGPT and other AI solutions can help streamline certain tasks, allowing you to focus on more productive tasks to grow a small business.

The second part of a 2-day workshop designed to provide an in-depth understanding of customer relationship management (CRM) systems and how they can be applied to small businesses.

Learn how to create a Google Business Profile that maximizes your digital real estate and attracts more online customers.

Discover the benefits of implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) system in your small business. 

Learn how to navigate the Choose Scottsdale HUUB and use it to grow your small business.

Learn hacks and tips for using Google tools to get work done faster and supercharge your business management when working on-site or remotely.

Learn about business development–what it is, what it isn’t, and some helpful tips on

using it to your advantage.

Learn how to identify and implement appropriate no-code/low-code tools to create processes, improve operations, optimize your marketing, and more. 

Learn the ins and outs of using Streak, a powerful workflow management tool that integrates with G-Suite and is controlled through your Gmail inbox.

Listen to, "SEO for Today's Modern Business"

Learn how to use powerful, actionable, and long-lasting SEO strategies to give your business an edge against the competition. 

Listen to "Launch Your Business with Customer-Focused Marketing"

The customer is key to your business. Kevin Frost is here today to talk about ways to perfect your process of marketing to customers. Kevin, the host of today’s session, Grow with Google: Launch Your Business with Customer-focused Marketing, gives insights on using the marketing funnel to help customers find and engage with your product or brand. He works with the marketing agency Standing 360 and has over ten years of experience in business and marketing.

Listen to, "Grow Your Business with AERO and the Arizona SBDC"

Small businesses need all the help they can get. Among the best resources they can use is one of several Maricopa SBDCs (Small Business Development Center) in the region. In this session, you’ll learn from CJ Johnson and Yolanda Facio about the local SBDCs and what they have to offer. CJ has been with the SBDC for three years and is a funding Outreach Specialist–part of a statewide team focused on helping local businesses get capital and become bankable. Yolanda is the SBDC’s AERO platform supervisor. She’s also been a business analyst with the SBDC and teaches small business studies at Glendale Community College.

Listen to, "Make Your Small Business More Accessible"

Accessibility is more important than ever for small businesses and their websites. In this session, Kevin Frost of Standing 360 marketing agency gives best practices for creating accessibility in digital and physical spaces, looking primarily at online accessibility. Expand your market and improve user experiences by implementing accessibility best practices. This is the first in a series of “Grow with Google” webinars planned for the next year.

Listen to, "HUUB Small Business Trends for 2023"

It’s a New Year with new challenges for Arizona entrepreneurs. In this session, five experts discuss trends that may impact Arizona businesses in 2023. Hear Eden Sunshine’s thoughts on business strategy, Alex Gambino’s take on SEO and social media, Jennifer Mansfield on good accounting practices, Gabriel Ortiz on digital marketing, and Sonja Talley on the latest HR trends.

When it comes to business sometimes, we’re too focused on the mechanics and not focused enough on a positive attitude and mind. In this session, Tara Brown teaches you how to recognize and achieve your real goals. She shares with you tips she teaches her clients to help them recognize worrisome patterns, ways to overcome fear, and ultimately become mentally stronger to win. Ivy-League educated, she is also a best-selling author.

Knowing how to create a business plan is important for entrepreneurs. In this session, Diana White, gives tips for creating powerful business plans. Diana is the President of D.E.W. Business Solutions, LLC,a consulting firm, and the Executive Director of Moonshot at NACET.

Are you using micro-habits? If not, it’s time to start.

Micro-habits can be a key component to success, in business and for your personal life. Often, starting a new micro-habit is as simple as making small shifts to your routine. Doing less of one thing, more of another. Or maybe taking a larger, more ambitious goal, (like starting a new workout regime), breaking it down into smaller, do-able steps you can achieve each day.

Building micro-habits can help you achieve your most important aspirations, help you develop discipline, build valuable skills and behaviors needed to succeed. Once you have a set routine for these tasks, i.e., the micro-habit has formed, it becomes exponentially easier to make real progress and achieve your goals, whether it’s for business or personal life.

Sure, creating new micro-habits can be a challenge at first, but once you know what you’re doing, incorporating them into your routine is an easy way to achieve lasting change and innovation.

Need to create a brand-new website or update your current site?

Having a well-designed website is essential for entrepreneurs in today's digital world. A professional web designer or web builder can help you create an effective, engaging business or personal website that not only looks good but has robust functionality to support your professional goals.

While 2023 may still be a couple of months away, tax season will be here sooner than you think! If you have tax questions, we have tax answers.

The fourth quarter is the time for some proactive tax planning to lower your 2022 tax bill. During this panel, we will review crucial tax planning moves that can help lower your total taxes owed and help you understand what you need to prepare for your annual filing.

Learn how to use Squarespace to quickly create an effective business website, also what elements your business website should include, and ways to build good SEO.

Inflation Reduction Act - What Small Business Owners Need to Know

Listen to, Build a Brand to Rule them All. Create better branding for your organization by understanding what branding is, how to tell your brand story, and the importance of strategy and technique.

Tune in to learn about Avondale’s plan for creating a sustainable and resilient city and how your business can gain an EDGE in the green economy. Shaped by community input, the City of Avondale has released a Draft Community Sustainability Plan with strategies to grow the green economy, accelerate clean modes of transportation, improve building efficiency and renewable energy, enhance resilience to extreme heat, ensure a reliable water supply, increase access to fresh food for all, leverage waste as a resource, and promote a healthy environment. Avondale is ripe with talent and innovation, with many businesses already taking action to operate more sustainably and reaping the benefits. You’ll leave this webinar with a better understanding of key climate risks our region faces and pick up some tips and tools to help you take advantage of sustainable opportunities.

Listen to: WordPress vs Shopify vs Squarespace. 

WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace are among the most popular web solutions available for businesses. Brenda Newhouse goes over the features and functionality of each web service to help organizations choose the right web solution for their needs. Brenda is a web consultant and strategist, who also teaches at Mesa Community College

Cutting EDGE. Leading EDGE. Avondale EDGE. We're here to help you find YOUR business EDGE! From concierge services and free online toolkits to networking events and industry awards, tune in to learn about all the resources at your fingertips, not just this month, but all year long!

Listen to, "Automate the Grind and Reclaim Your Time." Get insight into the mindset it takes to reclaim your time through automation. Learn where to start when automating tasks for your business, how to calculate the cost of the time you’re currently wasting, and some tools to help automate basic tasks.

In a time being dubbed as the “Great Resignation,” employees are leaving their jobs in droves. For small business owners, hiring and retaining employees is an important component of scaling their business. Small business owners must make smart decisions about hiring and learn new strategies to help them be successful in the process.

Whether you are just starting out and looking to grow your team or looking for a fresh perspective on how to approach hiring in today’s market, our panel discussion will provide candid insights about hiring from entrepreneurs just like you.

You’ll hear stories from other small business owners about the challenges they’ve faced, learn about how they were able to grow their teams successfully and leave with new tactics to help you as you grow your team.

It’s full steam ahead as Avondale builds upon the momentum from the last year. Join Mayor Weise as he shares highlights from 2021 that continue to drive success for our city today and into the future. Learn about private and public investments that support a vibrant local economy and a thriving business community. Q&A moderated by Kenneth Chapa, Economic Development and Tourism Director for the City of Avondale.

In this workshop, we will explain what Canva is and how it can be utilized by business owners and entrepreneurs for graphic design projects for all platforms! Canva is a very budget-friendly tool that everyone should be using now!

The City of Avondale, in collaboration with Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) and the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation, is excited to announce the new Avondale EDGE Culinary Scholarship!

This scholarship is for students who are pursuing degrees or certifications in Culinary Arts. Our goal is to create and maintain a strong culinary/hospitality workforce, as the industry was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. All current and prospective EMCC students can qualify for assistance with tuition, books, equipment, and uniforms.

As an Avondale business in the food and hospitality industries, we want to share this exciting opportunity with you to pass along to your employees seeking to further their education. The scholarship will be available for the Fall 2022 semester. With the deadline to apply quickly approaching, join this webinar to learn more about the scholarship; how use this as an employee attraction and retention tool; and current and future opportunities related to the Local EDGE HUUB platform.

Presenters: Paula Livingston, M.Ed. – Dean of Instruction and Occupational Education, Estrella Mountain Community College; Cheryl Covert, MBA – Assistant Director, City of Avondale

In this workshop with the East Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce & Gabriel Ortiz of Primero Negocios, we will cover the key reasons why a business needs to have a Business Plan, how to create one, and the difference between a Business Plan and Action Plan.

Listen to "Perform Better Under Pressure Toolkit"

Create your custom action plan to cut feelings of pressure and anxiety in high-stress situations with new stress management techniques.

As a business owner, it's vital for you to know where you can find answers and support in your community. The City of Mesa's Economic Development Department has been working hard to not only bring you access to resources but to also provide direct connections to organizations in your community that are also here to serve you.

Listen to, Stop Wingin’ It: How to Successfully Build a Systems-Driven Business. A systems-driven approach can create ease in hiring and training processes, more success in obtaining clients, and more efficient business operations internally and externally. Being systems-driven means that the business has adopted a culture that embraces the idea that the key to the success of the business is dependent on the quality of its systems and, in order to improve the business, it improves the systems.

Listen to, Homebuying for the Self-Employed. Buying a home can be difficult. Knowing what you need to qualify for a mortgage and what documents you need can be overwhelming. During this webinar, our expert will give you the knowledge and tools you’ll need to become a homeowner in the simplest terms. You’ll even get an exercise to practice to calculate your qualifying income.

Get insight into different tax planning moves you can take to lower taxes and set your business up for success in 2022.

Applying for loans isn’t always as straightforward as it seems. Listen to James Christensen give you insight into what banks are looking for on loan applications, how to pick the right lender, and tips for completing the application. James is the president of a local bank and is experienced with helping small businesses navigate finances.

When the digital landscape is oversaturated with advertisement and website copy, consumers begin to feel tired of seeing the same brand messaging over and over again. Listen to Jon Reyes share copywriting skills that will effectively persuade, convince and convert your target audience. Jon Reyes is a freelance copywriter with experience in advertisements, websites, and social media.

Having a clear brand voice, style and mission is the key to success. Listen to, "How To Stand Out Without Standing On Your Head" as Dennis Gable, walks you through tangible exercises of how to define your personal and/or business' brand identity and why it’s important to differentiate yourself from others. 

In a highly competitive market, creative problem solving can lead to business growth and fulfillment that you didn’t know could be achieved. Listen to “4 Unconventional Ideas for Making Business Better,” as website developer and expert business consultant Tanya Moushi gives you some out-of-the-box strategies that will help you innovate on your business practices. 

Design thinking is a methodology used to solve complex problems and a great strategy to use when innovating on your business and an existing service or product. Listen to, “Grow with Google: Design Thinking For Entrepreneurs,” with Gabriel Ortiz of Primero Negocios as he walks you through what design thinking is, the steps of this process, and how to apply it to your business.

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. With billions of monthly users, this platform is undoubtedly a powerful tool for small businesses. But in order to use it well, you need the right tips. Listen to, “Grow with Google: Use YouTube to Grow Your Business,” as Gabriel Ortiz of Primero Negocios takes you through the best steps you can take to build your YouTube presence.

The more we spend our time online, the more important cybersecurity becomes. According to Damilare D. Fagbemi, founder of Resilience Software Security, cyberattacks cost businesses $1 trillion every year. And nowadays, even small businesses — the backbone of our economy — are getting targeted by cyberattacks, in part due to their inability to handle them.

Listen to, “Why Cybersecurity Risk Matters for Businesses,” Damilare explained how to assess, prioritize and prevent risk.

Contracts are a powerful tool in the business setting. They can help you set expectations, take advantage of opportunities and protect you against risk. Knowing which ones you need and what they entail can help you run a more effective and protected business.

We invited Michele Leonelli and Mick McGirr of Phocus Law to help you understand some of the business contracts that you should consider creating. Listen now to get tips from their webinar, “Read This Before You Sign! The Essentials Of The Most Common Business Contracts."

If you ever look at the numbers behind your business and wonder what they all mean, Google Analytics may be the perfect tool for you. It can help you interpret and understand data, so you can make better decisions. And with the help of Gabriel Ortiz, founder of Primero Negocios, you navigate the tool well.

Listen to “Make Better Business Decisions with Analytics,” here are a few key definitions to understand:

Being a people-pleaser is natural. No one wants to cause trouble or get in trouble. But when pleasing the masses prevents you from being fully honest, all you’re doing is delaying the truth and your connection.

Managing what we’re saying — and tip-toeing around certain truths we want to omit — is stressful. And while honesty can also be hard, Chrisa Zindros Boyce fromHandel Grouphas tips to help you have more genuine conversations in your professional and personal life, so you can have better quality relationships.

Get the tips from her talk, “Art of Honesty - How To Have Difficult Conversations,” by listening now.

Your employees are your company’s key assets. Your business needs them present — both physically and mentally.

To help you reduce churn and increase productivity on your team, we invited Katherine Creed of C.T. & Associates to walk you through “Cost-Effective Solutions to Increase Employee Retention & On-the-Job Focus.” Listen to a summary of her talk.

Getting your local business to show up on Google search and Google Maps is key to gaining local leads or driving traffic to your store. And when you show up, you want your online presence to impress. Setting up your Google My Business profile can help you do both.

Listen to “Get Your Local Business on Google Search & Maps,” a webinar from Gabriel Ortiz, founder of Primero Negocios.

Creating a search-friendly website can help you take your business to the next level. And when your site is built to convert visitors too, rapid business growth may be in your future.

We invited Gabriel Ortiz ofPrimero Negociosto continue his lessons on improving your website with “Grow with Google - Make Your Website Work for You, Part 2.”

When you run your own business long enough, you’ll likely encounter at least one client who fails to pay on time. When clients don’t meet deadlines, legal contract clauses can protect your business from major losses.

We invited Tabitha Myers, managing attorney atMidtown Law, to guide you through seven key clauses you should include in your contracts.

Getting positive can transform your work life. It’s proven through the field of positive psychology. According to Shannon Dolan, CEO and founder ofHappy at Workouts, happy teams can help companies achieve three times their current revenue growth. But to effectively use psychology, you need to take a more intense, practical approach than just implementing yoga and meditation.

We invited Shannon to present her talk on “How to Survive (& Thrive) During Stressful Times,” so you can stay happy and high-performing no matter what you’re facing. She provided a number of happiness habits that can help you optimize your creativity, logic and talent.

You’ll learn about the three “dragons” you need to overcome to achieve more.

Setting up your business properly now can save you the headache of fixing mistakes later. And with plenty of resources available online, it’s simple to save your future self money and time.

On May 25, we invited Burt Skiba, founding partner at HPS Law Group, to provide “5 Online Legal Hacks Every Business Owner Should Know.” With his strategies and techniques, you can reduce the amount of attorney’s fees you pay as your business grows.

You’ve got a brilliant invention — great! But now, it’s time to build your business. To actually profit off your new idea, you need to protect your intellectual property, choose a business structure, and more.

Burt Skiba and Brint Hiatt, founding partner at HPS Law Group, offered their tips on “How to Build a Business Around Your Invention.” 

The City of Mesa is investing in a new business analytics tool that’s built for small businesses. SizeUp is an enterprise-grade tool that can help you understand your business performance, get to know the ecosystem you’re operating, and optimize your marketing budget — all without hiring an in-house business analyst.

On May 13, Mario Ubalde, director of customer success at SizeUp, provided a live demo of the business intelligence tool to help you navigate it.

With billions of searches happening every day, Google is easily a key place for businesses to advertise. Customers need your help, and if you can provide it, you can stand out.

We invited Gabriel Ortiz of Primero Negocios to help you learn the best ways to reach your target audience with Google.

Prepare su solicitud para el Fondo de Revitalización de Restaurante

A great brand can add immense value to your business. Add “Prada” to any purse and it may be worth over $1,000. While much of this value comes from marketing and product or service quality, legal strategy is also essential for helping you hone in on your brand equity.

We invited Clark Proffitt and Burt Skiba, founding partners at HPS Law Group, to discuss legal considerations you should keep in mind when building your brand.

Restaurants, bars, and similar businesses were some of the hardest hit businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they’re getting a chance to thrive again. The long awaited Restaurant Revitalization Fund is here to help businesses keep their doors open in the long term.

We invited Laura Suarez, program director at Prestamos Women’s Business Center, to walk you through “Preparing Your Restaurant Revitalization Fund Application.”

Your website is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your business goals. If you design it right, it can help you expand your reach and achieve the results you want.

We invited Gabriel Ortiz, founder of digital marketing agency Primero Negocios, to help you “Make Your Website Work For You.”

In business and in life, it’s always ideal to learn from others’ mistakes, rather than your own. Legal issues can be especially time-consuming and costly — and they can even cost you your business.

We invited Brint Hiatt and Clark Proffitt, founding partners at HPS Law Group to provide some case studies of real-life (anonymized) businesses that screwed up, as well as tips on how you can avoid the same mistakes.

Speaking about privilege can be uncomfortable. Still, its importance is immense. Only when by acknowledging the reality can we build better workplaces, improve society, and improve ourselves.

According to Tyreek Moore, president of diversity at Handel Group, you need to face discomfort to grow. With this summary of his talk, “Understanding Privilege,” you can start to have uncomfortable conversations that drive change.

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can help you level up your brand, copy and all your marketing channels. People love stories, and your ideal clients will flock to you if you offer a good one.

To help you build your storytelling skills, we invited Anebi Agbo, founder and CEO of Eikon Labs, to speak on “How to Engage Customers Through the Power of Story.” Get the essential tips from his talk, demo and Q&A now.

Service-based businesses are facing a new normal. Even as the world starts to open back up again, we’re continuing to accelerate into a digital-first world. In order to reach and exceed pre-pandemic levels of success, service providers must embrace new habits and understand their customers better.

We invited seasoned marketing professional Dorothy Wolden to provide her tips for marketing service-based businesses online.

According to Tom Bukacek founder and CEO of Sinova Solutions, most customers prefer video content. And nowadays, most online traffic is gained from video marketing, which boosts conversions, too.

The best part is, all you really need are a camera or smartphone, a tripod or stand, a quiet room and good lighting to make effective videos for your brand.

Here what you should know from Tom’s talk, “How To Effectively Use Video Marketing To Build Your Brand.”