The stats truly are mind blowing once you give your online and/or offline retail customers an option to space out their payments. The move for consumers since the beginning of 2020 has increased 230% while AOV (Average Order Value) typically increases 30-50%. So think about the number of items customers could add to their virtual or literal "cart" and maybe more will spring for those larger ticket items!

Here's a great article from Retail Brew on how it all breaks down. Klarna from what I've investigated is pretty robust and integrates well. Plus they're going from being fully online to in-store, so definitely investigate if a platform like them is right for your operation.

Yup, it’s true, most small business owners‘ financials are inaccurate and critical decisions are being made with them…here are two quick tips to focus on from our region's Cash Flow King, Larry Hebert. When it comes to bookkeepers it’s 💯 the right thing to do by spending a little $ each month for a pro vs a friend or family member who is winging it. Take it from Larry, it could be one of the best decisions you make (you’ll be seeing more of Larry in the future 👍).

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Are you considering "HIBERNATING" your business for the winter? Haven't heard the HUGE Instagram news OR curious about how to afford a cool-factor parklet OR want to grab some of CA's $500M Small Business Relief Grant money, then you're in the right place as we cover it all.

Watch our short and to the point "HIBERNATION" interview above or access our full interview directly below.  We have lots of details that take you behind the headlines so enjoy the episode!

Huge thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, the Santa Cruz County Small Business Development Center. If doing business in Monterey County, follow the link, but there are 17 spread across Norcal so tap AskSBDC.com to find yours.
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TIME STAMPS
1:05 Instragram Key Word Search News
3:38 How to Use Instagram Guides
4:44 How to Afford and Create Parklets For My Business
7:19 California $500M Small Business Relief Program
8:08 How to Hibernate My Small Business

ARE YOU CONSIDERING HIBERNATING YOUR BUSINESS?

Here's the full length walk through video interview with Larry Hebert, who has helps hundreds and hundreds of local businesses optimize their finances, cash flow and operations. Take it from him, here are the three steps to take before you make this IMMENSELY-IMPORTANT decision, that could potentially put you out of business if you're not careful.

BONUS: Download  Larry's Covid Cash Flow projection tool that will help you see financial hurdles weeks in advance.
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BREAKING NEWS: INSTAGRAM KEY WORD SEARCH LAUNCH

Here's a quick video explanation that accompanies the screen share I included in this episode that breaks it down...ultimately, Instagram has just become a search engine for all the content on its platform.  A little more work is involved, but because of that not everyone will take the time to wordsmith and SEO their posts. Throw in the secondary news on Instagram Guides and you can curate all things related to specific areas of your business.

ALL THINGS PARKLETS + SHARED SPACES

When it comes to parklets and shared spaces, they sure are expensive and in this business climate not everyone can afford the expense. Every city is different, but read this article that gives you some tips on resources to bring down the expense.

Our top 5 cities to check out parklets to get your creative juices flowing are: 1) San Francisco (everywhere, there are 300+), 2) Palo Alto's University Ave. District, 3) Carmel-by-the-Sea's Ocean Avenue, 4) Downtown Santa Cruz + 5) Los Gatos' Santa Cruz Avenue. PLUS check out this article to see SF Chronicle's TOP 11.

CA'S $500M SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF PROGRAM

Who knows how easy these programs will be to navigate, but the roll out sure got my attention. Here's the website to head to, to learn more, but pay SPECIAL attention to the alert boxes at the top of the page to learn more OR if you want the $25k grant details ASAP, here's the direct link to get alerts when it's launched.

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