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We are the Southern Colorado SBDC

Meet Our Clients

Entrepreneurialism entails ups, downs, and every emotional state in between. We see it every day, and we have found that persistence, education, and network development always plays a role in entrepreneurs growing into established successful companies.

Since our inception, we have seen thousands of entrepreneurs launch successful startups, expand existing businesses, or return a business to profitability. Here are a few clients who have shared their stories with us

Regan Young (LCSW CACIII) – has always had a passion for helping people through trying times. Her business, A New Leaf Therapy, is a leader in creating a safe place for healing mental wellness for our families and community members. From EMDR light therapy to play therapy for kids, Regan and her amazing team at A New Leaf Therapy truly empower Southern Coloradans to turn over “a new leaf” of consciousness and gain real tools for navigating life. But once the COVID-19 crisis arose, Regan knew she had to be resilient and shift her business model. They began promoting their already existing telehealth program.

 

“Telehealth is basically like a HIPAA secured FaceTime where you can meet with a therapist from the comfort of your home through your computer, tablet or phone.”

 

A New Leaf takes a variety of insurance including Medicaid in order to be as inclusive as possible. Regan understands that not every business owner can pivot their business model like A New Leaf Therapy was able to. Regan has been a client of the Southern Colorado Small Business Development Center since 2017 and has taken advantage of free one-on-one business advising, business workshops, networking events and more. She recommends every business owner, whether just starting out or existing, utilize the resources of the SBDC network.

 

“My heart goes out to all the other business owners out there. It’s a difficult time. I think my advice is to try to remember the big picture. This won’t last forever. Hopefully we’ll eventually be able to see the opportunities that this might bring. In the meantime, self-care is key and trying to focus on the gifts that this time gives us. It’s a break from the daily grind. And hopefully things will go back to normal soon. I hope to be able to look back on this time and be glad for how I spent it and the things I accomplished that I normally don’t have time for, like updating all my employment paperwork. And I’m grateful for organizations like the SBDC and the support they offer us right now.”

 

Southern Colorado SBDC Success Story 

March 17th, 2020

 

(Photo credit to Canon City Daily Record)

 

A community college instructor and his team have launched an open learning management system, Blickel. Now, it will assist educators who are being affected by the COVID-19 (Corona) Virus.  Like an increasing number of educators across the country, Math Instructor Gregory Carlson’s classes were moved online.

 

Blickel is an open learning management tool that allows anyone to create and share interactive educational, individualized content.  Blickel includes privacy features that can be utilized by a single teacher or an entire school district to ensure that only the teacher can follow the individual student’s progress in real time.

Carlson said his team is taking timely action to offer relief for his fellow teachers. “We are making Blickel available to instructors for free for two weeks after they create their account, followed by a low $25 monthly fee for the rest of the school year which will enable them to create an unlimited number of student accounts.”

 

In 2018 Blickel formed, and since their initial formation, they have gone through multiple transformations and pivots. They started the business by building on their extensive software, coding and technical knowledge, and believed they would be able to make a better product offering than current micro learning solutions. Now in 2020, the platform has released a full scale launch and they have begun to reach their target markets of traditional, non- traditional students, community groups/nonprofits, government and businesses who need to deliver digital lessons. 

 

“We use the business advice and the one on one counseling that SBDC offers. They have given us an individualized look and series of steps based on where our business is currently and where it is going.  SBDC has treated us as if they also have a stake in the success of our business,” commented owner Gregory Carlson. “SBDC has helped us remain focused on the tasks that we need to complete immediately to ensure the growth and sustainability of our business. SBDC has improved our day to day business by helping the team plan effectively and by checking in on us to make sure that we are meeting the appropriate deliverables and are on track. We have learned that the promotion, pricing, and distribution of a product is as important as the actual product itself.”

 

Blickel itself is unique as a platform mainly for its incredible interactivity.  Blickel can measure learner’s progress through every step of the educational journey.  Learners can also take diagnostic tests and quizzes that can give them a road map before they even begin learning, either to reinforce what they already know or to begin at their level.  While some software offers something like this, Blickel can break it down to the individual question, and it works even if teachers have created their own content! 

While Blickel has a dedicated team of software engineers, one area of expertise that the team did not have was business skills, including communication, budgeting, planning, and marketing. 

We would encourage other companies to remain honest about their weak points and their blind spots.  We have gained greatly from being able to talk to the experienced business advisors of SBDC who are able to see a broader picture and help us escape from the day to day software technical difficulties that can quickly consume all of our bandwidth if left unchecked.  We are grateful for their advice and look forward to continuing to work with them.”

 

 For more information, visit www.blickel.com or see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geFdaavPz6o

Want to share your story?

​Share your success story with us and we will do everything we can to get them into business community. Our partnerships with business community, academic world, and media are always looking for the next great entrepreneurial story. Tell us your story and see what happens.

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