Most small business owners have been hyper-aware of their financial position and bottom line during the pandemic. Some are looking for places to cut back with the least impact on their long-term growth. Others are looking for areas to invest in that will give the best return. Still, others are working on putting together a budget for their next fiscal year amidst all of this uncertainty. This session will give participants the tools to think through their business’s finances and the path forward.

What we will cover:

· Building a financial plan – set goals for sales and profit and measure success against those goals

· Creating a cash forecast that predicts future cash balances – knowing when cash shortfalls are predicted gives the business owner more time to adjust. Examine your spending with an eye on fixed expenses versus discretionary ones.

· Creating a dashboard of your important Key Performance Indicators – Even in good times, having a view of your business performance will help you address issues as early as possible.

Virginia SBDC Cybersecurity Advisor, Tom Stamulis, will discuss current threats impacting small businesses and the risks that could impact the operations of your business. He will introduce fundamental cybersecurity controls, which are in alignment with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMM) developed by the Department of Defense. He will provide instructions on how every small business can implement these controls using the people, processes, and technology they have in place.

Since, 2004, Cybersecurity Awareness Month has been a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure that businesses have the resources they need to protect their critical information. Over 3000, companies, schools’ governments and non-profits joined the 2020 campaign as Champions. Join us to learn how you can be part of the 2021 campaign and receive free resources to help educate your employees, customers, clients, vendors and partners about cybersecurity awareness.