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How does it work?

CrimDell Business Counseling 

COVID-19 has had a severe impact on Williamsburg and the surrounding area. In partnership with the Hampton Roads Small Business Development Center (SBDC), students from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business are offering 10 hours of free counseling services to help. Your business has the opportunity to work directly with William & Mary’s student-run CrimDell Small Business Network to form plans and implement strategies to aid in recovery. Projects to be conducted can include cash flow analysis, digital marketing strategy, disaster relief loan navigation, reopening strategies, or other COVID related challenges. The process per project is below. 

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What is the process to get free business counseling?

  1. Fill up the 641 form at the Virginia SDBC website, specify “CrimDell Counseling”

  2. You will be contacted, and be virtually introduced to two CrimDell Business Analysts.

  3. First meeting: Learn more about your business and establish project focus and scope.
    a. Information from your business will be requested as needed.
    b. The business project outline is signed off on by an SBDC Official.
    c. Business Analysts will research and work on the deliverables.

  4. Second meeting: Updates on the progress of the project.
    a. Students will source data and information to finalize their recommendations.
    b. Final recommendation approved by an SBDC Official. 

  5. Third meeting: The business team presents actionable recommendations to you and outlines the next steps.
    a. All the material will be sent to you.
    b. We will ask you to fill a feedback survey so we can learn how to improve our services!

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Confidential - All our clients, their businesses, and related information are kept strictly confidential.

We will not sell or provide your information to anyone without your permission.

Free - Our business counseling services are provided free of charge to businesses and entrepreneurs

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

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What is CrimDell SBN & Virginia SBDC Network?
CrimDell SBN is a William & Mary student-run consultancy. We are a non-profit organization that was created to help small businesses navigate challenges, from the impacts of the pandemic and beyond. In partnership with Hampton Roads' Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and William & Mary's network of faculty and experts, we offer free business counseling services to small business owners in the Greater Williamsburg Area (Virginia).


Hamptons Road SDBC is part of the Virginia SBDC Network, the largest and most effective provider of customized counseling and education for small businesses in the Commonwealth.

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What is the timeline and time commitment?

The total project will take 10 hours to be completed over a two-week period, including meetings with you and research conducted by the CrimDell Business Analyst. We expect to have 2 to 3 meetings (1 hour each) with you.

 

What type of projects do you work on?

CrimDell Business Analysts have different professional backgrounds. We will allocate the team according to their skills and your specific need. Some of the projects we worked on in the past are:

  • Market Research: Improve knowledge of your industry, market, and customers through outreach and surveys.

  • Marketing: Learn how to use traditional and digital marketing to attract more customers, including ads social media, and eCommerce.

  • IT Counseling: Find the right way to use IT to optimize your business operation and marketing.

  • Strategy Counseling: Design and launch key initiatives to help take your business in new directions.

  • Financial Services: Get hands-on guidance with financial analysis, research on loans, and pricing tools.

  • On-Demand Services: We work according to our customers' demands. We understand our clients' needs and come up with a tailored solution.

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