Building strong credit is a foundational step toward financial stability, access to affordable financing, and long-term growth opportunities.

In this session, we walk through clear, practical steps to help you understand how credit works and how to fix common issues so you can pursue your personal and business goals.

This webinar explains personal and business credit scores and reports and breaks down real-world strategies small business owners can use to improve credit, correct common report errors, and prepare for future funding. We’ll connect credit habits directly to loan readiness and explain what lenders look for in your applications.

Learn:

• What credit is, how personal and business credit differ, and why both matter.
• How the three major credit bureaus collect information and calculate scores.
• How to access, read, and monitor your personal and business credit reports .
• How to identify and dispute errors using your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

This session the first step in a program that is ideal for business owners and entrepreneurs who want to take control of their credit before applying for loans. To participate in the program you must schedule a 1:1 advising session after viewing.

Brought to you by Capital Pathways, a no-cost program from the Virginia SBDC that helps small businesses get the funding they need to grow. The program is designed for very small (fewer than 10 employees), emerging, and growth-ready businesses that face challenges accessing traditional financing. It offers hands-on group learning, guided implementation, and extended one-on-one support focused on strengthening your finances, loan applications, and legal setup.

QuickBooks can make running your business easier—once you know how to use it. In this hands-on session, we walk through how to get started in QuickBooks and set up your system to track your income, expenses, and invoices the right way from the beginning.

Learn:

• How to navigate QuickBooks and choose the right version
• How to connect your bank account and categorize transactions
• How to create a chart of accounts tailored to your business
• How to record expenses, send invoices, and run basic reports
• What to do each week/month to stay on track

This session is best for small business owners who are new to QuickBooks or want a reset on how it’s set up.

Brought to you by Capital Pathways, a no-cost program from the Virginia SBDC that helps small businesses get the funding they need to grow. The program is designed for very small (fewer than 10 employees), emerging, and growth-ready businesses that face challenges accessing traditional financing. It offers hands-on group learning, guided implementation, and extended one-on-one support focused on strengthening your finances, loan applications, and legal setup.

Building strong credit is a foundational step toward financial stability, access to affordable financing, and long-term growth opportunities.

In this session, we walk through clear, practical steps to help you understand how credit works and how to fix common issues so you can pursue your personal and business goals. This webinar explains personal and business credit scores and reports and breaks down real-world strategies small business owners can use to improve credit, correct common report errors, and prepare for future funding. We connect credit habits directly to loan readiness and explain what lenders look for in your applications.

Learn:

• What credit is, how personal and business credit differ, and why both matter
• How the three major credit bureaus collect information and calculate scores
• How to access, read, and monitor your personal and business credit reports
• How to identify and dispute errors using your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

This session the first step in a program that is ideal for business owners and entrepreneurs who want to take control of their credit before applying for loans. To participate in the program you must schedule an intake call for our one-on-one advising by emailing us at capitalpathways@virginiasbdc.org

Brought to you by Capital Pathways, a no-cost program from the Virginia SBDC that helps small businesses get the funding they need to grow. The program is designed for very small (fewer than 10 employees), emerging, and growth-ready businesses that face challenges accessing traditional financing. It offers hands-on group learning, guided implementation, and extended one-on-one support focused on strengthening your finances, loan applications, and legal setup.

The Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) offers several funding programs to assist the Virginia travel industry.

This webinar focused on the Marketing Leverage Program grant, for travel industry partners including small businesses, DMOs, private sector attractions, accommodations, museums, lodging and events – which opened in mid-February 2026. Staci Martin, VTC Grants Director, provided a deep dive into this program.

Tune in for a better understanding of:

• the program
• the marketing focus
• who is eligible
• in-kind and cash management requirements
• timelines and deadlines
• and how to apply

An informational session – including Q&A – discussing the disaster recovery process following Hurricane Helene.

Carl Knoblock, District Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration

• provides an update on the current status of recovery efforts,
• explains what contractors and construction workers need to do to work on cleanup projects with FEMA (including the requirement to register in Sam.gov),
• and shares tips for small businesses that have lost sales or food inventory on how to begin valuing these losses for proper documentation.