Sponsor Terms

1. What You’re Buying

A Featured listing in the Small Business Services Directory — a members-only resource MySMBU subscribers use when they’re ready to hire a service provider.

What it is not: an advertisement network, a lead guarantee, or an endorsement by MySMBU. Read Section 8 before you pay us anything.

1A. Categories & Capacity

The Directory launches with 10 service categories:

Category	Related Community Topic
Accounting & Bookkeeping	Finance & Cash Flow
Tax Services	Finance & Cash Flow
Business Financing & Lending	Finance & Cash Flow
Marketing & Advertising	Marketing & Sales
Web Design & Development	Marketing & Sales
Business Law & Contracts	Legal & Compliance
HR & Payroll	Operations & Hiring
Business Insurance	Operations & Hiring
IT & Cybersecurity	Business Technology
Software & Automation	Business Technology

Sponsors are listed in exactly one category. This cap is the point of the product. A Directory anyone can buy into isn’t curated, and a category with thirty listings isn’t featured placement. When a category is full, we’ll offer you the waitlist.

Additional categories may be added as the member base grows. Categories are split — Bookkeeping separating from Accounting, say — in response to real demand, not in advance of it.

2. Applying & Approval

1. Apply — submit the Sponsor Application. Free.
2. We review — we vet every applicant against the standards in Section 4. This is a curated Directory; we decline applicants who don’t meet the bar.
3. We approve or decline — you’ll hear back within [5–7 business days].
4. You pay only when your listing goes live — not at application, not at approval.

We may decline any application for any lawful reason, including a category already being at capacity. A decline is not a judgment about your business — it may simply mean there’s no room.

2A. Founding Sponsors (Pre-Launch)

Until we reach 500, the Directory does not exist — and we’re not going to sell you access to an audience that isn’t there. In the meantime, you can join as a Founding Sponsor.

	Founding Sponsor (now)	Sponsor (at launch)
Cost	$0	$97/month
Affiliate commission	10%, starting immediately	10%
Directory listing	Not yet — opens at 500 subscribers	Featured
At launch	Reserved slot, locked $97/mo rate	Standard rate, subject to availability
Vetting	Same standards	Same standards

What this actually means

As a Founding Sponsor you earn 10% commission on every subscriber you refer (Section 9) before you pay us anything. Those referrals grow the member base — which is the audience your future listing depends on.

You’re not buying access to a small audience. You’re being paid to help build a bigger one, and holding a reserved place in it.

To be precise about what “founding” does and doesn’t get you

Founding Sponsor slots are capped at 2 per category. The remaining 3 paid slots per category open at launch.

3. Pricing

Plan	Price	Effective monthly
Founding Sponsor	$0 until we reach 500 subscribers, then $97/month locked	—
Monthly	$97 / month	$97.00
Annual	$970 / year	$80.83

The annual rate is discounted because it reflects a year-long commitment. Section 7 explains exactly what happens if you cancel an annual plan early — including the arithmetic.

Prices may change with [30 days’] notice. Existing Sponsors keep their rate through their current billing term. Founding Sponsors keep their locked rate indefinitely.

4. Listing Standards

The Directory is only worth paying for if members trust it. So we hold listings to a standard — and we enforce it.

Be a real, working business

Active operations, valid licensing where your field requires it, and the genuine capacity to take on the work you’re listed for.

List honestly

Your services, pricing basis, and service area must be accurate. No bait-and-switch. No listing services you don’t actually provide. No misrepresenting credentials, certifications, or experience.

Answer members who reach out

Respond to member inquiries within 2 business days. A listing that goes unanswered is worse for members than no listing at all — and it damages the Directory’s credibility, which is the thing you’re paying for.

Treat members well

Members can report a poor experience with a Sponsor. Isolated complaints happen, and we’ll talk with you about them. Repeated or serious complaints are grounds for removal (Section 6).

Keep your listing current

Tell us when your services, contact details, or capacity change. A stale listing generates bad member experiences — and they get attributed to you.

4A. Instructor Listings

Instructors receive a complimentary basic listing in one category, chosen at approval.

Their listing is basic. Featured placement is what you are paying for. An Instructor can only obtain Featured placement by earning it through member-recognized contribution in their forum topic — it isn’t something they can buy or be given.

Instructor comps occupy up to 2 of the 7 slots in a category. The 5 paid Sponsor slots are never reduced by Instructor listings.

5. What You May Not Do

• Contact members who have not reached out to you first — no cold outreach to the member base
• Use member information for any purpose other than responding to that member’s inquiry
• Add members to marketing lists without their explicit, separate consent
• Represent yourself as endorsed, certified, or vetted-for-quality by MySMBU beyond the fact of being a listed Sponsor
• Post promotional content in Community Topic forums — the forums are for education; the Directory is for promotion
• Disparage other Sponsors, Instructors, or MySMBU

6. Removal

MySMBU may remove a Sponsor’s listing for:

• Repeated or serious member complaints
• Failure to respond to member inquiries within the stated window
• Misrepresentation in the listing
• Misuse of member contact information
• Loss of required licensure
• Any conduct that damages the Directory’s credibility with members

Process: except in serious cases, we’ll notify you in writing, describe the problem, and give you [14 days] to correct it. Serious violations — misuse of member data, fraud, loss of licensure — result in immediate removal.

7. Cancellation & Refunds

Monthly plan

Cancel any time with 30 days’ notice.

• Your listing stays live for those 30 days
• You are billed for that final period
• No charges after that. Nothing renews.

Plainly: give notice, get one more month of listing, pay for that month, done. No additional charge, no lock-in beyond the notice period.

Annual plan

You may cancel an annual plan at any time. Because the annual rate is discounted for a full-year commitment, cancelling early means the months you used are re-priced at the standard $97/month rate. Your refund is whatever remains.

Refunds generally

Refunds are issued to the original payment method within [10 business days]. No refund is issued on removal for cause (Section 6).

8. No Guarantee of Results

MySMBU does not guarantee:

• Any number of inquiries, leads, clients, or revenue
• Any level of Directory traffic
• Any particular subscriber count or growth rate
• That any member will contact you at all

The Directory’s value depends on our subscriber base, which is growing. If our audience is smaller than you need it to be, this may not be a good purchase for you right now. We would rather tell you that up front than take your money and have you feel misled.

9. Affiliate Program

Sponsors — like Instructors — may enroll as affiliates and earn commission for referring new subscribers to MySMBU. Founding Sponsors earn from day one, before paying anything.

Term	Detail
Commission	10% of each referred subscription payment
Duration	Up to 6 months per referred subscriber
Attribution window	30 days from the click on your link
Holding period	Not payable until the subscription has been active for one full month — this applies to each renewal too
Payout	$50 minimum balance, paid every 30 days
Cancellation	If the referred subscriber cancels, commission stops immediately
Refund clawback	If a referred subscriber is refunded, the commission is reversed
Self-referral	Prohibited. Violations forfeit all pending commission

Referring subscribers grows the audience your listing depends on. This is the one place Sponsors are actively encouraged to promote MySMBU.

10. Your Listing, Relationship & Liability

Your content

You own your listing content. You grant MySMBU a license to display it in the Directory and in materials promoting the Directory, for as long as you are a listed Sponsor. On cancellation or removal, your listing is taken down.

Accuracy

You warrant that your listing is accurate and that you hold any licenses your services require.

Independent businesses

Being a Sponsor creates no partnership, agency, employment, or joint venture relationship with MySMBU. You are not endorsed, certified, or vetted-for-quality by MySMBU beyond meeting the standards in Section 4. MySMBU is not a party to any agreement between you and a member, and is not responsible for the services you provide.

11. Changes to These Terms

MySMBU may update these terms with [30 days’] notice to active Sponsors. If a change materially disadvantages you, you may cancel without the 30-day notice requirement and receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of your term.