Friday, December 16, 2011

Monthly News from Small Business Assistance Center - December 2011


Monthly News for December 2011

Keeping You Updated and Informed.
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Greetings,
 
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
 
As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season speeds up, please take a moment to consider supporting the Small Business Assistance Center with a donation. Click here for our donation page. Over the last 12 years, we have proudly provided technical assistance to small businesses, helping them strengthen, expand and grow in the Merrimack Valley. In 2011 alone, we’ve served over 200 clients and helped over 11 new businesses start!

We are extremely grateful for the financial and volunteer support we receive throughout the year. Our performance highlights the tremendous impact that is possible when a community has the willingness to invest in its people. We would like to thank the many organizations whose vision, commitment to the public good, and generosity make what we do possible. Thank you.
 
This time of year is also an excellent reminder of the importance of supporting our local businesses.
WHY should we support small business?
Small businesses create jobs; did you know that if just 1 in 3 small businesses in the US hired an unemployed worker, we could put an end to unemployment?
HOW can we support small business?
Make a conscious effort to support retail stores, artists, microenterprises, and other small businesses by purchasing goods and services locally. After all, these businesses are owned by our family, friends, and neighbors. If we commit to patronizing our local small businesses, they can continue to grow and thus create jobs right here in the Merrimack Valley. 
This holiday shopping season…
Shop SMALL to provide a
BIG investment in the Merrimack Valley!

 
Earlier this year we highlighted one of our clients, Babylon Restaurant, in our enews. Click here to read this week’s article from the Boston Globe about them and Abu Nawas, the newest Middle Eastern restaurants in downtown Lowell.
 
Earlier this month, we cosponsored a workshop with Middlesex Community College, Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board and the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce on the Commonwealth’s Workforce Training Fund. Did you know that businesses are eligible for grant funding to train their employees? You may be eligible for $2,000 for each new hire that receives training. Contact me directly if you would like to learn more. (shargis@comteam.org, 978-322-8401)
 
Be sure to check out all the wonderful workshops coming up in the New Year!
 
From the staff here at the Center, we wish you a very happy Holiday Season and a New Year filled with peace and prosperity!
 
Best,
Stacie Hargis
Director 
 
 
SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOPS CALENDAR  
 
Please RSVP for all workshops and trainings. Fees may apply and will be due at time of class. A fee waiver may be requested, please inquire when signing up. The Center reserves the right to cancel or reschedule a workshop or class due to insufficient enrollment or weather.
 
********************
Right Start Entrepreneurial Training
6-class series runs every Wednesday night from 6:00 – 9:00 pm
NEW SERIES Starts January 11th
The Right Start Entrepreneurship Training Program provides a solid educational foundation on which to build a small business. Practical, flexible, and taught by small business professionals, this six-class series will help you learn the difference between success and failure. Starting August 31st, this series runs continuously throughout the year so that you can either take all six classes in a row or once a month, as needed to fit your schedule. Training provides a firm foundation of practical knowledge to build your business and covers these topics: Intro to Business, Marketing, Sales, Bookkeeping and Taxes, Financing, and Business Law. Get the tools you need for success!
 
COST: $90 for all 6 classes
LOCATION: 
Community Teamwork Inc., 155 Merrimack St., (Bon March Building) 3rd Floor, Lowell, MA 01852 
RSVP: shargis@comteam.org, 978-322-8400
 
********************
Social Media
Offered the following dates:
Friday, January 20, 2012 / 10:00 am -12:00 pm
Monday, February 13, 2012 / 1:00 -3:00 pm

This workshop is offered in partnership with the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce and Lowell Telecommunications Corporation.“The Times, They Are A-Changin”, and we know that social media marketing now plays a vital role in the success of businesses and organizations. This seminar provides an overview of various online marketing tools including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. If you are a beginner or intermediate user, you will benefit from this workshop taught by Danielle Bergeron, President and CEO of the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce, who has years of experience promoting her own business through social media.
 
COST: no fee
LOCATION:  Lowell Telecommunications Corporation (LTC) studios, 246 Market Street, Lowell, MA 01852 
RSVP: shargis@comteam.org, 978-322-8400
 
********************
Unlocking Profitability with Accounting
Comprehensive 2-night Workshop
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 & Thursday, February 9 / 6:00 -9:00 pm 
Learn basic business metrics that every business person should know by heart when discussing their business. Here's a list:
  • What are my sales? 
  • What are my goals and budgets?
  • What are my fixed costs?
  • What are my variable costs?
  • What is my breakeven point?
  • What is the ageing of my receivables?
  • What is the cost of goods sold percentage?
  • What are my top 10 best sellers?
  • How much do I have tied up in inventory?
  • What does my cash flow look like for the next three months?
If you don’t know these numbers, then this 2-night workshop will help you transform from running a business to managing a business and getting the most profit out of it. In this workshop, you will learn how to:
  • Increase profitability by monitoring and managing your cost of goods sold;
  • Increase sales and profits through effective inventory management;
  • How to reduce inventory while increasing customer satisfaction and sales;
  • How to make your business more resilient in challenging economies;
  • How to survive and, perhaps,  even prosper in difficult times;
  • Learn how to get ready to borrow.
  • Choosing PC vs. Apple;
  • Using tablets vs. netbooks;
  • Security;
  • Networking equipment;
  • Applications;
  • Free Internet tools;
  • Web 2.0 and Social Networking.
This workshop is taught by Daniel Tiew, a consultant with over 15 years experience working in the information technology industry.  He started his career as an ASIC design engineer at Intel before pursuing a career in the computer networking industry.  Daniel holds one patent, is a 3Com Innovator award recipient, and is a Cisco Certified Professional.
 
COST: $10  
LOCATION:  The Center, 88 Middle St., 2nd Floor, Lowell, MA 01852 
RSVP: shargis@comteam.org, 978-322-8400
 
********************
Building a Successful Business by Defining, Executing & Measuring Performance
Comprehensive 2-night Workshop
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 & Thursday, February 23 / 6:00 – 8:00 pm
The first night of this workshop will emphasize understanding your market and how to target specific product and services to solve their problems. This workshop also addresses the importance of integrating functions within the business to insure productivity and profitability. The second night will emphasize the need to develop an operating plan that is aligned to achieve defined strategies within the business.  In addition, it will help you to define how you measure performance.
 
This workshop is taught by Michael Salach, a results-oriented executive who has a unique blend of entrepreneurial business development skills. Michael founded The Bay State Consulting Group, Inc., which provides an array of management, coaching and business consulting services. Michael is also an instructor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Northern Essex Community College where he teaches marketing and sales, strategic & business planning, organizational design & franchising and a variety of entrepreneurial seminars.
 
COST: $20 for both nights
LOCATION:  The Center, 88 Middle St., 2nd Floor, Lowell, MA 01852 
RSVP: shargis@comteam.org, 978-322-8400
 
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
**************************************************************************************

Small Business Health Care Options
 
A website to give small business owners an unprecedented detailed review of their health insurance plan choices was announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Just in time for 2012, this powerful tool allows small business owners to compare the benefits and costs of health plans and choose those that are best for their employees. For the first time ever, it will allow small businesses to research locally available products in an unbiased manner and foster a more transparent and competitive marketplace.
 
In addition to the market being difficult to analyze, small businesses do not fare as well large employers when negotiating health care prices, on average small businesses spend 18 percent more for the same health insurance coverage.  This new tool brings needed transparency to the marketplace, which will help ensure insurance companies will compete for business on the basis of price and quality. The tool is located on www.HealthCare.gov, which was created under requirements contained in the Affordable Care Act, the new health care law of 2010.  The website is the first of its kind to bring information and links to health insurance plans to one place, and to make it easy for consumers to learn about and compare their insurance options. 
 
MORE INFO:www.HealthCare.gov
 
**************************************************************************************
Free Computer Classes
 
Learn how to use the Microsoft suite. No experience with a computer necessary!
 
WHEN:  1-2:30pm
1/11 – Microsoft Office Word and Typing Techniques
1/18 – Professional Emailing
1/25 – Microsoft Office PowerPoint – Professional Presentations
2/1 – Microsoft Office Publisher – Business Cards and Flyers
2/8 – Microsoft Office Excel
WHERE:                 
Community Teamwork, Inc.
Rm 307, 3rd Floor, 155 Merrimack St.
MORE INFO: 978-654-5722 or malexanderkearns@comteam.org   
 
**************************************************************************************
A WORD OF THANKS

The Center is a program within Community Teamwork, Inc.’s Department of Workforce Development, working in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Middlesex Community College, and the City of Lowell. We are extremely grateful for the financial and volunteer support we receive throughout the year. We couldn’t do the work we do without support from the following organizations.
  • MiddlesexCommunity College
  • Universityof Massachusetts Lowell, College of Management
  • City of Lowell, Economic Development Office
  • US Department of Health and Human Services
  • US Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • US Small Business Administration
  • MassachusettsOffice of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
  • MassachusettsOffice of Business Development
  • The Parker Foundation
  • Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation
  • Lowell Five Bank
  • LowellBank
  • Enterprise Bank
  • Eastern Bank
  • NMTW Community Credit Union
  • Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union
  • Pentucket Bank
  • Washington Savings Bank
  • LowellDevelopment and Financial Corporation
  • Boston Private Bank and Trust
  • Sovereign Bank
  • People’s United
  • SCORE
  • Jericho Road
  • Interise
  • SalemState Business Development Center
  • Greater Lowell Chamberof Commerce
  • MerrimackValley Centerfor Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UMass Lowell
  • And all the brilliant instructors who volunteer their time to teach our workshops!
  
 
The mission of the Lowell Small Business Assistance Center is to provide entrepreneurs from ethnically and economically diverse groups with the education, tools and resources needed to create, sustain or expand viable small businesses.

Location: 88 Middle St., 2nd Floor, Downtown Lowell, 01852

Phone: 978-322-8400

 
 







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Small Business Assistance Center / Community Teamwork Inc. · 88 Middle St., 2nd Floor · Lowell, Ma 01852
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