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May 2009 Event Calendar
Thursday,
May 7
Tuesday, May 12 - June 16 (Community Resources for Artists-to-Entrepreneurs class series) Duluth
Tuesday, May 12 Start a Business... Here's How! Virginia 6:00 - 8:00 PM, $25
Thursday, May 14 Start a Business... Here's How! Duluth 6:00 - 8:00 PM, $25
Wednesday, May 20 Women's Business Network Luncheon Grand Marias 11:30 - 1:00 PM, $10
To register for a
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Greenstone Group Member wins Labovitz Award
Congratulations to Dan Stocke, co-owner of Duluth-based World Block, Inc. for being recognized at the 2009 Joel Labovitz Awards help April 21, 2009 in Duluth. Dan, a Greenstone Group member, received the Established Entrepreneur Award. Dan and his business partner, Rod Johnson, beat out 12 contenders for the award. World Block builds steel block forms used for the ready-mix and pre-cast concrete industry. It is one of few businesses catering to this niche market. World Block was on the 5000 Inc. list of fastest growing companies in both 2007 and 2008, showing rapid growth in both sales and profits. Greenstone Group member Steven Dastoor of Citon Corp. was also a presenter at the Labovitz Awards. The Northeast Entrepreneur Fund and Greenstone Group had all together seven businesses nominated.
The Greenstone Group is an NEF initiative that currently supports more than 30 regional entrepreneurs through professional coaching focused on entrepreneurial skill development and strategies for significant business growth.
Growing
Neighborhood Businesses Dinner Series:
Pascha Parks, JPG Advertising
Schedule:
5:00 pm - Cash bar and networking Register now by calling Jennifer Young at 218-623-5747 or email jennifery@entrepreneurfund.org. Pre-registration required. Please register by Wednesday, May, 6th to reserve your seat. Seats are limited. Sponsored by the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund. "Growing Neighborhood Businesses" (GNB) is a partner of Duluth at Work, a new initiative co-administered by the City of Duluth LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation).
Turn your art into an income Are you an artist with a desire to transform your avocation into a business? Do you want to be able to successfully market your artistic product/service? Are you wondering where and how to start down the path of artist-as-entrepreneur? The Northeast Entrepreneur Fund introduces a new business learning program developed especially or artists who reside in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. C.RE.A.T.E. (Community Resources for Artists-to-Entrepreneurs) is designed to help artists turn their work into viable, income-producing businesses. Eligible participants include but are not limited to visual artists, sculptors, potters, filmmakers, photographers, musicians, and writers. The next class series begins May 12. For program details, visit www.entrepreneurfund.org/GNBcreate.htm, call 218-623-5747, or email info@entrepreneurfund.org.
Employment Basics - Free Workshop May 5
Cook County Higher Education and the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund are pleased to offer “Employment Basics – Important Facts You Should Know!” on Tuesday, May 5 in Grand Marias. This free business development workshop is geared for those who want to review the basic criteria and requirements for hiring employees and maintaining employee records. At this class you will learn: · The do’s and don’ts of interviewing · Filing necessary paperwork and forms · The minimum wage requirements and when they apply · Employment taxes · When and how to manage Worker’s Compensation Insurance · Employee documentation · Plus more!
The instructors are B’elana Aedan and Lisa Wick, both Business Services Specialists with the State of Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED). Ms. Aedan has been actively involved in local workforce development for over five years. She specializes in assisting companies with recruiting qualified employees, diversification of their workforce and retention issues. Ms. Wick earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Human Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where she graduated with honors. Her experience as a staffing coordinator before joining DEED in 2008, gave her great experience in recruiting, interviewing and hiring.
All those interested in this free business development workshop are invited to attend. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 5 from 1:30 – 3:30pm in the Corcoran Conference Room located in the lower level of the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic in Grand Marias. Preregistration is requested to ensure that we have enough handout materials for all participants. Please email highered@boreal.org or call 218-387-3411.
2009 Recovery Act The Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009 with the goal of jumpstarting the faltering economy and creating and saving millions of jobs. Measures taken in the Recovery Act include modernizing our nation's infrastructure, enhancing our energy independence, expanding educational opportunities, preserving and improving affordable health care, providing tax relief, and protecting those in need. Small Business
Association (SBA) released some Questions and Answers on the topic of
the Recovery Act contracting opportunities. To read the PDF from the SBA
click here.
Q. Is there an opportunity for small businesses to get contracts under
the Recovery Act?
A.
The SBA is working with its district offices and resource partners to make small businesses aware of the contract dollars and information to pursue registration/certification at the state/local levels. Small businesses seeking contract opportunities as a result of the Recovery Act should visit Recovery.gov, an online portal with links to Recovery Act informational pages on federal agencies’ Web pages and their weekly update reports. At Recovery.gov, small businesses can get an idea of the areas that federal agencies are targeting for Recovery Act contracts as well as opportunities at the state and local level.
Federal agencies are expected to submit program specific Recovery Act plans with contracting opportunities for small businesses by May 1, 2009. Federal agencies will report contracts awarded using Recovery Act funding to the General Service Administration’s Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG) database, which is the government’s official source for federal contracting data. Contracting data will also be available on Recovery.gov.
Q. How do small businesses learn about contracting opportunities at the state and local level under the Recovery Act?
A. Although these will be federal dollars, they will in many cases be provided directly to the states and localities. The State and local governments, municipal utility and school districts will award contracts using their currently established procedures. Each State’s recovery website can be reached through Recovery.gov. The priority will be for projects that are “shovel/project ready;” those that can be rolled-out quickly, putting individuals back to work. This means that small businesses must be “contract ready,” i.e., registered/certified to do business with the State and local governmental entities which will most likely be the primary contracting agencies for these projects.
Q. Is there a central location where federal contracting opportunities and requests for proposals are located?
A. All federal government contracting opportunities over $25,000 will be posted to FedBizOpps. Small businesses can access this site at: www.fbo.gov. They can also learn about possible subcontracting opportunities by the prime contractor (large or small) that receive the contract award. Small businesses can identify prime contractors for subcontracting opportunities through the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) at www.esrs.gov.
Q. Does the SBA offer other tools and services for small businesses seeking federal contracting opportunities?
A. The SBA and its resource partners, including Small Business Development Centers, SCORE, Women’s Business Centers and Veteran Outreach Centers can provide technical, financial and contracting assistance to small businesses. For more information on these organizations visit www.sba.gov. Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, funded by the Department of Defense, are also good sources of procurement assistance. A listing of PTAC organizations is located at: www.dla.mil/db/procurem.htm.
Some of the government contracting tools currently available to small businesses include a free online course, Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts, which is a self-paced guide and easy-to-follow training course that can be accessed by visiting www.sba.gov/training, clicking on the menu of free online courses and selecting the first course listed under Government Contracting. Participants will receive a certificate of completion upon completing the 30-minute tutorial.
Other tools include a brochure entitled Opening Doors to Federal Government Contracting Opportunities available at www.sba.gov/openingdoors and three fact sheets – Federal Contracting Opportunities for HUBZone Entrepreneurs, Federal Contracting Opportunities for Women-Owned Small Businesses and Federal Contracting Opportunities for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses available at: http://www.sba.gov/tools/resourcelibrary/publications/index.html.
Small businesses seeking contract opportunities can also contact the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) in any of the procuring federal agencies. These offices assist small businesses with obtaining contracts and subcontracts with federal agencies and prime contractors. For a list of OSDBUs in the procuring federal agencies and their contact information, visit http://www.osdbu.gov/offices.html
The Recovery Act provides entrepreneurs and lenders financial relief from the current economic crisis that will help encourage borrowing and lending to all small businesses, including start-ups.
For small businesses, the Recovery Act temporarily eliminates SBA guaranteed 7(a) and 504 loan fees and offers tax benefits. For lenders, it temporarily eliminates 504 loan fees. The fee eliminations are retroactive to February 17, 2009, the day the Recovery Act was signed. Also under the Act, small businesses that need surety bonds to compete for construction and service contracts can qualify for SBA-backed surety bonds of up to $5 million (and in some cases, $10 million), more than double the previous $2 million maximum. Visit www.sba.gov/recovery for more information on small business and the Recovery Act.
This Month's Featured Entrepreneurial Resources
Recovery Act: The SBA's frequently asked question regarding the Recovery Act and what it can do for small businesses...
http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/recovery_act_faqs.pdf
Marketing Basics: An article outlining the basics of marketing and ways to utilize marketing for small businesses...
http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/664-1.html
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The Northeast Entrepreneur
Fund is an equal opportunity employer, lender, and service provider. Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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