|
|
Greetings!
Thank you for subscribing to the SSWBN Newsletter. Our mission is to provide you with Contacts, Coaching & Collaboration.
|
| Financial Tip of the Month |
 | |
Cheryle Brady
Ameriprise Financial |
Balancing the Desire for Diversification with Retirement
Two severe bear markets during the past decade have made many investors wary about how much of their portfolio should be devoted to stocks. This is particularly true of retirees who need to depend on their savings for income.
Caution is understandable, but most investors are likely unable to generate sufficient income for retirement without including stocks in their portfolio. The long-term growth potential of stocks remains an important ingredient to long-term financial security, even in retirement. How can one balance the need for stocks while protecting against the risk of down markets?
... Read more here.
Cheryle A. Brady, is a Financial Advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., in Quincy, Massachusetts. She specializes in fee-based financial planning, and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 25 years. Contact Cheryle at:
Ameriprise Financial Services,
859 Willard Street, #300, Quincy, MA 02169-7482.
Telephone: 617 691 2167
|
| Executive Director's Column | |
 | | Katie Howard |
Dear Members and Colleagues:
On Saturday, October 15th twenty FABULOUS SSWBN members volunteered at the Second Annual The Art of Healing: Life Beyond Cancer Conference, presented by The Friends of Mel Foundation.
This wonderful conference helped men and women to face life with joy after cancer diagnosis and treatment. Team SSWBN spent a Saturday greeting participants with smiles and comfort. I was overwhelmed by the response we got to our request for volunteers, but more overwhelmed at the positive energy that our Network gives off. It's not always about business - but it is always is about caring for people, and this we did. Pictured here are some of the volunteers.
Photo by Jean Donohue - a volunteer.
Have you nominated a fabulous woman (or two) for SSWBN's Women's Business Achievement Awards? The awards have been designed to honor two local businesswomen who exemplify the South Shore Women's Business Network's commitment to helping other women grow and develop professionally.
Details and to submit a "Women's Business Achievement Award" nomination.
October brings the Network's Annual Membership Drive! Join or renew and save $50!
As always we have sponsorship opportunities for all events. Contact me for details.
Let's do business with each other!
Thank you,
Katie
781-696-9901 * khoward@sswbn.org.
Dedicated to the success of our members through Contacts, Coaching and Collaboration - our mission. |
Message from the President | |
 | | Terri Martin |
At 5:00 this morning, as I sit at my desk writing this column, I am reminded how September arrived with such fresh, cool air that hints of Fall and the months that follow. To me that means energize! September is ingrained in our minds as a time for new beginnings!
This month we are focusing on growing! October is our Annual Membership Drive. Your Board of Directors is making great strides to branch out to different lines of business to complement the existing membership.
We encourage all of you to bring the information of our Membership Drive to any business that is within your "sphere of influence." If you know of a business that can help the membership universally, that is great!
We strive to be able to continue our mantra of contacts, coaching and collaboration. Our membership has consistently grown during the previous months of 2012, and this month I feel we are going to break records!
My experiences as a member since 2008 have led me to where I am today. Not just as president of this empowering Network, but in my professional life and my family life.
We are a strong, powerful Network. Let's share our professionalism with those who haven't had the pleasure of becoming members.
Terri
terrimartini@frontstreetgourmet.com
http://www.frontstreetgourmet.com |
|
About the Law - Barry Gordon, GMO |
 | |
Barry Gordon
|
RETIREMENT:
USA v. TANZANIA
My wife, Renee, and I just returned from Safari in Tanzania. I have wanted to go on safari for years, and before I was too old or feeble to enjoy it and remember where I had gone. The oldest folks there were in their 80s so I guess I did not have to worry, but I did. It was amazing.
I am not sure if you worry, or have to worry; and even if a safari is not on the top of your list of things to get done, retirement and estate planning should be.
In Tanzania, day-to-day existence means having enough to eat. That is true for many people in USA. Poverty shows up as a problem in every country that my wife and I have visited.
For you living in the US, it is time to do a budget, look at your resources, look at your health, look at your family and see what you have to do to make it work.
Come see me. We can talk about Tanzania, politics, where to eat, AND talk about things that worry you, things that are keeping you up at night. We can talk about why you should prepare a will, health care proxy and power of attorney.
If nothing else, we can look at pictures of lions, elephants, wart hogs and hyenas. I look forward to meeting with you and your family.
Barry
Barry Gordon
Gordon, Mond & Ott
(617) 786-0800.
|
|
SSWBN Connections |
 | | Kristen Ford Hernandez |
Thank you for all your submissions. It's a great thing to see how our Network continues to build great connections and collaborations!
Betsy Donahue of M. Donahue Associates would like to thank Bethany Licke of Servpro, "for her quick response to help clean up a building we represent. Her team did a great job and had it done quickly!" said Betsy.
Maureen Elliot of Camelot Enterprises submitted a sincere thank you to Judy Rizzo of Rizzo Plumbing and Heating "for letting me know how pleased she was with the shirts that we did for her. People always pick up the phone when there is a problem -- so it is really nice when someone takes the time to say thank you," said Maureen.
Alison Guido of Almar Building also thanks Judy Rizzo of Rizzo Plumbing and Heating for recently collaborating with her on a project.
Stacy Mafera of Errands Etcetera sent in the following thank yous:
- "To Janet LaBerge of Dirty Deeds for continuing to work with a very special client of mine. Helping her to feel better about her downsize has changed not only her mentality, but her productivity levels. I truly appreciate Janet for handling this client with such care.
- To Judy Rizzo of Rizzo Plumbing and Heating for coming out so quickly to check out the bathtub!
- To Miss Nikki Peterkin of NY Life for allowing Errands Etcetera to help create a great newsletter for her clients!
- To Lisa Flashenburg of Legal Edge Real Estate for trusting EE to manage her social media platforms while she shows homes -- her primary business!
- To Rosemarie Lanchester of Everything You Wish For for the recent call for help. I'm happy to say your newsletter for the upcoming seminars look great!
- To Lori Cook of Fork In the Road for taking the time to meet and talk social media and blogging for your business! I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
- Lastly, a GIANT THANK YOU to Lauren and Al of Cloutier Photography- I can't wait to set a date to have my engagement photos done! "
SSWBN Executive Director Katie Howard thanks all SSWBN Golfers for participating in this year's SSWBN Golf outing. "It was a success and we appreciate that you chose our outing to play in, given that there are so many to choose from out there. We hope you had fun and made some business connections", she said. "Thank you to Marguerite Salvucci South Coastal Bank for creating and planning this event for the last five years. Also thanks to her Golf Team members Paula Lind of O'Donoghue Insurance and Denece Clinton of Unicorn Realty. I also thank Alison Schirone of Yarn's End, who has agreed to be the new Team Chair getting ready to plan our 2013 outing.
And for myself, thank you to Teresa Tavares of Inspiring Windows for a recent referral for a client who needed some interior painting done. Thank you for thinking of Premiere Pros!
Wishing you all a wonderful October.
Kristen
Kristen Ford-Hernandez
Premiere Pros Painting and Carpentry
Email: Kristen@premierepros.com |
Above and Beyond |
 | |
Lynn Feingold |
 | |
Jean Donohue |
Hello, Friends!
Congratulations to Alison Schirone of Yarn's End, the new Golf Team Chair for the Network's 2013 Golf outing.
Alison takes the reins from Marguerite Salvucci of South Coastal Bank, who served as the chairman of this event for the past five years.
Lynn
Lynn Feingold
colonialsongs@aol.com
www.songsofthecolonialdays.com
Jean
Jean@donohuephotography.com www.donohuephotography.com
Interior/Architectural/Portraiture/Business/Fine Art
617-759-8218 |
| Networking Nova |
Each month the SSWBN Membership Team recognizes a member who exemplifies the qualities of a Networking Nova, a person who embodies the Network's core values of coaching, contacts and collaboration; someone who is visible at many SSWBN events and who treats others with respect and dignity.
In addition, this person utilizes the Network to build his/her business and helps others do the same.
October NOVA:
Washawn Jones,
Audience Development Manager
Boston Business Journal
When I stared with The Boston Business Journal back in February of this year, I insisted that our company join the Network. The BBJ had been a member off and on since 2010.
I believe that visibility and participation are essential to making the most out of any networking group membership. I have made the most out of the SSWBN by going to events on a consistent basis. It keeps you and your business top-of-mind among other members. I always have my product, The Boston Business Journal, with me at events as well.
As a sales person, my focus has always been on relationship-building. Meeting prospective clients face-to-face while enjoying a meal in a welcoming atmosphere presents a great way to start a potential business relationship with someone. I am a member of several other networking groups, and no other group has translated to as much direct business as the SSWBN has.
I advise other Network members and non-members to be prepared when you go to an event. Have business cards, samples of your product (if possible), and some talking points to make sure that your conversations don't go silent. The Boston Business Journal's mobile app is a great way to quickly read up on local, breaking business news before you go to an event!
I am always happy to talk to other members about business or about the Network. Feel free to contact me anytime about my work at the Boston Business Journal, or my networking strategies and the success I've had as South Shore Women's Business Network member.
Washawn Jones,Audience Development Manager
Boston Business Journal
617-316-3260
wjones@bizjournals.com
|
| Massachusetts Educational Foundation | 
Your Chance to 'Pay It Forward'
Happy Fall, Everyone!
As a successful business owner I feel it is my duty to share my knowledge, time, talents, and hard-earned dollars to help others. I stay involved in this particular organization as I, too, struggled to get my degree from Bentley College -- after several colleges, night school and seven years of struggling: I had reading problems in high school and college.
I did not have any scholarships, grants or other funding to help me. I paid for each course on credit cards and worked three jobs in a summer -- and then shifted to night school so I could work during the daytime to get the funds for the next course.
When I started my business back in 1982 (right out of college) there were no networks, associations or other mentoring organizations to support me mentally or physically.
The MEF recognizes the fact that it is even harder to embark on an education when you are older, and maybe already have had a career, been downsized, or maybe your job was bringing up your children and now it is time for you to get your education.
I see firsthand how a scholarship can change a person's life. It makes it a little easier to reach the goal in a degree program, but more importantly it stands as a vote of confidence that people do care if you succeed. It changes lives. Read some of the letters that are received from past awardees on the www.massedfund.org website. It drives me to want to do more to make a difference.
You can help in several ways.
One -- become an MEF volunteer: I am beginning a finance team and need help in building a committee to look over the finances each month, to budget, to write procedures to ensure our future. A lot of this can be done through telephone conferences and occasional meetings.
Two - Donate: As we begin the last quarter of the year it is time to think about your year-end giving plans. It coincides with MEF beginning its annual appeal. No matter what the size, your gift counts; and with our very small overhead costs, your gifts go a long, long way to reaching the destination of the recipients of the scholarship. As recently reported on the news, the public relations telemarketers take a percentage of the money they raise for their costs - thus reducing the amount that goes to the program intended. Trust me when I say to you that won't happen here. Our one and only goal is to create scholarships.
Three: - Currently we are looking for an intern to help us establish a mailing list/email list to create a data bank of all the potential colleges, work outlets and other organizations through which to distribute the Scholarship Applications across the state of Massachusetts by December 1st. The plan is to release the application on January 2, 2013. If you know someone who can assist please have them contact any of the Board Members of MEF as soon as possible, as time is moving fast.
Enjoy the bountiful season.
Veva Johnson
President
The Massachusetts Educational Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of women over 35, enabling them to transition to a more rewarding career, by providing scholarships for education, a place of empowerment and support, and the tools they need to create the life they desire for themselves and future generations. Donations are tax deductible to the extent of IRS regulations.
|
|
 |
|
OUR PARTNERS
| 
BRONZE PARTNER |
| Featured Business |
Name: Patricia Funder
Business name: Patricia Funder, Writer ... Your Story Told
Your title/role: Writer/Editor/Ghostwriter
Website:TBA
Address: 22 Washington Street, Norwell
New Business Started by Five-Year SSWBN Member
What exactly do you do, as a writer? Would I be able to use your writing business?
The services that I offer range from simple copyediting to writing a full-length book. I edit your work not only for the typical grammar and punctuation issues, but to also give it a powerful style to make it more readable, to engage your reader emotionally or intellectually. I format workbooks, write advertising copy, modify letters to unhappy customers (to rebuild the relationship), and I compose press releases and "news" stories for my clients. On the other end of the spectrum, I have composed books, and I have ghost-written books for others. In my extended family, I have earned the place of "family eulogist," to celebrate lost lives through both tears and laughter.
To use a loose analogy, you can think of a story, whether it be a book or a much shorter writing, as a child who develops in the world through the various contributions of people playing different roles:
- A writer plays the role of the mother who conceives and creates it.
- A ghostwriter is the surrogate who participates fully in creating something that someone else has conceived.
- An editor works like the fathers, teachers, coaches, instructors and others in the child's life who refine it.
You used to be the Laser Lady, proprietor of LaserLight for Men and Women: what made you change to this line of work?
LaserLight remains my primary business, and as such will command a good deal of my time and focus. Writing has always been my first love, and at various times in my life I have made my living as a writer. This new endeavor has been developing as a side business -- and now I am just formalizing it with an announcement and the devotion of portion of my time and energy.
In recent years, the emergence of the self-publishing market by so-called "independent publishers" provides an opportunity for everyone who "has a book inside" them to get that book written and published. Yet most people do not have the time, patience, skill and discipline to actually pen the book; or if they do, they need an editor to polish the work. They may also lack the knowledge of all the nuances to writing a readable book and the knowledge of how to navigate the publishing industry -- be it traditional or contemporary/independent publishing. I have years of experiencing writing, editing and publishing all kinds of writing, and I am seeing this need in the market as the fulfillment of my dream to write the good stories that are out there.
Have you been successful as a writer? If yes, why did you leave that profession?
I got hired for the first writing job for which I applied, but the pay was abysmal. I found ways to make it work, so that as a single mom I could support my two young children adequately while having enough time and a flexible schedule to support them in their education and activities. I freelanced for local publications, a few regional magazines, and a national magazine. Ultimately I got hired to edit a small weekly newspaper, and from there started a Norwell-based business called Promotional Writing Services. When the economy went into a downslide in the late '80s and early '90s and my clients downsized their newsletter budgets, I found a way to utilize my writing skills and experience in the corporate world -- at a significantly higher pay grade and with benefits (wow!). At that point, I decided that I would have plenty to time to write when I retired, to augment my retirement income.
All of us have a story worth telling: we have an expertise we want to share, we have suffered a trauma, completed an incredible journey, or have come from a family with an unsung hero or two. We have a life-lesson or epiphany that we want to publish, or we are facing end of life and want to leave a personal legacy. Still others want to be the next JK Rowling.
Most will never write those stories -- unless they meet someone like me. I want to and can help people tell their stories. The new market of self-publishing provides me with a much more satisfying opportunity to use my writing and editing skills on behalf of my clients -- to actually put their own book in their hands. Every other entrepreneur whom I meet wants a book to augment the workshops she or he teaches. Some stay-at-home mothers or newly retired people finally find a corner of time they can dedicate to writing, or at least outlining, their stories.
My perfect customer is a person who sees the worth in sharing their story, and who recognizes that they have a close and capable ally who can help them with the writing and/or the editing. They will get their story told and to market in a timely way, and can move on to their next success in life!
What are the top three things that separate you from your competition?
- I am very good at writing: creating the story line, editing for effectiveness and clarity, composing in the author's voice -- not mine.
- I care deeply about the work and the authors that I take on - and I do not take on any work for which I cannot develop a love.
- I manage the project to help the client meet her or his own deadline.
The emergence of the independent publishing industry and the development of electronic media market have combined to allow so much more work to get into the marketplace: now, anyone can write their story and see it published!
What do you regard as your greatest achievement in this business to date?
I completed a full-length work of creative non-fiction.
Where do you want you and your businesses to be in five years?
In five years, LaserLight will have been self-sustaining with one or two employees helping me to help others to look their best through laser and additional technologies which we plan to implement. The writing business will serve up to 12 select clients per year, and I will be conducting writing workshops and guest speaking all over the country.
What benefit(s) have you received through your networking efforts?
Networking provides me with contacts who may be sources of stories. Jane B. Ford of the Joy Path hired me to edit her course book, Get Grants Now: A Guide for Nonprofit Board Members, Volunteers and Staff -- what a fun project with such a great author! Even before SSWBN, networking and collaborating with Phyllis Wenzel of imageResolutions got me into the world of desktop publishing, which established a solid foundation for this business. My current SSWBN contacts have provided me with a collaborative/coached method of operating a small business, collectively giving me enough business acumen to achieve success through LaserLight. They help me to recognize when I need to subcontract some of my business tasks. Everything that I have learned while operating LaserLight i can apply to my writing business.
What is/are your one or two toughest challenges?
To get out of my own way, and to articulate what is on my mind clearly, trusting that it will be heard with the goodwill that I intended.
What motivates you to get out of bed to work six days a week on a day-to-day basis?
The threat of poverty.
_________________________
Do you want you and your business to be featured in this column? It is a great way for people to get to "know" you on a whole different level! Contact Katie at 781-696-9901 or khoward@sswbn.org for more information. |
|
