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SBDC e-News
January 2009

The NH SBDC is an outreach program of the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics, and a cooperative venture of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the State of NH (DRED), the University System of NH, and the private sector.

In This Issue
SBDC Events
Timely Tools for Entrepreneurs
SBDC Educational Programs
Partner Events
SBDC Announcements

e-Learning for Entrepreneurs

 
NH SBDC's e-Learning for Entrepreneurs provides 24/7 availability of business management and industry-related workshops, seminars, and e-Tools right in your workplace or home.
 
NEW! Business Plan OnLine (BPOL) is an online software product that walks you through the narrative and financial parts of your business plan. Create your start-up or growth business plan on your own, or over time with an SBDC business advisor. BPOL is available for $49 from the SBDC homepage.
 
SBDC's How To's for Business Owners - OnLine, AnyTime are courses in Business Management, Marketing, and Finance.  These are free, 2-3.5 hour courses, which you can take in one sitting or in several via the internet.  Underwritten by Citizens Bank Foundation, NH Department of Environmental Services, Public Service of New Hampshire, Daniel Webster College, and TD Banknorth.
 
For more information on e-Learning for Entrepreneurs and on becoming an e-Learning sponsor, contact Heidi Edwards Dunn, Educational Program Coordinator. 

 

 

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SBDC Events
 
4th Annual Small Business Day at the State House
February 10, 2009, 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Holiday Inn, Concord

The BIA, the NH SBDC, and local and regional chambers will host the 4th Annual Small Business Day at the State House to bring small business owners face to face with state leaders for public policy discussion and debate.

A panel discussion with the state's elected leaders, followed by a Q&A, begins the morning.  The state leadership panel will focus specifically on top small business issues of 2009 and how state elected leaders seek to resolve them.

Never too Small to Export will be the topic presented by the NH International Trade Resource Center. 

The third panel will offer expertise and resources for Sustaining Your Business in Challenging Times.  Participants include Andrea O'Brien, Environmental Management Program Manager, NH SBDC; James Pratt, Commercial Lending, First Colebrook Bank; Allen Voivod, co-owner, Epiphanies, Inc. Moderated by Mary Collins, State Director, NH SBDC.

Cost:  $15 per person. To register, call 603-224-5388 x116 or visit www.acteva.com/go/nhbia.  This event is sponsored by Public Service of New Hampshire.
 
 
Fast growing businesses need capital from a variety of sources, including non-traditional sources.  Distinguished speakers will explore venture capital, angel investors, mezzanine capital, and grants.  Presented by Clear Venture Partners, Borealis Ventures, Vested for Growth, NH Small Business Development Center, eCoast Angels and Harbor Light Capital Partners.
     January 30, 8:30 - 11:00 a.m.
     Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth
     250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH
To register, contact Kim at (603)772-2655, or email kim@redc.com
SBDC Announcements
 
 
Woodsville 
Pictured, from left to right: Carol Walker (VP/Commercial Loan Officer, WGSB), Jim Graham (President & CEO, WGSB), Tom Joyce (Project Manager, NCIC/Wireless LINC), Mark Scarano (Executive Director, Grafton County Economic Development Council), Frank Stiegler (VP/Senior Commercial Loan Officer, WGSB), Peter Riviere (Executive Director, Coos Economic Development Corp.), Mary Collins (NH SBDC), Brenda Highland (VP/Commercial Loan Officer, WGSB), Stewart Gates (Business Advisor, NH SBDC), and Mark Clough (VP/Commercial Loan Officer, WGSB)
 
 
SBDC Manchester Regional Office 
The NH SBDC offers business counseling and advising for small businesses in Manchester at the NH SBDC offices at the Amoskeag Business Incubator Manchester at the NH SBDC offices at the Amoskeag Business Incubator, 33 S. Commercial Street.  Certified business counselor Andrea O'Brien has been counseling for the NH SBDC for 11 years and is also the program manager for the Environmental Management Program, which helps businesses reduce their risk as they raise their profitability.  Business counseling services for Manchester businesses are provided by a CIP grant from the City of Manchester Planning Office.

Timely Tools for Entrepreneurs
 
Amoskeag Business Incubator's "Ask-the-Expert" series.
The Amoskeag Business Incubator's on-line "Ask-the-Expert" series is an interactive, web-based forum where questions may be asked and answered on various business topics that change each month.
 
The ABI's featured expert for January 2009 is Anthony Elesi, owner of New Day Dry Cleaners in Manchester, NH. He will eb answering questions all month long on the topic of Launching and Sustaining a Small Business.
 
The U.S. Small Business Administration has programs to ensure that small businesses receive a fair share of government contracts. Representatives from the U.S. SBA and the NH Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) will visit local chambers of commerce and economic development offices around the state, and will be available to meet with business owners.
       February 10, 1:00 -3:00 p.m., Derry Economic
          Development Corporation 
 
New IRS presentations include Adjusting Employment Taxes, Schedule C, and many more topics of interest to small businesses. In addition, SBTV.com, the Internet news channel for small businesses features IRS news every Wednesday.
 
The Amoskeag Business Incubator's Affiliate Member Program is for business owners who are looking for the use of a professional work environment on a part-time basis. Affiliate Members schedule office hours or meeting/conference rooms as needed. Monthly costs range from $70 to $100.
SBDC Educational Programs
 
Business Basics
This workshop is for people who are interested in learning the fundamentals of starting and running a business the right way.  Some subjects covered are the pros and cons of being in business, registering your business, choosing the business form (LLC, sole proprietor, etc.) basics of accounting and record keeping, understanding your market, basic business law, cash flow planning and budgeting, and how financing really works.
 
January 20 - 5:30 - 9:00 p.m.
     Amoskeag Business Incubator
     33 S. Commercial St., Manchester 
January 21 - 5:30 - 9:00 p.m.
     Rochester Chamber of Commerce Building
     18 South Main St., Rochester
 
 
SBDC Environmental Management Program
The Environmental Management Program, located at the Manchester Regional Office of the NH SBDC, helps you develop best management practices to achieve sustainability. 
 
     January 22, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
     Amoskeag Business Incubator
     33 S. Commercial St., Manchester
 
     January 27, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
     Ammon Center, Manchester
     Presented by the NH SBDC and the
     Construction Safety Roundtable
 
     February 24, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
     Ammon Center, Manchester
     Presentd by the NH SBDC and the
     Construction Safety Roundtable
 
 
Business Planning
 
BUILD YOUR BUSINESS PLAN IN-A-DAY
 
Need a business plan? Need it fast? Can't get started? Too intimidating?
 
Take the NH SBDC Build Your Business Plan in-a-Day workshop, and use NH SBDC's Business Plan OnLine to write your business plan in a day!
 
This workshop is targeted to an entrepreneur with:
  • a new and early stage business
  • a new business idea that needs a feasibility study
  • an established business looking for financing

SBDC certified business advisors will facilitate these workshops. Limited to 8 businesses per day.

      March 3, 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Daniel  
          Webster College, Nashua 
      March 17, 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Amoskeag
          Business Incubator, Manchester
      March 31, 10:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Daniel   
          Webster College, Portsmouth
 
To attend, you must purchase the online software Business Plan OnLine, at $49, available at www.nhsbdc.org. Workshop registration fee is $120.  For information and to register, please call Heidi Edwards Dunn at 227-0417 or email h.edwardsdunn@unh.edu.
Partner Events
 
SBA Helps Small Businesses with Economic Recovery
SBA Associate Administrator for Capital Access, Eric Zarnikow, will help small business owners and entrepreneurs get answers to their questions about credit and borrowing during a live Web Chat.
     January 15, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
SBA also offers free online training courses on "Surviving in a Down Economy" and "Strategic Marketing: How to Win Customers in a Slowing Economy," and "Retool & Reposition your company - How to Prepare a Business Plan." 
 
   
Brought to you by the Vermont/New Hampshire Marketing Group, this all-day workshop will discuss the best practices for generating business through online marketing, email, and Web 2.0 strategies.
     January 21, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 
     Holiday Inn, Concord, NH
   
When Words Mean Business: Free "Write to Sell" Workshop at Hannah Grimes Center
Help make your words mean business...more business. Sharon Bailly, owner and founder of TWP Marketing and Technical Communications, will present her "Write to Sell" workshop at the Hannah Grimes Center in Keene, NH.
     January 27, 12:00 p.m.
 
 SBDC logo
The NH SBDC provides  
confidential business
management consulting and educational programs to more than 3,000 NH small businesses each year.  The NH SBDC is the only NH agency that has full time, certified business advisors providing one-on-one, long-term management consulting to small businesses.