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HOW ARE WE DOING?
BRIGHT SPOTS
Did you know that Ballas Egg Products processes more than 1.7 million eggs per day? Learn about this and other bright spots in our community by visiting our Zanesville & Muskingum County BRIGHT SPOTS website, and check back frequently to see new content.
POLL ON TAXES
Governor Kasich has proposed a budget that includes a series of tax law changes. Both increases and decreases in various taxes are proposed. We are conducting a poll on the Chamber's Facebook page that asks what you think the net impact of the changes would be on your business and if you are in favor of the tax proposals. Please take a minute to take the poll now.
AWARDS FOR BUSINESS GROWTH
Please let us know about your business achievements in 2014 so we can recognize your efforts (or maybe those of one of your loyal customers or suppliers) through the ACES Awards Program. Read a little about the ACES program and submit your nomination today. This program is an important part of our economic development program; a community that wants to cultivate growth must celebrate the achievements of its businesses. Please help us be that kind of community and show our gratitude to you and to other businesses for your investments and improvements.
LOCAL ECONOMIC DASHBOARD
Here is the monthly Economic Dashboard for Muskingum County, courtesy of the Muskingum County Library System and the Chamber of Commerce.
EXPORTING GRANTS & TRADE MISSIONS
The Ohio Development Services Agency promotes export-focused trade missions to provide companies with an opportunity to travel overseas to meet with prospective international business partners face-to-face. Trade mission services typically include business matchmaking, customized market research, in-country business briefings, networking opportunities, in-country support and follow-up assistance. Reverse trade missions and buyers missions are affordable and convenient opportunities for Ohio companies to meet with international buyers. Often, these events require no overseas travel. Reverse trade and buyers missions bring various international buyers to one location in the U.S. to connect with U.S. suppliers. For more information on specific upcoming trade missions visit Development Services. Also, The Ohio International Market Access Grant for Exporters (IMAGE), funded by the state of Ohio and the U.S. Small Business Administration offers financial assistance for small businesses to promote their products and services in international markets. The grant will provide a 50 percent reimbursement up to $10,000 per fiscal year for qualifying activities. More information is available at IMAGE website.
MOST CITED OSHA STANDARDS
The OSHA fall protection standard is the most commonly violated workplace safety rule, according to a report from Occupational Health & Safety Online. The violations resulted in $20 million in fines to employers and 294 deaths in 2013. Violations of the scaffolding standard and the machinery guarding standard were the second and third most frequent violations. For all the details visit ohsonline.com. PROPOSED BUSINESS FEES Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has proposed decreases in certain business fees, which will need to be approved by the state legislature. He is asking that the fees to file a new business entity and to register a trade or fictitious name be reduced by 21%. More information is available at the Secretary of State's website. BUSINESS FINANCING A regional loan fund is available to help finance business growth. The Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program managed by the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA) offers low-interest loans to businesses in conjunction with bank financing. RLF funds are used in the event that full financing cannot be obtained from a bank, or to fill the gap between the bank's participation and the borrower's cash contribution. For details contact Lolly Ravak at (740)439-4471, ext. 203, or lravak@omegadistrict.org. 300% ROI!
We estimate the return on investment for the typical chamber membership to be 300%. And we can show you how we reached that conclusion. Take a look at this webpage and review the annual values we placed on the services we provide to you. We think you will agree that a chamber membership is well worth the investment. EMAIL MARKETING Want to reach a targeted audience of about 1,000 local business people? Then our Email Blast service may meet your needs. Each month we compile an email with messages from our members and send it to our list of local business people. The cost is just $50 per message. Here are all the details. To reserve your spot or for more details contact Jenni at jmasterson@zmchamber.com.
    
  
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