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August 2012 |
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The New Normal" Compelling Communication in the Post-Trust Era
August 14, 2012 - In Conjunction with WIPP Annual Meeting highlights
2008 was the year that "trust finally died," according to Michael Maslansky in The Language of Trust. Think about it. How have your conversations changed in your business since 2008? With your customers, clients, vendors and suppliers and employees? Welcome to the New Normal of the post-trust era: skepticism, reluctance and reticence. This program will address:
- Why new ways to sell ideas, concepts and services are needed
- How to build a culture of trust
- 4 compelling communication concepts that will set you apart from your competitors
August 14th - 5:30 - 7:30
Women's Business Center at the Enterprise Center of Johnson County
8527 Bluejacket Street, Lenexa, KS 66214
Cost: Free, registration required (click to register)
Speaker: Marty Stanley is a national speaker, trainer and facilitator on organizational change. As a leadership guide on organizational change, Marty has helped transform industries ranging from consumer product manufacturing, health care and law practices to essential trades such as commercial plumbing and construction.
 Also hear a brief update on WIPP activities from Denise Farris
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SmartConnectKC Networking
Wake up and meet me for coffee!
Join Luann Feehan of Smart Connect KC along with OneKCforWomen for a cup of coffee as you network with other entrepreneurs. Make new friends and build your business. This month's event is sponsored by: Renee Kelly's at Caenen Castle
Thursday, August 30, 2012 
8:30 to 9:45 a.m.
$10
Hosted at:
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FastTrac® New Venture for Women
Space still available - submit your application today
Women-owned businesses now form a third of all businesses and women are starting businesses at a faster rate than men. Ready to take the plunge, but want to be sure you have a game plan for success? Join with other women to research, get feedback from subject matter experts and peers, and develop relationships that will last well beyond the class. This 10 week hands-on course will begin September 13th and help you determine the feasibility of your business idea and develop a plan of action. Click here to complete an application
Class size is limited to 30 participants
Classes meet Sept. 13, 20, 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov. 1, 9, 15
Fee: $450
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Protect your profits this holiday season
September 12, 2012 - Women's Business Center
Is your credit card processing company naughty or nice? Attend this seminar to assure you maximize the impact of each sale on your bottom line.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
8:30 - 10:00 am
Presented by Heather Graves, President of Trapiche Consulting Group, Inc. Don't miss this opportunity to work with a merchant advocate who assists business owners in negotiating current processing strategies to find cost-effective, efficient and secure platforms that can better your business outcomes.
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Digital Marketing Series
Three-class series begins September 17th
Do you feel overwhelmed when it comes to marketing your business online? Once you have a website, what's next? You are not alone. Many business owners - both those starting out and even seasoned professionals - experience frustration when it comes to internet marketing. Where do you start? 
This course will help. We will walk you through the fundamentals of a website, what's important and what's not. We will explain to you the value of content and how it works with social media when it comes to getting those search engine results that you desire. We will also give you the information you need to measure the results you get from your online marketing initiatives.
Stick with the course all the way through and gain access to a special hands-on workshop that will not only have you informed on best practices, but feeling confident about your online marketing (reserved only for those attendees who attend all 3 sessions).
Presented by the EAG Marketing
(1) Monday, September 17, 2012
(2) Monday, September 24, 2012
(3) Tuesday, October 2, 2012
8:30 - 10:30 am
$20 each session or $50 for series
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WEN Fall job fair is October 2, 2012
2:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Sheraton Crown Center
This year's Spring job fair featured 40 local and regional employers and over 400 job seekers, all graduates of WEN's training program. 
The event is free for all job seekers.
Companies interested in participating in the job fair can find registration information at www.kcwen.org
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Crowd Sourcing Workshop
September 13, 2012 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
When you combine the concept of outsourcing with the power of Internet-connected individuals, you have Crowd Sourcing. Companies are using crowd sourcing to raise funds for start-ups, to get product ideas for the next line of merchandise, and to solve problems that seem too big for the organization.
In this workshop, learn how your company can utilize crowd sourcing.
September 13, 2012
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
$25 includes lunch
Register Online: www.ecjc.com/crowdsource091312
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Not for women only:
Men are welcome at almost all of the seminars and networking events held at the WBC.
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The Women's Business Center
The Women's Business Center offers mentoring, resources, and consulting to women in the Kansas City Metropolitan area who wish to become an entrepreneur or who are currently operating their own business. Through business consulting, classes, workshops, networking, and peer mentoring the WBC is the key to running a successful business for Kansas City's women.
Find out how the Women's Business Center can help you. Click here to learn more!
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Monogram Shop featured in Kansas City Star
Julie Granstaff, owner of the Monogram Shop was featured in the July 11th 913 Diversions section of the Star. Check out her back-to-school selection as you prepare to get those kids out of the house and off to college.
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WBC clients among top tech women in KC
Angela Hurt, CEO of Veracity Solutions and Lenora Payne, president of Technology Group Solutions were noted as examples of women leading local technology companies in a recent KC Biz Journal article on KC's top tech women. For the full list click here
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Staffing Company, Mom Corps launches
Laura Wildman has launched Mom Corps, a staffing company focusing on flexible staffing placements, and consulting with companies to help them understand how to use flexible staffing solutions in their organizations.
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Swoon Cookie Crafters raise money through Kickstarter
Sofia Hudson and Lauren Wendlandt of Just Swoon cookie crafters successfully raised dollars needed to expand their gourmet cookie design operation through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
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Share the good news
Are you a Women's Business Center client or volunteer? Something exciting going on in your business? Let us know if you have added a major product or service line, expanded your territory or won an award. We will help you spread the word.
Email dbrowning@kansaswbc.com
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The 110 WBC's across the U.S. are having a significant economic impact:
- Trained, counseled and mentored nearly 200,000 clients in 2010
- Increased number of clients assisted by 15% despite no funding increases from SBA
- Helped launch an average of 121 new businesses, create 333 new jobs and assisted firms whose collective local revenues totaled 12.2 million
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BUSINESS TOOL OF THE MONTH
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Briana Woody of Capstone Bookkeeping attended the recent sales seminar and in the discussion of great tools to assist in your sales efforts recommended Xobni (Inbox spelled backwards). This contact app collects all your contacts from outlook, ymail, gmail plus Facebook, Linked-In and other social media sites automatically and tracks all communication from the contacts. One of the features she has found very helpful is the listing of all recent e-mails from that contact along with file attachments that have been exchanged. No more digging through your original emails to find that important attachment!
Do you have a favorite app, software package, etc. that has made your business life easier? Let us know so we can share.
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Surviving in a down economy
 In 1982, Sharon Rensenhouse, owner of Mano's Corporate Gifts, was a single mom and needed an income to support herself and her son. She had friends who owned nut roasting operations in the south that needed help getting their product distributed in the Midwest. Sharon became their distributor. Soon the nut roasters began asking her to send gifts to their clients and add additional food gift items as well. This was the beginning of her company, Nutcracker Sweets, a holiday gift company. The company has had slow, steady growth every year since its beginning, with the exception of 2009 and 2010.
Sharon decided two years ago she needed to grow her business substantially to weather the economy. She converted her seasonal business to a year -round business enterprise - and launched Mano's Corporate Gifts. Obtaining a liquor license enabled her to include wine in her gift baskets and increased her promotional products line. She purchased equipment to etch custom logos, etc. on the wine bottles that go in her baskets. At the same time, she bought a 12,000 square foot warehouse in the West Bottoms and invested heavily in equipment and people to further the growth of Mano's. She's also added more "year round" gift options. Advice she'd give other business owners to manage during a tough economy: don't spend as much money on printed material without a lot more follow up with the recipients, and be careful to vet internet marketing companies, sometimes they are most effective in marketing themselves! As for the origin of the name, Mano's - when her father saw her mother for the first time, he exclaimed "Man Oh Man" because she was just so beautiful. The name stuck with her mother for the rest of her days, and Sharon chose that name to honor her. |
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News from the Women's Business Center |
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Women's Capital Connection Adds New Members
 | | WCC member Cheryl Jernigan hard at work |
Since January the Women's Capital Connection has added 10 new members. These angel investors meet monthly to hear pitches from women led companies seeking angel funding. They also participate in due diligence committees and serve on boards or advisory councils of companies the group choses to invest in. Members gain experience in assessing company value and making smart investment decisions. Members who are in business themselves note that it has also helped them look at their own business practices in a more analytical fashion.
Investment News:
Novita Therapeutics, LLC (Novita) announced that it has received additional equity investments totaling $1,360,000 from Open Prairie Ventures II, L.P., Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA), Wichita Technology Corporation, Women's Capital Connection, and a group of angel investors. The capital is being used to continue the development of Novita's pipeline of new products and to prepare Novita subsidiary companies Flow Forward Medical and Metactive Medical for spinout and venture financing.
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504 refinance program expires on September 27th
This temporary program is ideal for those who purchased a property within the last decade and no longer have enough equity to get a conventional (bank) loan...OR for those who actually have equity and would like to finance recent or upcoming operating expenses (which can include equipment, paying down a line of credit, inventory and other items. To get full details on the program click here .
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 Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA
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