|
|
|
|
GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK
 The WBC is taking a break to participate in the many events hosted during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Check out the event calendar at KCSourceLink.com.
We will be participating in the Financing and Managing Your Small Business event on Friday, Speed Networking on Monday (come out and help us set a record), GovFest on Thursday and showing up as spectators for several other events. See you there!
|
|
SmartConnectKC Networking
Final Event of 2012!
Don't miss out on the final networking opportunity of this year. Join Luann Feehan of Smart Connect KC along with OneKCforWomen for a cup of coffee as you network with other entrepreneurs. Join us at Polsinelli Shughart on the Plaza for coffee, conversation and build your business for the new year. And mark your calendars to start up again on January 25th.
Friday, December, 2012
8:30 to 9:45 a.m. - $10
Hosted at: Polsinelli Shughart
700 W 47th Street, Suite 1000, Kansas City, MO 64112
|
|
ECJC Workshops
Thursday lunch 11:00 am - 1:00 pm - Each workshop $25
November 29th - How to Manage your Board of Directors
Register Online: www.ecjc.com/manageboard112912
December 6th - Google Apps Workshop
Register Online: www.ecjc.com/googleaps120612
All workshops held at the Enterprise Center of Johnson County
8527 Bluejacket Street, Lenexa, KS 66214
Call (913) 438-2282 for any questions about these workshops
|
|
Small Business Saturday: November 24th
 Last year American Express promoted Small Business Saturday as a way to highlight shopping locally and small vs. waiting in long lines for Black Friday or spending all your dollars shopping on-line on Cyber Monday. An estimated 103 million Americans shopped at a small business on 2011s Small Business Saturday and American Express saw a 23% increase in transactions at small business merchants.
There aren't a lot of details on what will be done this year, but click here to read more on the event last year and follow the development of the event on Facebook.
|
|
|
Not for women only:
Men are welcome at almost all of the seminars and networking events held at the WBC.
|
|
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!
|
... it's not just a shop, it's a venture! Shopping local helps Kansas City based businesses compete in a global economy. Visit the websites below and check out these local businesses and the special holiday discounts they are offering to friends of the Women's Business Center. Avalon Specialties: Free set up of art (up to $55.00 value) on any new orders from now till Dec. 1, 2012 avalonspecialties.com Heritage Computer Consulting & Services, Inc is offering a 50% discount on the first hour of services. www.hccsinc.com
Hippie Chow Natural Foods: Buy one bag, get another 50% off on full-size bags of granola at the Badseed Farmers Market through December 31, 2012. eathippiechow.com
JDeaneJobs: 30% off any talent management or on-boarding program or free JobCast implementation into your Facebook page, two job description updates and posting for only $299 until 12-31-12
www.facebook.com/pages/JDeaneJobs-LLC
Kookiedoodle Crafts - a walk-in arts & crafts studio for children ages 3-12 in downtown Overland Park: 10% discount on any in-store project between now and Nov. 30th
www.kookiedoodlecrafts.com
Sharon Rensenhouse of Mano's gifts is offering a 15% discount for orders placed through this season from their website. Use the discount code Womenrock when placing an order. Check out their very cool Kansas City scenes etched wine bottles!
www.manosgifts.com
10% off ANY Remodel that is scheduled for January, February or March of 2013. Small or large projects welcome!
Swoon: 10% discount for all Thanksgiving and December holiday orders place by November 15th justswoon.com/index
|
|
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
|
|
Favorite Thanksgiving Quote:
What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?"
-Erma Bombeck
|
|
|
|
Carly Elms, owner of Patriot Rehab which specializes in assisting individuals with disabilities and their perspective employers in navigating hiring and employment issues has signed a contract to work with Columbia Public Schools and Missouri Voc Rehab for a demonstration project utilizing My Bionic Brain a tablet based computer program that can help individuals with cognitive challenges compensate for memory and organizational issues.
|
|
 | | First Step Class |
The fall session of Operation First Step (formerly known as First Step FastTrac®) graduated on October 23. This microenterprise training goes hand in hand with the microloan program, with three of the class participants already in the process of acquiring a loan to assist in startup.
The microloan program continues at a robust pace. Over 4
50 loans for more than $220,000 have been made to date. Grants from financial institutions and other local entities have allowed Justine Petersen to request $1 million dollars in loanable funds from the SBA. Monthly information sessions are held at the KCMO CDE. For more information or to sign up go to www.kcmocde.org |
|
Successful Conference:
 On October 16, 170 people, mostly women, participated in the Women Accessing Capital: Overcoming the Psychology of "Small" conference held at the Kauffman Foundation. Co-sponsored by WIPP (Women Influencing Public Policy) and the WBC, the conference focused on why women may have more difficulty raising capital for their business - both internal and external barriers as well as how they can effectively overcome these barriers.
A highlight at the end of the day was the dolphin tank session, which featured five regional women pitching their ideas and "asks" to the audience and an expert panel. Unlike the shark tank, the intent was to offer resources and suggestions to the women involved. As a result, all of the women walked away with several valuable leads, and one deal was made by the end of the day to promote one of the businesses. Thanks to all the women who participated:
- Amber Pankonin: Stirlist, a platform that connects consumers to Registered Dietitians by sharing recipes related to medical conditions.
- Tracey Passantino: Race4Girls helps semi-professional and professional female race car drivers become superstars.
- Kelly Ellison: Your Adoption Finance Coach a seamless, web-based system that will revolutionize how adoption agencies work with their families.
- The Stephs: RUMBLE cosmetics, color cosmetics merged with university sports programs to make one of a kind products
- Staci Cross: Nourish™ a retail location comprised of a health-conscious Café, a full-service Business Lounge, and a Un-Plug Zone in three distinct areas, creating an uplifting oasis from our hurried world. Opening in Kansas City in 2013.
If you want to read more about this topic, check out:
A Rising Tide: Financing Strategies for Women Owned Businesses by Dr. Susan Coleman and Release from Powerlessness: A guide for Taking Charge of Your Life by Linda Moore, both of whom presented during the conference.
And a special thanks to the local chapter of WIPP for making a contribution of part of the proceeds from the conference to the Women's Capital Connection, a program of the Women's Business Center.
|
|
Did you know that......
- 22% of new employee turnover occurs within the first 45 days
- New employees are 58% more likely to be a part of the company after 3 years if the company has a structured onboarding program
- Up to 80% of employee turnover is based on uninformed hiring decisions
Mindful Recruiting and Talent Management is notoriously a reactive initiative for businesses. There's no arguing that hiring and training are time consuming, but not taking a strategic approach is costly. Even though you've already spent time with this new hire during the interview process, onboarding is going to be this person's first impression of your operation - and what their future role in that operation looks like. Psychologists suggest you have a mere seven seconds to make a positive first impression.
You've invested tremendous resources in the advertising, screening, interviewing and selecting of this candidate, DON'T STOP NOW! It isn't over until they feel welcome, comfortable in their new role, sure of what the expectations are of their new position and as a part of the team.
Julie Deane of JDeaneJobs shared the above information with us at a recent WBC seminar. She shares daily tips on recruiting topics on her Facebook page.
|
|
NOTE:
If you are having trouble reading the small print in this newsletter, click to view as a web page (top of email). Then, hold down the ctrl key while hitting the "+" key to increase the size as you need. To return to normal viewing, hold ctrl key while hitting the "-" (left of the "+" key)
|
|
Opt Out?
We hope you find value in the information contained in our newsletter. However, we realize that at time you may need to limit the amount of information you are dealing with. At any time you can go to the bottom of this newsletter and chose the unsubscribe option to remove yourself from the distribution list. |
|
|
|
 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
|
|
|
