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BUSINESS NOTES
Tax Changes for Small
Businesses
During 2010, new laws, such as the Affordable Care Act
and the Small Business Jobs
Act of 2010, created or
expanded deductions and
credits that small
businesses and self-employed
individuals should consider
when completing their tax
returns and making business
decisions in 2011. For more
information, please see
this article.
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The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 was enacted on
September 27, 2010. The SBJA
contains some tax provisions
that take effect this year.
Other tax provisions will be
implemented during the next
several years. For more
information on some of these
provisions, please see this
article.
Creative Ways to Stretch Your Marketing Budget
Innovative ways some business owners are using to stretch
their marketing dollars:
Take advantage of technology
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- Use email instead of
direct mail
- Attend virtual trade
shows rather than traveling
Partner with others in your
industry to spread the
expense and the knowledge
Build your social network by
offering free classes at
libraries
Take a horizontal marketing
approach: Determine your
typical client profile and
then target this group by
identifying a noncompeting
business that has that group
as customers.
Read more horizontal
marketing ideas in
this article from
Entrepreneur.
Federal Government Small
Businesses News
Cut in Payroll Taxes will Boost Take-Home Pay for Most
Workers
Congress recently reached an agreement that cut the
Payroll Tax for 2011 from
6.2 percent to 4.2. For more
information on how this
impacts you, please read this
article from the IRS.
Banks to Get $30 Billion for Small Business Loans
As part of the Small
Business Lending Fund, the
Treasury Department has
created a fund to stimulate
lending to small businesses.
For more information, and to
see which banks are
qualified to receive these
funds, please see this
article from Business
Week.
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Learn about the special tax
treatment for expenses
incurred before business
operations begin.
Business Start-up and
Organizational Costs
Business Start-up Costs
From IRS Publication
535 (2008) - Business
Expenses
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"The Child Care Tax Center"
This link to the IRS Website connects the business owner
with tax resources for their
child care business. The
Child Care Tax Center
covers several areas
pertinent to running a
daycare center.
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The First Step Workshop
This live workshop
highlights the SBDC
process, learning
resources, and we will
direct you to the SBDC
services you need. Some
topics covered are:
· Funding of the SBDC
· Owning a Small
Business
· Business Structures
· Legal Issues
· Business Financing
· Business Planning
The outcome of the
session will be a clear
understanding of your
next steps to take.
Where:
Berks County Community
Foundation Building, 237
Court St., Reading, PA
19601
When: February 16
from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Cost: $0
Click here
for more information or
to register. |
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Basics of Government
Marketing Webinar
This Webinar covers the first steps a small business
needs to take to prepare
for doing business with
the Federal and State
Governments. It offers
an overview of the codes
and registrations,
explanation of small
business certifications,
potential strategies
small businesses can use
when approaching this
market, and tips for
marketing your firm to
federal and state
agencies.
Where:
Webinar with
Simultaneous
Teleconference
When:
February 22 from 10:00
to 11:30 a.m.
Cost:
$0
To register for this
session, click
here. |
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The First Step: How to
Start and Operate a
Small Business
If you are in the early
stages of thinking about
starting a small
business, this workshop
is for you. In fact,
even if you have started
your business and are
realizing that you
missed a few things,
this workshop is still
right for you.
This workshop will
provide an overview of
the things you need to
know and the skills you
need to have to manage a
small business. Subjects
include: legal and
accounting issues,
organization, and
management. The workshop
offers you the
opportunity to practice
networking with other
entrepreneurs. Existing
business owners can use
this workshop as a
"checkup" on their
operations. This
workshop is presented in
partnership with the
Small Business
Assistance Center.
Where:
Chester County Library,
450 Exton Square
Parkway, Exton, PA
When: February 23 OR March 23 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Cost:
$15.00
To register, click
here.
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Business Concept Analysis: A
4-Part Blended Learning Series
This program provides
the tools to develop
your business concept,
determines the viability
of the business concept,
and outlines the
critical steps to a
successful business
launch.
2/23/2011 - Part I - Exploring Entrepreneurship -
3/2/2011 - Part II - Defining the Target Market
3/16/2011 - Part III - Conducting Market Research
3/23/2011 - Part IV - Testing Your Business Concept
Individuals that complete all four sessions will
receive a certificate of
completion.
Participants in the Concept Analysis for Entrepreneurs
program will also have
access to Kutztown
University's Desire 2
Learn online learning
platform. Desire 2
Learn will provide
participants with
· the ability to communicate online with the
course instructors
· the ability to
communicate online with
other course
members
· access to archived program materials and
resources
· access to supplemental resources and links
Where: Berks County Community Foundation Building, 237 Court
St., Reading, PA 19601
When: February 23 and March 2,16, and 23 from 6:00 to 8:00
p.m.
Cost:
$50.00
for the series, $15 for
each individual workshop
To register, click
here.
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Business Concept Analysis: Part One
This is the first
session in the four part
program that provides
the tools to develop
your business concept,
determines the viability
of the business concept,
and outlines the
critical steps to a
successful business
launch.
This session will focus
on "Exploring
Entrepreneurship" and
will provide the first
steps in helping you to
understanding the things
needed to start a
business.
Where: Berks County Community Foundation Building, 237 Court
St., Reading, PA 19601
When: February 23 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Cost:
$15.00
To register for ONLY
this session, click
here.
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Business Planning: A
Series of 4 Workshops
The Business Planning Workshop Series contains the
following four
workshops:
February 24 - Business Plan for Success
March 3 - Marketing your Product, Service, and Company
March 10 - Financial Management
March 17 - Financing the Business and Feasibility
Decisions
Where: Chester County Library, 450 Exton Square Parkway,
Exton, PA
When: February 24
and March 3, 10, and 17
Cost: $80 for the
series, or $25 for each
individual workshop
To register or for more
information on the
workshops, click
here. |
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Business Planning (Part
I) - Business Plan for
Success
This is the first workshop of the Business Planning
Workshop Series that
runs through March 17.
Registration is
available for each
workshop or for the
entire series.
Where:
Chester County Library,
450 Exton Square
Parkway, Exton, PA
When:
February 24 from 6:00 to
8:30 p.m.
Cost: $25.00
To register for only
this workshop and NOT
the entire series, click
here. |
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Certification Made
Simple
This workshop is offered monthly. It guides
participants through the
application process for
state certification as
either a Minority or
Women Business
Enterprise (MBE/WBE). It
is presented by Curtis
Burwell of the
Pennsylvania Department
of General Services,
Bureau of Minority and
Women Business
Opportunities (BMWBO).
Where:
Harrisburg Regional
Chamber & CREDC, 3211
North Front Street,
Harrisburg, PA 17110
When:
March 2 from 9 a.m. -
noon
Cost: $0
To register, click here. |
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Business Concept Analysis: Part Two
This is the second
session in the four part
program that provides
the tools to develop
your business concept,
determines the viability
of the business concept,
and outlines the
critical steps to a
successful business
launch.
This session will focus
on "Defining Your Target
Market" and will help
you to determine who
your company should be
marketing their products
towards.
Where:
Berks County Community
Foundation Building, 237
Court St., Reading, PA
19601
When:
March 2 from 6:00 to
8:00 p.m.
Cost:
$15.00
To register for ONLY
this session, click
here. |
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Business Planning (Part
II) - Marketing Your
Product, Service and
Company
This is the second workshop of the Business Planning
Workshop Series that
began on January 6 and
runs through January 27.
Registration is
available for each
workshop or for the
entire series.
Where: Chester County Library, 450 Exton Square Parkway,
Exton, PA
When:
March 3 from 6:00 to
8:30 p.m.
Cost: $25.00
For more information, or
to register for this
session ONLY, click
here. |
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How to do Business with the U.S. Department of the
Interior
Workshop topics include:
·
How to sell your
products or services to
the U.S.
Department of
the Interior
·
Resources available to
Small Businesses
·
Current contracting
opportunities
·
Building Federal
relationships to obtain
contracts
When: Friday, March 4, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: Delmarva Power Conference Center, 4100 S. Wakefield
Drive, Newark, DE 19702
Cost:
$0
To register or for more information about this
workshop, click
here. |
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Basics of SBIR and STTR
Programs
SBIR/STTR funding is government R&D funding that requires no
repayment, no equity
dilution and no
"external control". To
date, over $16 billion
has been awarded by the
SBIR program to various
small businesses. This
workshop is intended to
help you compete for a
share of the over $1
Billion available for
2011 and to help us
move Pennsylvania up in
the overall SBIR/STTR
funding pool.
This workshop will cover overviews of both the SBIR and
STTR Programs, as well
as the requirements
needed to qualify for
these programs and those
agencies affiliated with
SBIR and STTR.
Where:
The University of
Scranton, Brennan Hall,
5th Floor, Room 502, 320
Madison Avenue,
Scranton, PA 18510
When:
March 8 from 9 to 11:30
a.m.
Cost:
$25
Please click
here for more
information or to
register for this
workshop. |
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Business Planning (Part
III) - Financial
Management: Projections
and Statements
This is the third workshop of the Business Planning
Workshop Series that
began on January 6 and
runs through January 27.
Registration is
available for each
workshop or for the
entire series.
Where: Chester County Library, 450 Exton Square
Parkway, Exton, PA
When: March 10 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $25.00 per workshop
Click
here to register and
for information on this
workshop.
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Doing
Business with the
Commonwealth of PA
Workshop topics include:
Finding opportunities
with the State
State contracting procedures
State resources for small businesses, and
Certification for minority-owned and women-owned
businesses
Presenter: Curtis Burwell, Dept. of General Services
Co-sponsor: Dept.
of General Services
Where:
Harrisburg Regional
Chamber & CREDC, 3211
North Front Street,
Harrisburg, PA 17110
When: March 14
from 9:00 - noon
Cost: $0
To register, click
here. |
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Business Concept
Analysis: Part Three
This is the third session in the four part program that
provides the tools to
develop your business
concept, determines the
viability of the
business concept, and
outlines the critical
steps to a successful
business launch.
This session will focus
on "Conducting Market
Research" and help you
with ways to determine
what information is out
there, and how to use
than information to help
your business.
Where:
Berks County Community
Foundation Building, 237
Court St., Reading, PA
19601
When:
March 16 from 6:00 to
8:00 p.m.
Cost:
$15.00
To register for ONLY
this session, click
here. |
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Business Planning (Part
IV) - Financing the
Business and Feasibility
Decision
This is the fourth workshop of the Business Planning
Workshop Series that
began on January 6.
Registration is
available for each
workshop or for the
entire series.
Where:
Chester County Library,
450 Exton Square
Parkway, Exton, PA
When:
March 17 from 6:00 to
8:30 p.m.
Cost:
$25.00 per workshop
Click here
for information and to
register for this
workshop. |
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Business Concept Analysis: Part Four
This is the fourth and
final session in the
four part program that
provides the tools to
develop your business
concept, determines the
viability of the
business concept, and
outlines the critical
steps to a successful
business launch.
This session will focus
on "Testing Your
Business Concept" and
will provide you with an
opportunity to determine
the viability of your
business ideas.
Where: Berks County Community Foundation Building, 237 Court
St., Reading, PA 19601
When:
March 23 from 6:00 to
8:00 p.m.
Cost: $15.00
To register for ONLY
this session, click
here. |
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Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule
to read our newsletter.
We appreciate your
participation in the KU
SBDC community.
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Sincerely,
Ernie Post, Director
Kutztown University
Small Business
Development Center
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