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BUSINESS NOTES
Creative Ways to Stretch Your Marketing Budget
Innovative ways some business owners are
using to stretch their marketing
dollars:
Take advantage of technology -
- 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
IRS Offers Details on New Small Business Health Care Tax
Credit
Guidance from the IRS makes it easier to determine whether
small businesses are eligible for the
new health care tax credit and how large
a credit they will receive. Connect to
the details
here.
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Veteran-Owned Businesses - the Latest on
Certification
From business.gov: clarification on veterans' certification
- click
here to read.
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SBA Small Business Loans
Explained-Availability, Eligibility and
the Application Process - click
here to
read this article from Business.Gov.
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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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"Business.Gov's Licenses and Permits
Tool"
This tool automatically generates a list of appropriate
licenses and permits when you enter your
business type and city/state. Business.Gov
Licenses and Permits Tool
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"Cultivating Sound Business Practices
with the Help of the IRS"
Click here
to read an article from Business.gov
about using the 2010 IRS Tax Calendar.
The calendar is available here:
IRS Tax Calendar
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The KU SBDC Celebrates Graduation of 37 Entrepreneurs
On Saturday, July 10, 37 Latino
entrepreneurs celebrated their
graduation from the Kutztown
University Latino Business Resource
Center program, "Business Skills for
Success for Latino Entrepreneurs",
which was conducted in partnership
with the Kutztown University Small
Business Development Center,
National Penn Bank, and the Greater
Reading Chamber of Commerce.
The program focuses on the emerging
Latino business community and uses a
mix of classroom courses, online
workshops, and one-to-one business
consulting. The event was held at Mi
Casa Su Casa restaurant, which is
owned and operated by a former
graduate of the program.
In addition to the ceremony for the
graduates, Kutztown University
President Dr. Javier Cevallos
presented State Senator Michael
O'Pake with the Small Business
Champion Award, in recognition
of the Senator's tireless efforts in
support of entrepreneurship and his
commitment to the KU SBDC.
To read more about the program, and
to see the list of graduates, please
click
here.
For a second article, and to view
video from the event, click
here. |
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The First Step Webinar for Start-Up
Businesses
This 2 hour Webinar (live,
interactive, online workshop)
provides an overview of SBDC client
services and learning resources. It
also introduces topics relevant to
all small businesses during their
start-up phase.
The Webinar will also introduce and
discuss a business concept outline.
A business concept outline
summarizes a business concept onto
ten PowerPoint slides that
communicate the essential
information needed to assess the
business concept.
Where:
Simultaneous Web conference with
telephone
When: July 20 from 11:30 a.m.
to 1 p.m.
Cost: $0
To register, click
here. |
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Website
Optimization Webinar - WOW!
This 90-minute Webinar is designed
for businesses with Websites that
need tweaks, redesigns, or online
marketing plans. Its goal is to give
participants a foundational
understanding of the basic concepts,
terminology, and functionality of
traditional online marketing
elements.
After the Webinar, each participant
will receive a report which will
provide results from the analysis of
their Website's structural design.
The report will highlight areas
where the Website could be edited to
better meet the technical criteria
of the traditional search
engines. The report is intended to
assist the business owner in the
development of an action plan for
the Website, with changes being made
through your company's internal
staff or through an outsourced Web
developer.
Upon completion of the Webinar, each
participant will receive their
customized WOW report within 14 days
via email, along with one hour of
free consultation to review the
report findings with an SBDC
consultant.
Where: Simultaneous Web conference
with telephone
When: July 21 or August 18 from
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Cost: $199
To register, 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 June 3.
Registration is available for each
workshop or for the entire series.
Note: This workshop is the
make-up date for the session that
was postponed due to inclement
weather on June 24.
Where: Due to rescheduling,
the workshop will be conducted as a
Webinar. An email will be sent to
each registered participant prior to
July 22.
When:
July 22 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $20.00 per workshop
Email
alewis@kutztown.edu for
registration information. |
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Doing
Business with the Commonwealth of PA
Workshop topics include:
Finding opportunities with the State
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State contracting procedures
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State resources for small
businesses, and
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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: July 28 from 9 - 11:00
a.m.
Cost: $0
To register, 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: August 4 from 9:00 a.m.
- noon
Cost: $0
To register, 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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