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Western
Dairyland Business Center
April 2009
Newsletter
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Spring is in the air and the Women's
Business Conference is right around the corner! Please note
that there will be no women's networking meeting for
April, but we will be back for May and June with a special
two-part program "Planning, Passion, & Pro
Formas" Also -- one time only -- Linda Krysiak from
the SBA will be presenting a free, two-hour session on selling to the
government that you will not want to miss!
April
Events and Deadlines (details below)
04.09.09
Jackson County Inventors & Entrepreneurs
Club, Black River Falls
04.14.09
Seven Steps to Starting a Business, 6-9pm, Eau Claire
04.16.09
Buffalo/Trempealeau Counties Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club,
Independence
04.23.09 6th
Annual Women's Business Conference, Eau Claire. A full day of
opportunities for networking and learning.
04.24.09
Selling to the Government with Linda Krysiak, SBA, 10-noon, Eau
Claire
For more information on any of these events and more, continue reading
below or feel free to contact me directly at kbriggs@westerndairyland.org.
Sincerely,
Karman Briggs
Business Center Manager
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Womens
Business Conference
April 23, 2009
Plaza Hotel
& Suites
Eau Claire,
WI
If you're thinking of
starting or expanding a business, this conference is for you!
715.836.7511 ext. 174
*BECOME A
FAN OF THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CONFERENCE ON FACEBOOK*
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 Women's Business Conference New
for 2009
Since the first Women's Business Conference
in 2003,
the scope and variety of workshops has steadily increased.
This year, in addition to "Business Basics" "Advanced Business Topics"
and the roundtable series, we are for the first time offering a full
day of workshops on trends in business. This series is the
"breaking news" of the conference, with presenters offering information
and insights on several important trends:
International
marketing--the combination of
Internet marketing and a relatively weak dollar mean that more and more
small businesses find themselves selling and shipping worldwide.
Presenter Julie Pennington (UWEC) has successfully marketed
products on six continents and offers a number of practical, low-cost
and innovative strategies.
Patents
and Trademarks-- Why bother
with patents and trademarks? Are they too expensive? A basic
understanding of intellectual property rights in a cyber-connected
world can go a long way in helping your business grow and stay
competitive. Presented by attorney Tony Bourget.
What Can't You Sell to the Government?
--You don't
need to be a huge corporation selling heavy equipment to get into the
game! From tutoring services to bottled water, the range of
products purchased by governments and prime contractors is wide and
deep. Experts Aina Vilumsons (Wisconsin Procurement
Institute) and Linda Krysiak (Small Business Administration) explain
how to go after that contract.
Green
Business--Consumers
are demanding sustainable products and services, and business owners
who can understand and meet that demand will be ahead of the
curve. In this panel discussion Rick Beckler (Sacred Heart
Hospital), Ned Noel (City of Eau Claire) and Erin O'Brien (Erin
Designs) talk about environmentally conscious, and economically
sensible, business practices.
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Selling
to the Government
The Western Dairyland Business
Center, SCORE and CVTC present Selling to the Government with guest
speaker, Linda Krysiak, Business Development Specialist with the
Wisconsin District Office of the US Small Business
Administration. This FREE educational session will be held on
Friday, April 24,
from 10am to noon in the RCU room at CVTC Clairemont Campus.
From tutoring services to bottled water, the range of products and
services purchased by the government is vast and wide. In this free
educational session, Krysiak will present area business owners with
information on how to make the government a customer and subsequently
increase sales.
Linda Krysiak is a Business Development Specialist with the Wisconsin
District Office of the US Small Business Administration. She
has been in the Business Development division which includes Government
contracting and certification programs i.e. Hubzone, 8(a)/SDB since
coming to the SBA in 1998. Prior to SBA, Ms. Krysiak worked
as a contract administrator for the Defense Contract Management Agency,
where she administered both fixed price and cost reimbursement
contracts as well as negotiating change orders for the US Coast
Guard. She has over 18 years of federal contracting
experience.
Because space is limited, please pre-register at
www.SuccessfulBusiness.org. Arrangements for persons with special needs
will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.
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Women's Business Networking Meetings
Due to the
Women's Business Conference, there will be no T.E.A.M. meeting for the
month of April.
T.E.A.M. Women's Business Network
Meetings for May and June will feature a special 2-part presentation
"The 3 P's of Start-Ups: Planning, Passion, & Pro
Formas." Presentors will be Kelly Berry and Pam Baughman from
ResourceAbility, LLC. Mark your calender for May
14 and June 11, Noon-1pm at
Western Dairyland, 418 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire. For
more information about the Women's Business Network, get in
touch with Karman at kbriggs@westerndairyland.org or
(715) 836-7511 x 174.
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7
Steps to Starting a Business
Learn the Basic Steps in
Building a Successful Business Plan
Want
to start your own business, but don't know how? The Western Dairyland
Business Center is hosting an event to teach participants how to start
a business by assembling the pieces of a business plan on Tuesday, April
14, from 6 to 9 pm at the
Western Dairyland Community Action Agency, 418 Wisconsin Street, Eau
Claire.
Topics covered include feasibility, proving your market, funding your
business, writing a business plan, marketing, business legal structure
and more.
If you attend this event you can apply for FREE, one-on-one assistance
from Western Dairyland's Business Development Specialists to determine
the feasibility of your business idea and identify sources to
prove your market. Business Development Specialists
may also help with the preparation of business plans and financial
forecasts which could be presented to lenders.
Tuition is $25 for individuals. Two or more people starting a
business together may register for $20 each. Class
materials are included. Scholarships are available for income
eligible individuals. For more information or to register, go
to www.SuccessfulBusiness.org or call 715/836-7511, ext.
171 SPACE IS LIMITED, registration and payment must be
received by Friday, April 10. Arrangements for persons with
special needs will be made if requested in advance.
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The
next Jackson County I&E Club meeting is
Thursday, April 9 at our new
location at the Black River Falls
Area Chamber of Commerce at 120 N. Water St., Black River Falls. Meetings will continue to be held on the
second Thursday of each month at 6:30pm.
The
next Buffalo/Trempealeau County I&E Club meeting
is Thursday, April 16 at our new
location at the Western Dairyland Annex
Building located at 23122 Whitehall Road,
Independence. Meetings will continue to be held at 6:30pm on
the third Thursday of each month.
These two clubs are FREE
to attend and open to anyone in Western Wisconsin who would
like to learn from experienced professionals and discuss their ideas
with other local inventors and entrepreneurs.
Connect to
other Inventors and Entrepreneurs like you
at LinkedIn. Click HERE
For
more information on either I & E Club call: Karman
Briggs at 715-836-7511, ext. 174 You can also email IandE@WesternDairyland.org
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New
to Wisconsin Common Market
A&A
Glassworks
A & A Glassworks LLC
is owned and operated by Andre and Annette, a husband and wife who work
out of their home in Waukesha, WI. By day, the owner /
artisans work in metallurgical engineering and
nursing. By night, they create personalized
stained glass pieces that reflect their fine design skills,
their love of beauty and their commitment to the environment.
All works are collaborative
efforts. Annette usually takes the lead on fine detail work
and fused products and has the final say on most glass
choices. Andre focuses on larger panels, does most of the
soldering and creates most of the designs.
Their latest Tiffany style products feature lead-free solder
exclusively. It costs a bit more, but prevents any release of
lead into the environment. Check out their work on the Wisconsin Common
Market.
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We want your feedback. . .
Our training and networking events
will soon be available as distance
education--webinars, conference calls, and similar
events. As a potential participant, how do you feel about
this? We want your feedback--please take
our on-line survey.
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News and Events
ABWA Spring
Membership Drive The Eau Chapter of the American Business Women's
Association will kick off it's spring membership drive with a dinner
and meeting on Wednesday, April 8th. Networking is
at 5:30, dinner and meeting at 6:30, Connell's at the Airport, 3800
Starr Ave., Eau Claire. For more information, contact Donna
Christianson, (715) 552-9135.
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SCAM ALERT!!!! Someone is
using stationary which is VERY similar to the SBA letterhead and
sending letters to small businesses saying they are eligible for a tax
rebate under the Economic Stimulus Act, and that SBA is assessing their
eligibility for such a rebate. The letter asks the small
business to provide the name of its bank and account number.
SBA DOES
NOT do that. Small businesses SHOULD
NOT respond to letters falsely claiming to have been sent by
the SBA asking for bank account information in order to qualify them
for federal tax rebates.
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DECI Jumpstart--Deadline MAY 31
This
competition is great for entrepreneurs interested in opening a business
in Downtown Eau Claire. This competition is open to any type of
business - from hi-tech office services to specialty gift shops. You
could win
$5,000 in start-up capital and $500 of TV airtime!
To
be eligible:
- You must be
18 years of age or older and interested in starting a business in
Downtown Eau Claire or relocating a business to Downtown Eau Claire.
- You cannot
enter a business already located downtown at the time of entry into the
competition. Proposed business must open by May 2010.
Submit
an application and a business plan for the
proposed business to Downtown Eau Claire, Inc. by May
31st, 2009. To learn more go to www.downtown-eauclaire/jumpstart.
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Business Resources
Looking
for an angel? Joe
Kremer and the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Network
(WEN) have put together a step-by-step guide introducing
entrepreneurs to the investment scene. It was created for
entrepreneurs who would like to raise funds from angel investors but do
not have experience, and provides a direct link to existing resources. http://www.wisconsinangelnetwork.com/resources/?Id=58
Staying
Afloat in Tough Times The Small
Business Administration is offering free
on-line training and
other resources to help small businesses during these challenging
economic times. Available courses include:
- Strategic Marketing: How to Win
Customers in a Slowing Economy
- Down-Shifting in a Slowing Economy:
Business Planning Guide
- Raise new capital / Refinance
exisiting debt
- Diversify with federal contracts: A
Guide to Winning Federal Contracts
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Partially funded
by the U.S. Small Business Administration. This institution
is an equal opportunity provider.
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