• SCORE – America’s Counselors to Small Businesses 
• SBA – Small Business Administration

Call for available times

 
FREE Financial Accounting Tips including how to:

• Set up an accounting system
• Learn QuickBooks functions
• Prepare your own financial statement

Appointments available Wednesdays, Noon-3:00PM

 
FREE Technology Consulting services include assistance with:

• Forming an e-commerce strategy
• Applying and/or purchasing technology
• Utilizing social media to increase sales

 Appointments available Wednesdays 6:00-10:00PM

 
FREE Legal Consulting

• Capital and partnership agreements 
• Business entity formation
• Local, state, and federal compliance issues

Appointments available Thursdays 9:00AM-Noon

 
FREE Marketing Consulting

• Marketing plan strategy
• Pricing strategy
• Niche/target marketing

Appointments available Tuesday & Thursday afternoons

For even more information click here to see a brochure on their services.

Date/Location: Feb 22 2011  – Limerick, PA

In this class we’ll look at serving sizes versus portion sizes. Restaurants and stores have made serving sizes bigger over the years. These over-inflated servings are leading to Americans being overweight and unhealthy.

We’ll compare what you are given to what you should be eating. We’ll talk about common breakfast, lunch and dinner food items that are much larger than they should be. We’ll also look at how these super sized portions lead us to overeat.

You’ll gain practical information so that you know what size portions are healthy for you. I’ll also show lots of tips and tricks to help you eat smaller portions and still feel satisfied, full and healthy.

This event is open to the public but space is limited. Please contact Connelly Chiropractic to sign up.

610 495-4550 or www.connellychiro.com

Purchase your ticket before March 10 and receive $10 off! After March 10, tickets will be $60 each. Tickets for children under 12 are $30, and men are welcome, too! Go here to purchase your discounted advance tickets: http://www.galleryonhigh.com/fashionplates5.html

Would your business be interested in sponsoring this event? Please contact cathy@galleryonhigh.com for more information.

If so, a makeover could be just the thing to re-energize your business. It need not be a major overhaul; some minor tweaks may be enough. What’s important is that you recognize the need for action, and learn all you can to make informed decisions.

In order to identify where changes are most needed, you’ll have to dig for details about various aspects of your business. Remember to focus not just on the individual elements, but also how they all fit together.

For example, has your customer base changed since you first started? Is it broader or narrower? Older or younger? More upscale or less? You may need a new image, revved-up branding or perhaps just a rewrite of your marketing materials to address the needs of this changing customer base.

Take a hard look at whether your products or services are performing to customer expectations. Remember that your goal should be to exceed expectations, not simply meet them. Perhaps competitors are doing a better job, or maybe they’ve created add-on products and services that you haven’t. Your own customers can help with your makeover if you ask them for feedback.

If your marketing message has never changed, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate and devise a new one. Try revisiting your original business plan. You might be able to recapture some of the insight and enthusiasm you originally had from that document. Think back to your most successful promotions, presentations or sales efforts. Rather than reinventing the wheel, you might be able to update and expand an approach that has already worked for your business.

Don’t be afraid to seek out other perspectives. After all, you may be “too close” to the issues to understand the sources and solutions. Meet and brainstorm with your trusted advisors, mentors, friends, partners, employees, and outside consultants. Ask customers to give you a frank assessment of what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and what you can do to better serve their needs. The more ideas you receive, the more options you’ll have for getting your business back on the fast-track.

For more business makeover ideas, contact SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business.” SCORE is a nonprofit organization of more than 12,500 volunteer business counselors who provide free, confidential business counseling and training workshops to small business owners. Call (610) 327-2673 for the Pottstown SCORE office, or visit on the web at www.pottstownscore.org.

This workshop series, presented by SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business, is for those who are considering starting a business as well as those who are currently operating a small business. All courses are taught by experienced members of SCORE and outside practitioners recognized as experts in their specific fields.

The workshop sessions are as follows:
1. Sources of Information and the Tax and Legal Implications of the Different Legal Structures, February 21
2. The Business Plan and The Business Loan, February 22
3. Sources of Market Information, Marketing, February 23
4. It’s All About Profit, February 24

The instructors for this workshop series are local business partners and experienced SCORE counselors. Tap into their expertise to gain practical, real-life information on how to start and operate a small business. The instructors are as follows: Hanna Hartman, Vice President and Branch Manager at National Penn Bank; Don Havas, President of Applied Technology and Sciences, Inc; Jeff Kofsky, President of Higher Vision Coaching and Counseling; Mike Mayor, President of Systems Science LLC, and retired VP, ITT Corporation, Defense Electronics and Services; David Megay, Esq., Attorney with O’Donnell, Weiss & Mattei, PC; Scott Rakowski, CPA for Rakowski and Company; and Carolyn Wiker, Head of Adult Services at the Pottstown Public Library.

Registration begins at 6:45 pm, and all classes start promptly at 7:00 pm.
Each session costs $25. A manual on preparing a business plan will be available for $20. A special price of $100 is offered for the 4 courses as a package, and this includes the manual. As an added bonus, there is a 50% discount off the workshop fee for each additional person.

This has been an extremely successful and well-attended workshop. Early paid reservations guarantee a seat. For more information or to register, call the Pottstown SCORE office at 610-327-2673 or visit the website at www.pottstownscore.org.

Susan Uphold had some good luck winning both the member raffle of a free acupuncture treatment from Andrea Deardorff of Inner Garden Acupuncture and $44 in our 50/50 raffle.

Exhibit tables were full of member items for display as well as a full table display including desserts from our luncheon sponsor, Genevieve Le Bel of Celebrate Today…the Superchick Way! And she definitely showed us some amazing examples of her superchick work. Genevieve’s creativity is matched by her enthusiasm and anyone meeting her could see she would bring a spark to any event. She left us with a list of 10 party planning tips and stomachs full of great treats. For more information check out her website or blog at www.celebrate2da.com

This month we were pleased to award Cathy Paretti of the Gallery School in Pottstown with a check for $3000 from funds raised during our Annual Halloween Party at Country Creek Winery. Cathy let us know that this money would go towards their scholarship fund where they already have a waitlist of children who cannot afford classes and are interested as so many schools in the area have cut funding for the arts. Many thanks again to all the WRN members and sponsors who made this year’s event a great success. For more information on the Gallery School visit www.galleryonhigh.com

Our speaker this month was Annie Stone of Mind Matters Coaching. Annie addressed some of the things that contribute to stress in our daily lives and how to go from feeling like we were “losing our minds” to finding it and using it wisely. She showed us how to be an expert at your own thoughts connecting with people, accomplishing goals, completing tasks and how to find overall joy in the journey. Annie showed us an example of her Intentional Creation profile which the 15 minute profile is available on our site with a free 20 minute follow up consultation by Annie. For more information about Annie visit her website at www.mindmatterscoaching.com

We hope everyone had a great time, made some valuable new connections and look forward to seeing you in December!

The day of the race was a beautiful, picture perfect October day. My son stayed with me and we finished in 47 minutes (he usually runs an eight-minute mile!). How kind he was – to trot along with me at my pace. We crossed the finish line – not last by a long shot- but just shortly before the four-year-old girl behind us!

Ah, the thrill of victory! The victory was simply that I had finished the race. I must say, it felt good. Really, really good.

**LaVerne Scheetz is an active WRN Montco member and President of Healthy Interior Solutions. Learn more about LaVerne here or visit Healthy Interior Solutions online at www.healthyinteriorsolutions.com.We are so proud of LaVerne for completing her run and for such a great cause! The focus of our traditional December Luncheon is Bring-a-Bra where we collect new bras and other items to support Laurel House. If you would like to learn more about Laurel House and the amazing work that they do please visit their site at www.laurel-house.org.

This workshop series, presented by SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business, is for those who are considering starting a business as well as those who are currently operating a small business. All courses are taught by experienced members of SCORE and outside practitioners recognized as experts in their specific fields.

The workshop sessions are as follows:

1. Sources of Information and the Tax and Legal Implications of the Different Legal Structures, November 8

2. The Business Plan and The Business Loan, November 15

3. Sources of Market Information, Marketing, November 29

4. It’s All About Profit, December 6

The instructors for this workshop series are local business partners and experienced SCORE counselors. Tap into their expertise to gain practical, real-life information on how to start and operate a small business. The instructors are as follows: Hanna Hartman, Vice President and Branch Manager at National Penn Bank; Don Havas, President of Applied Technology and Sciences, Inc; Jeff Kofsky, President of Higher Vision Coaching and Counseling; Mike Mayor, President of Systems Science LLC, and retired VP, ITT Corporation, Defense Electronics and Services; David Megay, Esq., Attorney with O’Donnell, Weiss & Mattei, PC; Scott Rakowski, CPA for Rakowski and Company; and Carolyn Wiker, Head of Adult Services at the Pottstown Public Library

Registration begins at 6:45 pm, and all classes start promptly at 7:00 pm.

Each session costs $25. A manual on preparing a business plan will be available for $20. A special price of $100 is offered for the 4 courses as a package, and this includes the manual. As an added bonus, there is a 50% discount off the workshop fee for each additional person.

This has been an extremely successful and well-attended workshop. Early paid reservations guarantee a seat. For more information or to register, call the Pottstown SCORE office at 610-327-2673 or visit the website at www.pottstownscore.org.