Business Plan

Q: With 2012 fast approaching, what year-end strategies does SCORE endorse for small businesses? Are any local workshops or seminars planned? A: SCORE and Hagerstown Community College are sponsoring a tax seminar Thursday, Feb. 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and will introduce a new workshop titled "Simple Steps to Grow Your Business" Thursdays, Feb.2, 9 and 16, from 5 to 8 p.m. Both presentations will be in room 323 of the Technical Innovation...

The Business and Professional Women of Maryland will meet Friday and Saturday at the Ramada Plaza near Valley Mall for the organization's fall conference. Approximately 50 women from across the state are expected to attend the annual event, themed "The Power of You!" Conference participants will celebrate National Business Women's Week and meet the new state officers. A workshop is planned Friday titled "Your Path to Purpose. " Holistic Life Purpose Coach and Transformational Leader Bonnie Gordon Patterino will give a presentation.

Many individuals have the desire to own their own small business and be their own boss, but they are not sure how to get started. With nine out of 10 new small businesses failing in 2010, it is important to learn the critical skills necessary for successful business ownership before opening your doors. The Entrepreneurship Certificate Program at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in Martinsburg teaches students a proven set of business principles that help them identify and improve a viable business concept, leading to greater success.

A program on “Social Media: Turn Your Business into a Flourishing Success,” is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Hager Hall Crystal Ballroom, 901 Dual Highway. Jennifer Weiss, a management consultant, will present the program, which centers on the importance of social media for small businesses. The program is co-sponsored by the Business and Professional Women's Club of Hagerstown and the Small Business Development Center. The cost is $20 for dinner and the program or $15 for the program only.

Q: We recently started a small business and my banker told us we need a business plan. Is it really important, since we have already started the business? A: There are many important questions that your business plan will help you answer. If you have a good idea for starting a business, then the plan can help you determine if you should go ahead with your idea. If you can't convince yourself that your idea will work, how will you convince your prospective backers and customers?

With jobs on everyone's mind, the Washington County Commissioners have approved a little economic stimulus of their own, eliminating or easing some of the stumbling blocks that can come between business and new construction. The two-year program was designed by the Economic Development Commission to turn vacant industrial land into “pad ready” condition by prioritizing plan reviews and deferring county fees. The breaks would not apply to retail centers, theoretically targeting companies that might bring with them higher quality jobs.

Q: As I look into starting my own business, I am overwhelmed by all the things I will have to know to be successful. What kind of training does SCORE suggest and what is available locally? A: First, there is no substitute for getting your own practical experience in the kind of business you hope to start. Knowing your marketing and tax issues, technology, finances, human resources management and many other aspects of small business will help you be successful in your own business.

Approximately 35 local businesses are scheduled to participate in the 15th annual Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce Business Expo set for Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to noon in the Waynesboro Area Senior High School cafeteria. Guest John Miller with the Battle of Monterey Pass Association will discuss the efforts being made to preserve this Civil War battle site near Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. The expo is held in conjunction with the Waynesboro Lions Club pancake and sausage breakfast.

Q. My small business has grown rather nicely in the last three years, is profitable, and I am staffed with competent help. Now that I have a little free time, I would like to volunteer with a local organization working in support of other small businesses. What does SCORE have to offer? A. Your timing is excellent. SCORE has recently announced implementation of their national business plan aimed at a million small business startups in the next several years. That will require an increase in local SCORE chapter activities across the country.

Tax cut extension is a post-election bailout of politicians       To the editor:   Clearly having learned nothing from our recent experience of bailing out failed businesses and failed business ideas, our political leaders from both sides have joined together to cobble a new combo of stimulus and bailout disguised as a simple extension of the Bush tax cuts. However, this bill is nothing more than a post-election bailout of politicians.