MyEntre.Net Newsletter for January 4, 2011

Greetings!

Last summer, we contacted small business owners from across the state to get direct feedback on how Iowa’s small businesses are really doing.  We emailed and called many of you to ask a huge favor – 5 minutes of your day to answer a few questions about your business and the business climate within your community.  Your responses helped to capture the attention of the legislature, resulting in the new Iowa Small Business Loan Program and the upcoming free business research services here at MyEntre.Net.

This winter, it is more important than ever to hear from you.  We'd like your comments and input - the good, bad, pretty or ugly - so we can carry your needs and concerns to the people that can help.

Simply click on the button below to access the survey or visit: http://www.myentre.net/EconomicImpactSurvey/tabid/117/Default.aspx.

THANK YOU….

…very much for your time and feedback!!  If you have any additional questions regarding the survey, please don't hesitate to contact me at 319-273-4328 or at amy.kuhlers@uni.edu.

So you've been thinking about it for months and it is finally time- you've got to hire someone!  Hiring your first employee is an important step but one that must be done with care.  How do you find the right person?  What do you look for?  How do you interview?  Successful consultant and business owner Pat Galasso of Galasso & Frakes along with Carolyn Spath Frakes.  Will share their common sense approaches to interviewing, hiring and motivating your first employees.  They will help take the mystery out of the hiring process.  

Pat Galasso of Clear Lake, IA has been in the restaurant business for 25 years and is currently co-owner and operator of Ge-Jo’s by the Lake restaurant in Clear Lake. She is a certified business planning trainer and is self-employed as a project manager/facilitator/trainer and keynote speaker.  Pat develops and implements training programs for corporate and non-profit organizations as well as facilitates business start-ups and operations management.  Galasso received the Iowa Small Business Development Center’s Deb Dalziel Women Entrepreneur Achievement Award designating her as the 2000 Iowa Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.  She is also a recipient of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Youth Entrepreneurship Academy Internship Recognition award.  Galasso currently serves on the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Advisory Board, the Cerro Gordo County Board of Health, and the North Iowa Area Community College Foundation.

Carolyn Spath Frakes background includes both business experience and teaching experience.  With respect to business, she has 10 years experience in corporate business but her true passion lies in helping entrepreneurs get into business for themselves, through teaching fundamental business concepts and relating real-world experiences.  Carolyn put her passion to use and opened and ran an independent bookstore and coffee bar for more than five years before selling it to a good customer.  For Carolyn, the best part of selling the store was the opportunity to train the new owners on all aspects of running the business. 

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, contact us! Start with Courtney Schwitzer at 319-273-4335 or Courtney.Schwitzer@uni.edu

Missed that Webinar? More than 100 Webinars are archived on MyEntre.Net- including these:  

• Marketing on a Shoestring
  
• Exiting Your Business: Do It Right
  
• Iowa Micro Loan Program
  

Click here for the full Webinar Archives!

Buy and Sell: Looking for some office equipment, office furniture, or wanting to purchase a business?  Login to the MyEntre.Net Buy & Sell to see what's available!

Here are just a few recently posted items:

• Laptop. IBM Thinkpad T43 for Sale
  
• Beauty Salon and Tanning Business for Sale
  
• Tonner and imaging cartridge for Sale

Today's Business you should meet:

Heidi Fawcett - Fawcett Trucking

My husband and I own Fawcett Trucking. We have been in heavy haul transportation for over 20 years, starting in 1989.  We are currently expanding our business to hot shot hauling. 

Fawcett Trucking is a small trucking company.  We are a heavy haul trucking company that hauls construction and farm equipment, wind power to anything imaginable. We can haul up 60,000 lbs. with permits and pilot cars. We just started our new hot shot division last month to haul smaller equipment up to 26,000 lb GVW. 

Please check out Heidi Fawcett on MyEntre.Net or Fawcett Trucking.

If you'd like the opportunity to have your business or organization's information included in an upcoming MyEntre.Net Message - be sure to fill out your personal and company profile on MyEntre.Net! If you are not sure where to start, contact Courtney Schwitzer at Courtney.Schwitzer@uni.edu or 319.273.4335.

Social Media Updates: Let's Get Social - Share your Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn Account(s)

We've updated MyEntre.Net to enable user sharing of your favorite social media accounts! To get started, simply click on the 'Edit Profile' button located in the top right corner of your personal profile page and navigate to the 'Social URLs' section. Once there, simply enter the web address for each of your other profiles and click on the save button at the bottom of the edit page. You can also have social buttons on your business profile! To add a Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Linked In account to your business profile, click on the 'Edit Social Options' button located near the center of your business profile and follow the instructions there. Give Rob Williams a call at 319-273-4333 with questions!

Thanks for reading today's minute message, and happy online networking!

-Courtney Schwitzer

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