Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) and the TD Charitable Foundation are offering a free class in Chester on Tuesday, May 28th. Making Sense of Your Dollars and Cents: A Guide to Basic Business Money Matters is an introduction to basic business financial literacy. This 1.5 hour class will teach participants how to read Profit and Loss Statements and Balance Sheets and how to use Cash Flow reports to run your business.
Sarah Kearns will also cover what financing options are available for your business and what banks look for when loaning money.
This program is funded by the TD Charitable Foundation and so is free to participants.
The class will be held in the conference room of the TD Bank in Chester. The program begins at 10:30 am and runs until noon on May 28th.
Vermont Small Business Development Center is a non-profit partnership of government, education and business, organized to help Vermont small businesses succeed. No-cost, confidential advice is provided to existing business owners and new entrepreneurs throughout the state. The local SBDC office is at Springfield Regional Development Corporation. For more information visit www.vtsbdc.org or contact Debra Boudrieau at (802) 885-2071 or dboudrieau@vtsbdc.org.
Vermont Small Business Development Center is a partnership program with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The support given by the U.S. Small Business Administration through its funding does not constitute an expressed or implied endorsement of any of the co-sponsors’ or participants’ opinions, products or services.
VtSBDC celebrated its 20th anniversary in Randolph Center on Wednesday, April 25, 2013. The ceremony was held at a breakfast event on the campus of Vermont Technical College. John Boutin, Publisher of Vermont Business Magazine acted as Master of Ceremonies. Sponsors of the event were Vermont Economic Development Authority, Community National Bank and Comcast.
The highlight of the program was the presentation of Awards of Recognition to businesses. These following local businesses in Windham and Southern Windsor Counties were cited for excellence in the several categories:
e-Commerce Strategy: Megan Baehr of Nonesuch Garden (Brattleboro)
Family Owned: Kelt and Kristina Naylor of Side Hill Farm (Brattleboro)
Irene Survival Success: Laura and Stanley Lynde of Lynde Motorsports (Brattleboro)
Nonprofit Sustainability: Sandy Vincent and Sherry Willumits of the Chester Andover Family Center (Chester)
Start-up Success: Jesse and Peter Friedman of Student Cultural Exchange (Brattleboro)
Strategic Growth: Leslie Stuart of Wine and Cheese Depot (Ludlow)
Sustainable Business; Tesha Buss of Good Commons/Good Bus/ Good Farm (Plymouth)
Sustainable Retailer: Loretta Palazzo and Matt Maranian of Boomerang (Brattleboro)
Value Added Agriculture: Kate and Charles Dodge of Putney Mountain Winery (Putney)
Young Entrepreneur: Alli Wright of OWL Energy Bar (Brattleboro)
Dignitaries from Senators Leahy and Sanders and Congressman Welch’s office plus the SBA were on hand to congratulate the recipients. In total 60 businesses were honored in 16 categories.
Lenae Quillen-Blume, who will be retiring as the State Director of VtSBDC in June of this year, was also honored at the event.
Vermont Small Business Development Center is a non-profit partnership of government, education and business, organized to help Vermont small businesses succeed. No-cost, confidential advice is provided to existing business owners and new entrepreneurs throughout the state. For more information visit www.vtsbdc.org or contact Debra Boudrieau at (802) 257-7731 or dboudrieau@vtsbdc.org.
Vermont Small Business Development Center is a partnership program with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The support given by the U.S. Small Business Administration through its funding does not constitute an expressed or implied endorsement of any of the co-sponsors’ or participants’ opinions, products or services.
The development of Springfield along the Black River is an amazing story. Well known historian and author, Rosanne (Bunni) Putnam will bring to life the early history of Springfield in a visual presentation and talk entitled “From Mills to Machine Tools”. This will take place on Saturday afternoon April 13th from 3 – 4:30 pm at the Great Hall, which is part of the new One Hundred River Street project in Springfield. Admission is free and the public is welcome.
Picture the Past is a history column written by Putnam in the Springfield Reporter. Putnam’s column led her to create a visual presentation thatwill introduce the 14 remarkable men who changed the direction of Springfield.
The columns and the visual presentation involved countless hours of research. Rosanne reviewed old photographs and postcards; Hubbard & Dartt’s, History of the Town of Springfield; Keith Richard Barney’s, The History of Springfield, Vermont. Another source of historic information were old Springfield Reporters on file at the library.
Enjoy the program seated in one of the Great Hall’s 52 new chairs, which were purchased thanks to the generosity of community members. A donor list of “Friends of the Great Hall” is on display in the History Corner. You can browse the History Corner’s growing collection of historic photos, books, manuals and original gears. Exchange stories or ask questions of former Fellows employees in the History Corner every Friday afternoon from Noon to 4 pm.
For more information on the “From Mills to Machine Tools” presentation, contact Bob Flint at SRDC, 802-885-3061 or bobf@springfielddevelopment.org
The local Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) is offering a four-hour workshop on how to start your own business and write a business plan. The course will be offered next Thursday, March 7th, from 1 – 5 pm, at the Springfield Regional Development Corporation, at 14 Clinton Street, in the 1st floor conference room.
Starting Your Own Business is conducted by experienced business advisers and designed as a step-by-step guide for starting a business in Vermont for the first-time business owner:
Evaluate whether there is a viable business in your good idea
Identify your target customers and explore how to conduct market research
Learn how to register your company, apply for tax numbers and protect your brand
Prepare to write an effective business plan
Find out about financing options and learn what a credible loan package looks like
Receive access to the online workshops to increase your knowledge in money, marketing and management (at your convenience) valued at over $150.00
By the end of this workshop you will be well-informed about the resources available to you and the steps involved in launching a successful business.
Space is limited. To register for the workshop sign up online at www.vtsbdc.org (click on the training tab). For registration questions, please email Heather Gonyaw at hgonyaw@vtsbdc.org . The registration fee is $99.00. Your payment includes a start-up workbook in hardcopy and pdf format.
Vermont Small Business Development Center is a non-profit partnership of government, education and business, organized to help Vermont small businesses succeed. No-cost, confidential advice is provided to existing business owners and new entrepreneurs throughout the state. The local office is located at Springfield Regional Development Corporation on Clinton Street in Springfield. For more information visit www.vtsbdc.org or contact Debra Boudrieau at (802) 885-2071 or dboudrieau@vtsbdc.org.
Vermont Small Business Development Center is a partnership program with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The support given by the U.S. Small Business Administration through its funding does not constitute an expressed or implied endorsement of any of the co-sponsors’ or participants’ opinions, products or services.
SRDC Executive Director Bob Flint makes a return visit to SAPA-TV’s “Puggy’s Corner” to talk about the history of SRDC as well as recent and ongoing economic development projects in the Springfield Vermont region. Program was taped on 2/11/2013.
SRDC Executive Director Bob Flint provides an update on current projects in the Southern Windsor County area on “Puggy’s Corner”, from SAPA-TV – late 2012.
SRDC and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation have received $1 million in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds through the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) to assist businesses with “unmet disaster recovery needs” related to Tropical Storm Irene over one year ago. Unmet need refers to those items that are a direct result of flooding that have not yet been addressed through other means, such as FEMA, VEDA, or other grants, loans, or contributions. Eligible use of funds include repair of structure, repair or replace equipment, create or retain jobs, interest rate buy downs on private loans, rent subsidies and lost rental revenue.
This will be a highly competitive process as the documented unmet need greatly outweighs the funding. Working with the Business Application and Selection Criteria, a Selection Committee of representative individuals from each Region will make determinations as to which businesses will receive funding and the total amount of funds to be granted to each business. There will be 3 rounds of application due dates: January 31, 2013, February 28, 2013, and March 31, 2013. Applications must be complete to be reviewed.
Business owners will be asked to provide an overview of their operation, the background, financials, and project descriptions that will provide the information needed by the Selection Committee to make determinations. The Selection Committee will use Selection Criteria, which will include scoring on viability, impact on community and employment, and resiliency.
To assist with the application process, businesses are strongly encouraged to attend one of the workshops being provided in partnership with Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) at either the Brattleboro or Springfield location. SBDC will provide direct assistance in completing the application and helping businesses to include all required materials to have a more competitive application. Business owners will not meet directly with the Selection Committee, so a strong application is the best approach.
Business Application Workshop Schedule:
Monday, Jan. 7th 5-7:30 p.m. – Marlboro College Graduate School, 28 Vernon St, Brattleboro
Thursday, Jan. 10th 2-4:30 p.m. – Howard Dean Education Center, 307 South St, Springfield
Monday, Jan. 28th 5-7:30 p.m. – Howard Dean Education Center, 307 South St, Springfield
Tuesday, Jan. 29th 9-11:30 a.m. – Marlboro College Graduate School, 28 Vernon St, Brattleboro
The Vermont Community Development Program announced on Thursday that they have awarded a one million dollar Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) to two southeastern Vermont Regional Development Corporations. Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) is partnering with Springfield Regional Development Corporation (SRDC) to provide funding for flood-impacted businesses throughout Windham and southern Windsor counties.
BDCC Executive Director Jeff Lewis is encouraged by what this means for flood impacted businesses.
“One of the most striking things we have learned since Irene is just how long recovery takes,” he said. “While it is discouraging that some businesses are still trying to recover, we’re happy to have been able to find another resource to try and help.”
Notification of the grant award came on Thursday from the Vermont Community Development Program which handles the application process for CDBG funds statewide, and represents the second round of funding made available from $21.7 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds allocated to the state from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development following Tropical Storm Irene.
Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Congressman Peter Welch fought to include $400 million in HUD CDBG disaster funding in the federal budget. Their efforts ensured that Vermont was one of a handful of states that received an allocation of this funding. Leahy, Sanders, and Welch have also worked with HUD to ensure that the funding had less strings attached enabling the funds to be used in some of the most severely impacted communities in Windham County. The awards are based on project reviews by the Vermont Community Development Program staff, funding recommendations made by the Vermont Community Development Board and approval of Secretary of Commerce and Community Development Lawrence Miller.
“These awards are the result of hard work by many individuals and the partnerships formed to make these projects a reality,” said Secretary Miller. “First the work of our congressional delegation, then our Agency staff and Community Development Board to implement the program efficiently and effectively and of course the tireless efforts of the applicants to bring needed resources to their communities. This is another important step forward in the recovery process. We’re pleased the two regional development corporations were able to collaborate and expand their abilities to help businesses impacted. The RDC’s are an important partner in our economic delivery system and flood recovery is another area where they have stepped up. Recovery funding is still available and we look forward to making additional awards in the months ahead and putting this funding to work helping Vermonters.”
Funds are required to meet “unmet disaster recovery needs”, including repair of structure, repair or replace equipment, create or retain jobs, interest rate buy downs on private loans, rent subsidies and lost rental revenue.
SRDC’s Bob Flint indicated that the funding would help ease the transition from recovery to growth. “We hope to utilize the block grant to help the small businesses that are still feeling the financial pressure from Irene be in a position to have stability and start to move forward to prosperity”, Flint said.
The sub-grant process will be competitive. Applications will be available on the BDCC and SRDC websites by December 19th, www.brattleborodevelopment.com or www.springfielddevelopment.org VtSBDC will be assisting with a limited series of technical assistance seminars for businesses that want help with the application. The dates for those sessions will be posted with the application.
For more information on business applications please contact: April Harkness, BDCC, 802-257-7731 or Paul Kowalski, SRDC, 802-885-3061
Lovejoy Tool Company announced that they have added a new Hermle 5 axis machining center to their manufacturing facility in Springfield, Vermont. Lovejoy has been a leader in the precision cutting tool industry since 1916 and this new machine will allow for increased production capacity.
The Hermle is a state of the art machine. With its 5 axis, it can create complex, high precision parts in production quantities, taking the expertise of the Lovejoy engineers and allowing the company to keep up with increased demand.
The machine weighs roughly 18,000 pounds and sits on 8 inches of reinforced concrete. The unit is connected to the Internet and and troubleshooting or diagnostics can be done online.
For Lovejoy, the new Hermle signifies a continued commitment to excellence in manufacturing. According to Lovejoy Tool President Doug Priestley, “This new machine will help us grow our specials product line as well as better serve our long-time core customers”. He added that the faster cycle and tool change times that are now possible will help to lead to shortened delivery times for product orders.
Lovejoy Tool Company has been a supplier of standard and unique cutting tools for over ninety years to customers in a variety of industries. Learn more about the company at www.lovejoytool.com or call 800-843-8376.
There will be a FREE workshop entitled “Jump Start Your Marketing” on Friday, November 30th from 9 am – Noon at the Welcome Center in downtown Windsor Vermont.
Are you satisfied with your current marketing efforts? Marketing Expert Amy Mattinat will be sharing why marketing can make or break your business and provide some successful marketing strategies that you can use and implement immediately for little or no money. Amy is a small business owner herself, with multiple appearances on television and radio.
There is no cost to attend this important workshop! To register, go to www.vtsbdc.org (click on the “training” tab and select this workshop). The event is presented by the Vermont Small Business Development Center and Springfield Regional Development Corporation and is made possible through the generous support of TD Charitable Foundation.
