COUNTING ON YOU! The Quarterly Newsletter from Count Me In	Issue 3, Volume 1, Decemter 2001
Happy holidays from everyone at Count Me In! Holiday spirit is in the air and we’ve got our Holiday Marketplace up and running. We’ve heard from a few businesses featured on our Holiday Marketplace that they will be donating a percentage of their proceeds from holiday sales to different charities. Paulina Grinsell of Bella Designs is donating 5% of her Holiday Show sales to the Todd Beamer Foundation. Melissa Kesner and Christina Krause, co-owners of Baker in a Bottle, are donating a portion of their holiday proceeds to the 9-11 Fund. Our Father’s Business, the maker of Prayer Pals, is donating $3 from every doll sold to Count Me In. Thanks everyone for giving back to the community.
Business Women’s Network Summit and Diversity Gala
BWN President Edie Fraser with the Rising Star Award Winners On October 18th and 19th the Business Women’s Network (BWN) Summit and Diversity Gala were held in Washington DC. With over 2,000 people attending, this year’s Summit and Gala were so successful that BWN has already made plans to host them again in October 2002. BWN, together with its federal agency partners, works to promote more procurement and contract opportunities for America’s small, minority and women-owned businesses. Headed up by a member of Count Me In’s Board of Directors, Edie Fraser, BWN builds upon the unique umbrella of support for women in business. Their goal is to build more business for women across all corporate and government borders. This year 11 out of the 14 first ever Rising Star Award winners at the BWN Summit were Count Me In loan recipients. The Rising Star awards honor women not only for successfully realizing their small business dreams, but also for being inspirations to women business owners or future business owners to achieve their dreams. Rising Star award winners from Count Me In include: Kathleen Burke, founder of SunStuff Sun Protective Accessories, who designs hats and clothing that are particularly resistant to UVA and UVB rays. Melissa Kesner and Christina Krause, who started Mrs. K’s Cookies, or Baker in a Bottle, with nothing more than a glass bottle, wooden spoons and recipe instruction cards. Dianna L. Garren founded Concessionary Linking Managements, which strives to create sound business relationships between companies whose profitability will be enhanced by the associations. Adrienne Smalls started Prison Help, a service of Small Quality Packaging Corp., which provides supplies and packaging, personalized shopping and consulting services for inmates and their families. Heather McCartney recipient of Rising Star Award with BWN Corporate Director Lia Lucero Heather McCartney founded Ethnic Edibles by producing cookies and cookie cutters building on traditional African shapes and symbols. Chris Ann Dale started Cyberbaby.com, an online baby store that offers everything from children’s furniture to tips on baby care. Teresa Carraway and Vickie Jackson started Prayer Pal Dolls, Raggedy Ann-style moppets with built-in places for well-wishers to write down their greetings. Jennifer Genter started Nattie Noodle Dolls, and is recognized for a major business of these warm and cuddly dolls. Jan Mozee began Da Border Music, Inc., an artist management company that assists performers with developing and promoting their talents. Joyce Patterson founded JMPS Phlebotomy Services, a mobile phlebotomy services company providing clients with in home visits by skilled technicians. Phronie Jackson, created Relaxation On-Site, an onsite day spa providing services to clients in their offices.
The Biz Corner
Count Me In gets a lot of questions about how to start a business. Most of the questions ask what the very first steps are to figuring out how to start a venture. We often suggest that one great step is to take a class or workshop at a local educational institution on how to start a business. The Small Business Administration (in the blue pages of your phone book under US government) has free classes that are provided by volunteers. There are Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in every state, usually located in a community college or university with free classes on starting a business. Another great resource with over 70 locations are Women Business Centers who are funded by the SBA to provide training and business consulting to women owned businesses. The final resource is micro enterprise programs – local nonprofit organizations that help very small businesses get started. Check out the resources section on the Count Me In web site for a way to locate a program in your community.
Biz Education Take a Class online with Count Me In
Beginning in 2002 you will be able to sign up to participate in the Count Me In Online Class on how to start a business. Join Count Me In Business Instructor Kathy Keeley in learning how to start your own business. Topics will include business planning, obtaining financing, operating a successful business, and how to avoid the 10 most common causes of business failure. Complete an application and sign up now for the exciting new opportunity provided through the financial support of Morgan Stanley. Watch our new Biz Help Services area for the latest information.
The Financial Empowerment for Small Businesses Workshop Is Now Available On-line!
This online workshop is now featured on our web site and will provide you with the knowledge you need to manage your business and personal finances more effectively. The lesson you will learn is it's not how much money you make but what you do with it that counts. The workshop is designed with that in mind. The workshop was created for Count Me In by Moneyworks Inc. and is supported by a generous grant by Morgan Stanley. Visit Biz Help Services area for to learn about the workshop. The instructor, Deborah Owens, is an 18-year veteran of Wall Street and a former Vice President of Fidelity Investments. She is host of Moneyworks, a personal finance program which airs on public radio in Baltimore, Maryland. Deborah is president of Moneyworks Inc., which develops financial education programs for companies and organizations. She is a member of the Economic Advisory Board of Girls Inc. and a trustee on the board of the Profit Value Fund. Deborah is author of Everywoman’s Money: Confident Investing, published by MacMillan USA.
Don’t Forget - Count Me In's BizLine Is Up and Running!
We developed BizLine (insert link) so that we can help you - the small business owner or aspiring owner - build your business. Email us a business related question and the Count Me In experts will answer it within 48 hours! Ask us a question about what is puzzling you - whether you are just starting a business or growing fast. Email your questions to BizLine@count-me-in.org. Just remember, your questions need to be business related and try to keep them to less than a paragraph with just enough relevant information to outline your question. We want to help!
Credit Desk
Watch Out – A recent BusinessWeek story highlighted some of the credit counseling scams that advertise as nonprofit organizations willing to help you. Many individuals with poor credit seek out a credit counseling agency for help in contacting their creditors, setting up a pay plan and holding their money to pay off their debt. There are many credit counseling agencies advertising heavily on the Internet and on TV with headlines that promise to save you money, get you debt free and put money back in your pocket. Those with the most advertising may be just the ones to watch out for. About nine million Americans contact one of the 750 credit counseling agencies for help. Many of these agencies are nonprofit organizations that offer to help you get out of debt and pay off your bills. BusinessWeek identified AmeriDebt and Genus Credit Management as organizations that have cheated their clients, pocketing the money and paying their managers huge salaries. These two organizations are the target of frequent complaints and many states are enacting laws to protect consumers from groups such as these. If you need credit counseling, ask your local Better Business Bureau or a local social service agency about the best organization in your community. Generally the Consumer Credit Counseling agencies have been good organizations but quality can vary by local community. Avoid the deals that seem too good to be true and those who advertise on late night TV or send those banner ads or spam emails to you. Any agency can buy credit information on you and then target you for mailings and junk email messages. These are probably not the best ones to use. If you have a credit story – good or bad – you would like to share, send it to BizLine on our web site and we will begin posting the good and the bad agencies.
Count Me In Family News
Adrian Smalls, founder of Prison Help, a service of Small Quality Packaging Corp., was featured in the Metro Section of The New York Times on November 23, 2001. (www.prisonhelp.com) Heather McCartney of Ethnic Edibles was featured in the New York Post on December 10, 2001. (www.ethnicedibles.com) What’s happening with your business? Send us your stories! Email exciting business news to us at info@count-me-in.org.
Interesting Fact
According to research compiled by the Business Women’s Network, there has been 100% increase in the number of women-owned firms in the past 15 years.
Send your news to: info@count-me-in.org. Remember, keep us informed and we’ll keep you informed.