New Entrepreneurship Lending for Veterans

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched the SBA Veteran Pledge Initiative to help veterans become entrepreneur.

According to the SBA:

Often times, veterans face challenges in raising capital or have trouble receiving a conventional loan. With the support of SBA’s top 20 national lending partners, and approximately 100 additional regional and community lending partners across the United States, SBA expects to assist an additional 2,000 veterans obtain loans to start or expand small businesses by increasing lending by $475 million over the next five years. This equals a five percent increase above historic veteran lending activity by the SBA.

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Veterans make up a large number of successful small business owners. Nine percent of small businesses are veteran-owned. These 2.45 million veteran-owned businesses employ more than 5 million individuals. In the private sector workforce, veterans are more likely than those with no active-duty military experience to be self-employed.

To learn more about all opportunities for veterans available through the SBA, visit www.sba.gov/veterans.

Pop City Features PowerLink

Check out this article in Pop City about how local mentoring programs, including PowerLink, are helping Pittsburgh-area women entrepreneurs grow their businesses. 

The article features Lee Ann Munger, PowerLink Director, talking about how the program seeks to help women-owned businesses reach and surpass the million-dollar mark: 

“If your intention is to keep it small, that’s great,” says Munger. “But if your goal is growth, we’re interested in programs that will drive that growth. About three percent of women-owned businesses in the nation have revenue over $1 million while 32% of Pittsburgh women-owned PowerLink companies surpassed $1million after engaging their board."

Read the full article here.

Pittsburgh Small Business Community Heroes Nominations

Nominate a small business community hero! 

Direct Energy and Pittsburgh Magazine have teamed up to honor local small business heroes.
Nominations close Sunday, May 19, 2013 for the first-ever Pittsburgh Small Business Community Heroes award program.

The Small Business Community Heroes award program is designed to recognize the significant efforts of small business owners of companies with fewer than 100 employees, whose voluntary contributions make their communities a better place to live.

The award consists of the following:

• $500 cash prize to the winner;
• $2,000 donation to the winner’s organization/cause of choice in their respective community; and 
• full page in the July issue of Pittsburgh Magazine.

Criteria: 

• The Small Business Community Heroes award is open to all residents of communities in the Pittsburgh Magazine market areas. 
• Individuals can either nominate themselves or be nominated by another individual or group. 
• Nominations should be no longer than 500 words and must detail the specific contributions the small business owner has made to improve the community through volunteer service.
• Deadline: Nominations must be submitted by Sunday, May 19, 2013 by 11:59 p.m. 

A selection committee from Direct Energy and Pittsburgh Magazine will review all submissions, and the winner will be announced in June. Complete rules, the official nomination form and all other information are available online at www.directenergy.com/heroes.

Winners' Circle Awards Luncheon (Last day to register!)

Today is the last day to register for this years Winners' Circle Awards Luncheon Reception.

The Westmoreland County Winners’ Circle is delighted to honor these award recipients:

• Athena Award®: Kathleen Sarniak, Chief Executive Officer, Jeannette Specialty Glass
• Seton Hill University Entrepreneurial Excellence Award: Jason Csukas, Branch Manager, First Niagara Bank
• Award for Community Service: Jennifer Miele, Vice President of Marketing, Excela Health
• YWCA Rising Star Award: Tiffany Jackson, Owner & Lead Photographer, TJZ Creations - Photography and Design

We hope you will join us for the Winners’ Circle Luncheon Reception on May 15, 2013, to honor their outstanding achievements. Register online before the end of Wednesday, May 8. 

Four Ways to Stay Connected with E-Magnify

We want to make it easy for you to stay up-to-date with the latest business info, events, and resources from E-Magnify. Here are four ways to stay in the loop with us.

1. Subscribe to this blog. Enter your email address in the box to the right and click submit to receive an email on the days that we've posted new content here. (Be sure to confirm your subscription by checking your email for a message from "Feedburner," our subscription service.) 
2. Join our email list. We send information about special events and opportunities to our E-Magnify mailing list members. Visit our Contact page and sign-up for the list next to the red envelope at the bottom of the page. (Be sure to confirm your subscription by checking your email for a message from us and following the instructions in it.) 
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And, of course, you can always email us (info@e-magnify.com) or give us a call (724-830-4625). 

Network at Connect the Dots on April 23

A message from Lee Ann Munger, PowerLink Director....

Do you remember playing Connect the Dots as a kid? You'd begin with a page of seemingly random numbers, but as you began to move your pencil around the page, there was a delightful surprise as a picture would appear. Those random connections turned out to be part of a much bigger picture.

So, too, with our business connections. We form relationships one on one, but when we put them together, we can leverage a powerful network.

That's what PowerLink's Connect the Dots event is all about. 

In one evening, we provide a fantastic networking opportunity. It’s a chance to see how many connections you already have within the PowerLink community (whether you realize it or not) – and of course, an opportunity to make more.

Join us! 
Connect the Dots

April 23, 2013

5:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Duquesne Club, Pittsburgh, PA

Cost: $35

Register online

PowerLink connections are powerful indeed. Our more than 200 clients are some of the most successful women entrepreneurs in the Pittsburgh region. In addition, our pool of talented advisors is comprised of some of the sharpest business minds in town.

When you put it all together, PowerLink is a force that is driving business growth for women entrepreneurs. Although only 3% of women-owned businesses nationally have revenues over $1 million, 54% of PowerLink companies exceed $1 million. However, most exciting is that 32% of those companies hurdled $1 million after engaging their PowerLink Advisory Board.

Perhaps you’ve worked with PowerLink throughout its more than 20-year history, or maybe you are new to PowerLink and would like to learn more. Either way, please join E-Magnify and PowerLink for Connect the Dots on April 23. We want you to be part of our big picture!

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About PowerLink: Founded in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1991, PowerLink is a unique and proven resource for advancing women-owned businesses. In January 2013, PowerLink formed a strategic alliance with Seton Hill University's E-Magnify, bringing together two of the Pittsburgh region's strongest organizations dedicated to the growth of women entrepreneurs.

Symposium Presentations Available to Download

If you missed last month's "Building a Benchmark Business: Women's Entrepreneurial Symposium," or if you'd just like to revisit some of the material from the presenters, three of the presentations are now available for download.

• "The Affordable Care Act and Small Business" (Jacqueline Lampert Senior Health Policy Analyst, UPMC Health Plan)
• "Doing Business with the Commonwealth" (Gayle Nuppnau, Procurement Liaison, PA Department of General Services, Bureau of Small Business Opportunities)
• "Why You Should Consider Exporting as Part of Your Business Growth Plan" (Lyn Doverspike, Director, U.S. Commercial Service)

(These files will open as PDFs.)

You can also find these and many other training materials on the E-Magnify Training page.