E-Magnify Closing on September 30, 2015

Dear Friends of E-Magnify,

After careful review and consideration, Seton Hill University has decided it will no longer formally host the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) women’s business center program. E-Magnify will close on September 30, 2015.

At this time, E-Magnify staff member are assisting with the closure transitioning while simultaneously taking on new responsibilities within the University.

The University is in the process of restructuring some entrepreneurial support services formerly provided through E-Magnify under the auspices of Seton Hill’s Wukich Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunities. In addition, other external programs and services are transitioning as follows:

>Clients who have received business counseling services under the women’s business center program have been advised of alternative SBA technical assistance resources available to them. See: Small Business Development Centers (pdf) and SCORE Chapters (pdf). 

>As an independent contractor, Jayne Huston will continue to lead the Greensburg Chapter of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO). After September 30, Jayne can be contacted regarding WPO at huston5157@gmail.com.

>PowerLink, licensed for the past two years under E-Magnify, will return to its roots as an independent economic development organization and continue under the leadership of long-time Executive Director Lee Ann Munger. After September 30th, Lee Ann can be contacted at leeann@powerlink.biz, 412-431-4110, and at PowerLink’s new website: www.powerlink.biz.

>E-Magnify’s ATHENAPowerLink (APL) licenses will be transitioned to PowerLink to continue to provide the Advisory Board program throughout Western PA. All APL inquiries should be directed to PowerLink at the above contact number;

>Awards, presented during the past 20 years under the Westmoreland County Winners’ Circle Program and hosted by E-Magnify for the past decade, including the ATHENA Award, YWCA Rising Star Award, and Seton Hill Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, have been “re-homed” with other organizations. The Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce will host the ATHENA Awards, and the YWCA will host the YWCA Rising Star Award. The University will continue to host the Seton Hill University Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. It was determined that volunteer recognition was being done by many non-profit organizations in the community. As a result, the Award for Community Service will not be continued under a new host. If you would like to continue to be involved with any of the award recognitions, we encourage you to make your interest known to these respective organizations.

We are proud of the impact E-Magnify has had on start-up and growing women-owned companies for more than two decades and have appreciated the opportunity to serve you!

With Gratitude and Our Best Wishes for Continued Success,

Jayne Huston and Staff

Opportunities for Women in Federal Contracting

Event: ChallengeHer

Date: September 22, 2015

Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Location: Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, 10 South 19th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203

E-Magnify is proud to be a partner for this event.

Information is power. In order to successfully navigate the federal contracting industry and win federal contracts, you MUST know the rules and understand the strategy.

ChallengeHER has assisted woman business owners all across the country to help them understand the Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Procurement Program, the federal procurement process, and to connect them with the right people. With this knowledge, you are much better positioned to grow your business and increase your revenue.

• Learn about the WOSB Set Aside and how to market your business under this program.
• Network with peer mentors and other women business owned firms.
• Hear a panel of women business owners share tips and real-life stories in federal contracting.
• Hear a Contracting Officer's panel talk about the best practices of working with federal agencies.

ChallengeHer National Partners: Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and Open from American Express

The Girlfriend's Guide to Kick Butt $ales

Instructor: Mj Callaway, CSP

Sales Trainer & Owner, Rock More Sales

>Are you losing sales?

>Are your sales inconsistent?

>Do you want to increase your sales?

If you answered yes to any of the above, keep reading (or register now!) 

In this 90-minute workshop you’ll uncover what actions are causing you to lose sales and take money out of your pocket.

> The Girlfriend's Guide to Kick Butt $ales

> September 9, 2015 (6:00 - 7:30 p.m.)

> E-Magnify + PowerLink Offices at C-leveled (4117 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15224)

REGISTRATION: $15

With Mj’s easy-to-follow strategies, humorous stories, and quirky analogies, you’ll learn how to increase your sales with confidence.

With this jam-packed workshop, you’ll walk out the door with core steps to do the following:

• Create conversations to increase revenue
• Adopt a Sales Toolkit that fits your style
• Zap the hidden gap in your sales conversations
• Understand the #1 ingredient to close more sales

Plus, you’ll also learn the 4 key issues that stop women from making more money! 

About Mj Callaway:
Mj Callaway's training programs have increased her clients' sales by 20%, 40% and some more than doubled their profits. Before launching Rock More Sales, Mj signed more than $14 Million Dollars a year in front-end contracts in a male-dominated field, produced high close ratios in several different industries, and sold a children’s game to Disney.

Mj has hit international best-selling status with three of her six books. In The Girlfriend's Guide to Kick Butt $ales, she shares the secret sauce to closing more sales! Your takeaways from this workshop will change your business. 

Learn more and register for this workshop here.

Hands-on QuickBooks Clinics (September sessions)

E-Magnify's QuickBooks Clinics feature hands-on training in small classes led by a a Certified QuickBooks Consultant.

These clinics are suitable for both small business owners and for employees of any company who want to use QuickBooks.

• Session 1 – Setting up and navigating QuickBooks, Accounting Review, Sample Company, Chart of Accounts, Working with Lists
• Session 2 – Sales and Invoicing, Payments and Deposits, Entering and Paying Bills
• Session 3 – Bank Accounts, Inventories Payroll, Estimating, and More

Dates: September 2, 9, and 16

Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (for all sessions)

Location: YWCA of Westmoreland, 424 North Main St., Greensburg, PA 15601

Registration: $150 (for all 3 sessions)

Instructor Teri Hayes has been a QuickBooks Pro advisor since 1999. As a consultant and bookkeeper who has worked with small businesses, she understands the needs of entrepreneurs and small business owners.

UPDATE 8/28/15: Registration for this event is now closed. 

2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report

For the fifth year, Womenable, an organization that works to improve the systems that support women's enterprise creation and growth, has combined forces with American Express OPEN to analyze trends in women's enterprise growth and development. The result is the 2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report.

According to Womenable's website, the report finds the following:

• The number of women-owned firms in the U.S. continues to climb, and is now estimated to have surpassed 9.4 million enterprises – 30% of all businesses in the country;
• The revenue generated by these enterprises is now estimated to stand at nearly $1.5 trillion, and has increased by 79% since 1997; and
• Women-owned firms now employ over 7.9 million workers (excluding owners), providing one in seven jobs among privately-owned businesses.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported on the research, noting that while Pennsylvania has consistently claimed the seventh-highest number of female-owned firms among all states and the District of Columbia for the past 18 years, "the state also regularly lags behind much of the U.S. based on the rate at which women-owned firms are expanding revenues and employment."

“We’ve still got a long way to go in helping grow these companies,” said Jayne Huston, E-Magnify Director. 

Read the report's executive summary here. 

Learn more about how E-Magnify helps women-owned businesses through confidential, one-on-one counseling at no cost. 

SBA Pgh. District Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Sidney Huffmyer

For Sidney Jake Huffmyer, it never was all about the bass… or the treble; it was all about making an imprint. And he has.

Today, thousands of Pittsburgher’s rock t-shirts created and printed by the musician who sits at the helm of 3E Studios and is the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Pittsburgh District Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Huffmyer and his cousin launched 3E Studios in his parents’ basement with a modest goal of doubling their sales each year.

 “The name stands for easy, efficient and enjoyable,” he explained. “Our first job was giving a pizza shop shirts at cost if they would stuff our flyers in their boxes. That’s how we started, and we made about $2000 in sales our first year.”

He sought assistance from the University of Pittsburgh Small Business Development Center. Eight years and a few moves later, 3E Studios now occupy a large space on Western Avenue. Using the SBA’s microloan program, they’ve secured money from the Northside Community Development Fund to upgrade their equipment. Armed with the new capacity of printing more than 500 shirts per hour, Huffmyer said 3E prints everything from family reunion commemorative tees to large, contact jobs for major area businesses like the Pittsburgh Penguins and Giant Eagle.

Want to rock your business? Call the SBA Pittsburgh District Office at 412-395-6560 and they’ll put you in touch with their network of resource partners that can help your business idea grow from basement to boardroom.

Government Contracting & Networking Program

The SPC-IUP PTAC (Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission Indiana University of Pennsylvania Procurement Technical Assistance Center) will sponsor a free government contracting assistance & business networking program at the Fred Rogers Center at St. Vincent College in Latrobe on June 24, 2015 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

Representatives from the National Energy Technology Lab, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mascaro Construction Company, LP, and H&W Global Industries, Inc. will be presenting on a variety of government procurement related topics. 

Register here to learn about working with two of the more prominent federal agencies in the Pittsburgh region as well as what it takes to function as a subcontractor in the Construction, Aerospace, and Defense Industries.