SBA Administrator Tours Local Woman-Owned Business

Wendy Staso (left), President and CEO of Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc., explains the workings of her company's North Side pipe fabrication facility to SBA Administrator Karen Mills. Mills was in Pittsburgh to celebrate National Women-Owned Small Business Month.

SBA Administrator Karen Mills Tours Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc.

In honor of National Women-Owned Small Business Month, Karen Mills, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), toured Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc., a woman-owned small business headquartered in Duquesne, PA, on Thursday, October 11. Mills travels weekly to visit small businesses around the country and chose Huckestein based on its thriving business model and use of SBA-sponsored programs and loans.

Huckestein Mechanical Services is owned by Wendy Staso, who purchased the company more than two years ago, restructuring and redefining the business to place the 60-year-old company on solid financial ground. Staso receives business counseling services from  Seton Hill University’s E-Magnify, an SBA resource partner and women’s business center.  In addition, she is a member of the Greensburg Chapter of the Women President's Organization hosted by E-Magnify.

Huckestein is a certified woman-owned mechanical contractor serving the tri-state region’s HVAC mechanical contracting needs for the commercial, industrial, institutional, and high-end residential markets. The new business model focuses on HVAC service, design-build projects, energy management strategies, and specialized services and diagnostics. As part of this restructuring, Huckestein Mechanical Services recently utilized an SBA-backed 7(a) loan from Enterprise Bank for debt restructuring and permanent working capital, and an SBA CAPLines loan, which is a revolving line of credit that provides short-term working capital.

“Operating capital is everything to a small business,” remarked Staso. "The SBA-backed loans opened up opportunities and enabled our doors to stay open.”

Administrator Mills (in the blue gloves) is shown the ropes at Huckestein as President and CEO Wendy Staso looks on.

In Fiscal Year 2012, SBA approved 444 loans in Western Pennsylvania, supporting more than $122 million to Western Pennsylvania’s small businesses. Since President Obama took office, SBA has supported more than $12.4 billion in lending through more than 35,500 SBA loans to women-owned businesses.

Encore Entrepreneur Toolkit

If you're nearing retirement or just thinking ahead to what you'll do when that time rolls around, check out the Encore Entrepreneurs Toolkit from the U.S. Small Business Administration. This online toolkit includes a small business self-assessment, a free "starting a small business" e-course, information about business plans, and access to local resources.

E-Magnify offers no-cost, one-on-one business counseling for people (of all ages) who are thinking about starting a business, as well as for business owners who want to grow an existing business. Learn more about E-Magnify's business counseling services.

Women Veterans: Call to Entrepreneurship

Business & Professional Women of  Pennsylvania and Seton Hill University's E-Magnify invite women veterans to this special program on Friday, November 9, 2012. 

Women veterans are natural entrepreneurs who possess the training, experience, and leadership skills to start businesses that will create U.S. jobs. Attend "Women Veterans Marching Forward: Call to Entrepreneurship" to explore entrepreneurship as a next step, to secure available business resources and tools, and to meet other women veterans who are business owners.

Keynote Speaker: Ana Recio Harvey, Assistant Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Women's Business Ownership

Morning Speaker: Mary Moorhouse, Director, Special Projects, BPW Foundation 

Date: Nov. 9, 2012
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh/Southpointe, 1000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317

Registration fee: $50.00
Student registration: $35.00 (valid ID required)

Register online here.

This event is sponsored in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Huntington, and Prudential.

Spark & Hustle Small Business Boot Camp

Find your business spark and hustle at this year's Pennsylvania Conference for Women on October 2.

The Pennsylvania Conference for Women has partnered with Tory Johnson, CEO of Women For Hire and Spark & Hustle, workplace contributor on “Good Morning America,” and New York Times bestselling author, to provide programming designed specifically for current and aspiring small business owners.

The Pennsylvania Conference for Women Spark & Hustle Small Business Boot Camp will feature solo presenters, panel discussions, interactive exercises, structured networking, and vendor tables.
In this fast-paced, advice-driven track, you'll tackle only the most important topics for entrepreneurial success. In addition to a keynote session, Tory Johnson will lead a line-up of small business owners who will open their playbooks to share the real-world marketing tactics and strategies that work. You’ll leave with fresh ideas to formulate an actionable marketing plan, as well as new contacts—called “BBFs” (business best friends)—to help fuel your small business success.

Learn more about the conference and business boot camp: www.paconferenceforwomen.org/small-business-boot-camp/. (E-magnify is proud to be a Supporting Organization for the conference. Use promo code PACP98 to save on individual and table registrations.)

National Encore Entrepreneur Day (Oct. 2)

Join us in one week for National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day.  
Date: October 2, 2012
Location: Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA


What's an encore entrepreneur? 

Someone who starts a business after leaving or retiring from another career path. 

If you're over the age of 40 and interested in receiving free information on the nuts and bolts of starting your own business, join us for this no-cost even.

  

Featured entrepreneurs include a former Mrs. USA, a fashion designer, and a health service executive who have all started "encore" careers by entering the business world after celebrating their fortieth birthday.

 Come out to hear their stories and learn about starting your own business.

Featured Entrepreneurs: 

• Steve Cohen: Keystone By Design
• Laura Roy: Laura Roy's Doll House, The Comfy
• Melanie Patterson, Former Mrs. USA & Former Mrs. Pennsylvania: Retro Retreat
• Dawn Chamberlain: Jean Marie's Flowers & Gifts

National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day is part of a larger effort by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to promote entrepreneurship among individuals ages 50 and older. With one in four individuals ages 44 to 70 interested in becoming entrepreneurs and 63 percent of Americans planning to work during retirement, small business ownership is a good option. Small business owners with long-term counselors see bigger sales, hire more workers, and last longer.

There is no fee to attend this event, but please secure your spot by registering in advance.

Biobased Marketplace Online Seminar (Sept. 27)

Cultivating Opportunities in the Biobased Marketplace 
Discover the potential of the expanding BioEconomy. 
September 27, 2012 (1:30 - 2:30 EDT)

Attend this no cost, live seminar via streaming video or satellite downlink. Learn about business opportunities in the manufacturing and sale of biobased products, as well as Federal programs that assist you in meeting your business goals.

Experts will present information on the following topics: :

• Biobased product opportunities and growth industries
• An introduction to the USDA BioPreferred Program
• How the Federal Procurement Preference program stimulates demand for purchasing
• Federal resources available from the Small Business Administration, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program

This FREE training seminar is ideal for small businesses, entrepreneurs, agriculturally based organizations, U.S. manufacturing companies, and Federal agencies that support these endeavors. Presented by the USDA BioPreferred Program.

Learn more and register for the September 27 event.

Market Research for Your Small Biz

SizeUp is a new online tool from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that helps small business owners research data and analytics to start or grow a business. Use it to identify new customers and compare your performance against other businesses in your industry with data collected from hundreds of private and public sources.  

The SizeUp tool provides data analysis in three key ways:

• Benchmarking an existing business to see how it sizes up by comparing performance to all other competitors in the same industry;
• A mapping feature to see where customers and suppliers are located; and
• Finding the best places to advertise by choosing from pre-set reports to find areas with the highest industry revenue and the most underserved markets. Custom demographic reports can also be created.

Try it out at www.sba.gov/sizeup.