GROW Nebraska MarkeTech Conference: Where new tech marketing meets your business

MARCH 24, 2010 (HOLBROOK, NEB.)—The lightening speed of changing technology combined with today’s ever-changing lifestyle needs makes it more challenging than ever to market products and attract repeat customers. Read more

West Central Nebraska Development District

West Central Nebraska Development District is a federally recognized organization that provides services to help communities achieve their economic development goals.

Business Planning for Future Growth

Business planning is critical to a business’ future success. According Dale Marples, CFO Omaha, the plan is the essential guide that leads a business into the future. A plan must be updated as situations change. Every month, compare actual results to plan goals and make changes as needed. The financial section is the most difficult to develop as correct numbers and projection are needed to match future goals. If sales fail to meet expectations, operational goals must be adjusted. Always project conservatively. If sales are above expectations, take advantage of it by protecting the profits and prepaying debt. (http://www.cfoomaha.com)View Video

Part-time CFO Solves Problems

CFO Omaha offers part-time help to small businesses. Dale Marples, owner of CFO Omaha, provides insight into the money problems that many business owners face. Problems often arise because owners don’t know their costs, they over obligate their business to purchases, or they take on too large of a project that delays payments. These situations can result in cash flow deficiencies and a closed business. Owners need to look at both the expenses and income to increase profit margins. Before seeking a loan, owners should determine their ability to repay the loan and be able to prove it to the funder. Never prejudge the bank response, there are funding options available such as the SBA guaranteed loan. If the business needs an immediate cash infusion, the business can look to selling convertible assets or obtaining employee concessions to get over the cash flow crunch. (http://www.cfoomaha.com) View Video

April 8, 2010 – Getting Your Community Ready for Entrepreneurship Development

Webinars are 1 hour in length. Broadcast time is the same each month.

The first of this two part series on “Community and Entrepreneurship: A Winning Combination” is scheduled for April 8, 2010 at 2 p.m. EDT; 1 p.m. CDT; 12 noon MDT; 11a.m. PDT. Read more

USDA Announces Efforts To Increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will award grants of up to $5 million to improve access to and increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly the Food Stamp Program. Read more

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces the Availability of Funding To Enhance Education and Health Care in Rural Areas

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced this week that funding is available through USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program (DLT) to increase educational opportunities and expand access to health care services in rural areas.

“As President Obama said in his State of the Union address, ‘In this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential,” said Vilsack. “By providing state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment to link students with teachers and patients with medical professionals, rural Americans, even those living hundreds of miles from a major population center, will have access to the best teachers and the best medical systems.”

Since its creation in 1993, the DLT program has invested $306 million to fund more than 920 projects in 48 states and four territories. Funds may be used to acquire end-user telecommunications equipment such as videoconferencing equipment needed to provide distance learning and telemedicine services to rural communities.

For example, from 2003 to 2008, REACH Montana, – a consortium of healthcare providers – used DLT grants totaling $787,000 to create a telecommunications network linking area hospitals through live, interactive video technology. The USDA grants helped REACH, which stands for Realizing Education and Community Health, upgrade its telecommunications facilities and connect 15 of its local critical access hospital sites to each other and medical facilities throughout the world. With the REACH network, Montana residents have benefitted from community health education programs, distance education for medical professionals, and variety of clinical services such as orthopedic care, home health monitoring, mental health consultations, wound care management, neurology, burn care, and genetic consultations, CT/MRI and tele-radiology services.

Information on how to apply can be found in the March 19, 2010 Federal Register and the FY 2010 DLT Grant Program Application Guide (http://www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/dlt/dlt.htm). Applications must be received by May 18, 2010.

Grant awards can range from a minimum of $50,000 up to a maximum of $500,000. This is a competitive grant program and funding is contingent upon applicants meeting program eligibility requirements and the conditions of the funding agreement. The funding is from USDA’s annual budget and not the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Further information can be obtained by visiting USDA’s DLT website at http://www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/dlt/dlt.htm. Your contact in Nebraska is Andre Boening (402) 689-8564 or andre.boening@wdc.usda.gov.

United States Department of Agriculture • Rural Development Rm. 152 Federal Building • 100 Centennial Mall North • Lincoln, NE 68508 Phone: (402) 437-5563 • Toll Free: (800) 670-6553 • Fax: (402) 437-5408 • TDY: (402) 437-5093 • Web: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ne .

Contact: Vicki Schurman (402) 437-5563

Get Google expert’s advice at MarkeTech Conference, April 22, in Lincoln

HIRE Act for Small Businesses

On March 18^th, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentive to Restore Employment Act (HIRE). HIRE provides tax breaks for small businesses that hire and retain qualified unemployed workers. Provisions of the law include:

Tax Holiday. Employers receive a tax Holiday for their portion of the FICA tax for certain workers hired after February 3, 2010 and before January 1, 2011. An employer is excused from paying its share of the 6.2% of the first $106,800 of wages for the qualified employees during the calendar year. The maximum value for each qualified employee is $6,621. This tax Holiday does not include the Medicare Hospital Insurance contribution (1.45% on all wages), the federal unemployment or state unemployment taxes, and other state employment tax.

Systems Build Businesses

Peter Fink started Certified Transmission 30 years ago in Omaha, NE. He has steadily built the company from one repair business to 15 retails stores, two manufacturing plants, and 15 distributors. Peter quickly learned that standardization was key to duplicating his business, from cross-training employees to consistent suppliers and uniform procedures. In a good system, employees must be able to routinely repeat the process. Although systems are costly, it does allow the company to offer higher quality products and reach efficiencies. Peter believes in sharing business information and performance results with employees for accountability and buy-in. (http://www.certifiedtransmission.com). View Video

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