NCMA Rhode Island

You are here: Home / Archives for Chapter News

Disaster Prepardness – Sept. 5th

Disaster Preparedness – Who’s In Charge Of Your Business Survival? (Code Red Business Continuity Services and Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce co-hosts–

Amica Mutual Insurance Company, 25 Amica Way, Building 25 in Lincoln from 8:30 – 10:30am and is free of charge.

Attendees may register at www.providenceri.com/PEMA/business-resilience  and seating will be first come first serve.  Space is limited):

Learn how to effectively protect you people, profit, reputation and operations.

Workshop Overview…

* Understanding and Performing Risk Assessments, Developing Emergency Response Plans, Creating and Implementing Business Continuity Plans and overview of the Testing and Maintenance Process.

What the Workshop Offers…

* Key elements for a Business Continuity Plan, Effective emergency plan guidelines and checklists, Interactive discussions for your industry needs and concerns, Essential industry knowledge from subject matter experts, the ability to be proactive, taking charge of planning and preparedness for your company.

Course Takeaways…

* A business continuity template for your business;

* A Strategy Assessment that will provide a review of your readiness and resiliency. An executive report will outline your strengths and weakness around twelve disciplines valued at $700; and

* A small business will receive a full Business Continuity Plan free of charge

HUBZone 101 @Newport Chamber – Aug. 22nd (10-noon)

The U.S. Small Business Administration and Rhode Island Small Business Development Center are pleased to bring you this innovative event. There are 44 designated “HUBZones” in Rhode Island, of which, 2 reside in the city of Newport.

What is the HUBZone Program?

The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. The Federal Government buys everything from paperclips to aircraft carriers.

Benefits of the HUBZone Program:

*Competitive and sole source contracting

*10% price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions, as well as subcontracting opportunities

*The federal government has a goal of awarding 3% of all dollars for federal prime contracts to HUBZone-certified small business concerns

To see if your business is located in a HUBZone, simply visit – http://map.sba.gov/hubzone/maps/

WHEN/WHERE:

Wednesday, August 22, 2012
10:00am – Noon
Newport County Chamber of Commerce
35 Valley Road Middletown, RI 02842

To register for this event, please contact Matthew Spoehr at the SBA by calling (401) 528-4561 or email providence.ri@sba.gov

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE NEWPORT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR HOSTING THIS EVENT!

SBA’s participation or support of this event is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any co-sponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs or cosponsored programs are extended to the public on a non -discriminatory basis.

SBA Launches Program to Help Transitioning Service Members and Veterans Become Entrepreneurs

Operation Boots to Business: From Service to Startup to Help Them Start Businesses and Create Jobs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has joined with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to launch a training program for transitioning service members and veterans to help them become entrepreneurs and create jobs.  Operation Boots to Business: From Service to Startup is a national initiative that will be piloted with the U.S. Marine Corps.  The announcement was made today by U.S. Small Business Administrator Karen Mills and U.S. Marine Corps representatives at Quantico, VA.

“Our service men and women have made incalculable contributions and sacrifices for our country, and supporting them as they pursue their dreams to start or grow their own business is one of our highest priorities,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said.  “Through this partnership, we stand ready with support, entrepreneurial training, and resources that are critical tools to help them start businesses, drive economic growth and create jobs for themselves and their communities.”

Entrepreneurship and small business ownership are valuable opportunities for transitioning service members and veterans.  Each year, more than 250,000 service members transition out of the military.  Transitioning veterans are natural entrepreneurs who possess the skills, experience and leadership to start businesses and create jobs.

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.

Operation Boots to Business: From Service to Startup will help support veterans as they grow businesses and create jobs by building on SBA’s role as a leader in entrepreneurship training.

SBA will help connect veterans with its resource partner network – Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and Veterans Business Opportunity Centers (VBOCs) – for support throughout the life-cycle of their new businesses.

Through its ongoing collaboration with Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), SBA also will provide comprehensive training materials specifically geared toward transitioning service members.

SBA partners will coordinate training and services at military bases around the country, delivering a face-to-face introductory entrepreneurship course.  In addition, an intensive eight-week online business planning training will be provided by Syracuse University and its affiliated university partners for those service members who choose to continue to pursue entrepreneurship after the face-to-face introductory course.  Following, service members and veterans will be referred to SBDCs, WBCs, SCORE chapters and VBOCs for counseling and training throughout the lifetime of their business.

The program will pilot in four locations: Quantico, Va., Cherry Point, N.C., Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif.  It will be expanded across the nation during fiscal year 2013 with the goal of providing entrepreneurial training and awareness to transitioning service members from all branches of the military.

For more information on Boots to Business training program, and on how to take part as a transitioning service member, please visit http://www.sba.gov/bootstobusiness.

SBA currently engages veterans through its 68 local SBA district offices, 16 Veterans Business Outreach Centers nationwide, and its partnership with 1,000 Small Business Development Centers and some 12,000 SCORE – Counselors to America’s Small Businesses volunteers.

Each year SBA helps more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and reservists.

To learn more about additional opportunities for veterans available through the SBA, please visit the website at www.sba.gov/vets.

 

# # #

Funding Opportunities through the DOE SBIR/STTR Program

The Department of Energy (DOE) has just released its research topic list for the Fiscal Year 2013 SBIR/STTR Phase I Funding Opportunity. Letters of intent will be due on September 4 and full proposal applications will be due October 16. Phase I awards are $150,000 for 6 month performance periods.

To locate a DOE SBIR/STTR topic that aligns with your proposed research and development, review the topic list @ http://science.energy.gov/~/media/sbir/pdf/docs/DOEFY13PhaseIRelease1Topics071612.pdf.

The DOE will be hosting a free webinar in late August to discuss important changes to the DOE SBIR/STTR program for the coming year. Be sure to regularly check the DOE SBIR/STTR website (http://science.energy.gov/sbir/) for information about this webinar and other agency news.

Home   |   Contact Us