Description of Workshops - B2B Symposium 2008

Workshop A - 10:50am - 12:00pm
“Entrepreneurship”
How Wives & Husbands are Working Together to Successfully Build Businesses

Speakers:
Moderator: Dr. Lynda Morris Parham, Psychologist, Private Practice
Panelist: Mr. Fernando Ruiz, Creative Director & Ms. Susie Potter , President
- Potter Ruiz Advertising
Panelist: Mr. Tom Fondon, COO, Ms. Janine Fondon, President & CEO
- Unity First.Com Direct
Panelist: Ms. Carmen Diaz-Jusino, Business Development and Training Specialist
- The Center For Women & Enterprise

Love and work, Sigmund Freud said, are two of the most important--and difficult--things to balance for a happy life. But what happens when married couples try to mix the two by founding or buying a business? Do love and the bottom line go together like a horse and carriage? These days, the answer seems to be "yes."

Some recent statistics tend to support the trend of wives and husbands going into business together: During the 1980s, the number of businesses run by married couples increased more than 90 percent, according to the Small Business Administration. These weren't just mom & pop shops, either. In 1995, a full one third of the fastest growing private companies on the Inc. 500 list were owned and operated by husband and wife teams. But a number of professionals who advise family businesses think it's just the beginning of a trend. The advantages of couples who working together to build a business can outweigh the potential disadvantages. Couples who know how to work closely together share a unique dedication and loyalty to their business's success.

If you're part, or want to be a part, of a husband and wife business partnership, this workshop will provide a few suggestions to help ensure that both the business and the marriage prosper. Women planning to attend this workshop are strongly advised to bring their partners.

Workshop B - 10:50am - 12:00pm
“Business Etiquette”
Pleasing the Customer

Speakers:
Moderator: Ms. Holly Rose, President - Sage Strategies, LLC
Panelist: Ms. Susan Coronella, Manager, Member Service Delivery - Blue Cross Blue Shield
Panelist: Ms. Jeanette Simmons, Community Branch Manager - Sovereign Bank
Panelist: Ms. Debra Farrell, President - Diverse Resources

Ninety-six percent of customers who are dissatisfied with service never bother to complain! They just take their business elsewhere. Worse yet, those same 96% people are likely to tell others about the bad service. When one customer is dissatisfied with service, they will tell a minimum of 15 other people and those people will each tell up to 7 other people. These people will not seek to validate this as true information, nor do they report this to the company. They simply take their business elsewhere.

Whether your client is a one-time customer or a regular customer your aim should be to please the client. You should want to leave a positive long-term impression. You never know when that one-time customer will decide to return. With your regular customers, nurturing an enduring, ongoing relationship will help cement your long-term business relationship, and enable you to respond quickly and effectively respond to any issues that may attempt to taint your dealings.

This workshop will cover how to please the customer from some of the following viewpoints:

• Doing what you say your going to do
• What to do when you and/or your Company is in the wrong
• How to handle angry customers
• How to manage demanding clients
• Should you differentiate between customers (big clients vs. small clients)
• When and how much to spend on a customer gift

Workshop C - 10:50am - 12:00pm
“Business Capital”
Available Funding to Grow Your Vision

Speakers:
Moderator: Ms. LeeAnn Fatalo, Financial Planner - MBRN Financial Services
Panelist: Ms. Ronia Stewart, Branch Manager - Citizens Bank
Panelist: Ms. Josefina Silva, Loan Officer - Community Development Finance Corp.
Panelist: Ms. Daphne Lawson, Personal Banker - Citibank
Panelist: Ms. Ann Hunt, Lead Lender Relations Specialist - U.S. SBA

Why is it difficult for start-ups and growing businesses to access capital for growth? Because lenders typically feel that businesses in existence less than two years are a high credit risk, leaving entrepreneurs no alternative than to finance their ventures creatively. Creative financing for start-ups and growing businesses is nothing new. Some examples include:

• Sam Walton received a loan from his father-in-law
to start Walmart Stores; and
• Spike Lee borrowed money from his friends and family, used personal savings, and credit cards to produce his first movie.

Regardless of whether you’ve been in business for two days, two months, two years or twenty years, the critical components of accessing capital for growth are the same. Each of our invited panelists for this workshop has a variety of financial services available. If you want to obtain a financial product to fund your current operation, or help fund a new business venture, then this workshop is for you. Workshop attendees will be provided with ample time, during and after the workshop, to ask questions and obtain added information

Workshop D - 1:35pm - 2:45pm
“Entrepreneurship”
Owning a Business Franchise - Is It for You

Speakers:
Moderator: Ms. Brent Harding, CEO - TheBHardingCompanies (BHCo)
Panelist: Ms. Betty Anne Fortunato, Senior Franchise Consultant - MatchPoint Franchise Consulting Network
Panelist: Ms. Raquel L. Mullaney, President - Comfort Keepers Company
Panelist: Mr. Reggie Nunnally, City of Boston - Boston Business Assistance Center

Technology has made it easier to own a franchise. Good software systems help to replicate and spread franchise operations, as well as for franchise owners to keep track of their businesses wherever they are. An unstable economy has also made the franchise model look more appealing with its entrenched systems and sales history; between 2003 and 2005, about 900 new franchising business were launched in such diverse fields as real estate, art education, construction and health care. Today there are an estimated 760,000 U.S. franchised establishments generating more than $1.5 trillion in economic activity and producing one out of every seven jobs, according to the franchise association.

However, the truth is that hundreds of franchisees fail each year. The most frequent causes:

• Lack of sufficient funds
• Poor people / management skills
• Reluctance to follow the companies business formula
• A mismatch between franchisee and the business
• Mismanagement of expectations of the key to success with a particular business
• And, perhaps surprisingly, an inept franchisor

Come to this workshop and discover if getting involved in a franchise is a good opportunity for you.

Workshop E - 1:35pm - 2:45pm
“Business Etiquette”
The Smart Manager

Speakers:
Moderator: Ms. Linda Diggs, Principal - Word-up Enterprises
Speaker: Ms. Evelyn Watkins, President - Women of Influence
Speaker: Ms. Aileen Gorman, Executive Director - The Commonwealth Institute
Panelist: Ms. Stacey Williams, Deputy Director - Small & Local Business Enterprise Office

Today’s smart manger not only knows when to lead and when to get out of the way, but also shows respect for her employees. She uses praise when she means it - and usually gets better results in the negotiation. However, she can also be an enforcer when necessary, and knows that managing by fear and threats is counter-productive. Much of the secret of successful management is simply: keeping your eye on the company’s goals, applying common sense, respect, communicating clearly, and keeping calm under pressure.

This workshop will cover the following topics impacting the “Smart Manager”:

1. Hiring
2. Firing
3. Maintaining a positive work environment
4. Obtaining buy-in on company/departmental goals and objectives
5. When to take/give credit
6. What to delegate
7. Maintaining lines of professionalism

Our speaker will briefly reflect on the above 7 items and will discuss how she applies them as “best management” practices for today’s smart manager. There will be plenty of time provided at the end of this workshop to invite questions form the audience.

Workshop F - 1:35pm - 2:45pm
“Personal Finance”
Leaving a Financial Legacy

Speakers:
Moderator: Ms. Jean Burke, Financial Consultant - Primerica Financial Services
Panelist: Mr. Pedro Fontes - Second Vice President - Wealth Management - Citi/Smith Barney
Panelist: Ms. Deborah Todd, Financial Services Associate - Prudential
Panelist: Ms. Sangita Joshi, Associate - The Bulfinch Group

Many want to leave a financial legacy to their family members and loved ones, but most feel inadequate in developing such a strategy. According to a study conducted by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America while most middle-class Americans consider themselves financially successful, they also continue to have concerns and lack confidence in their ability to make financial decisions. Over half of the survey respondents (61 percent) believe it is either essential or important that they leave a financial legacy for their children.

This workshop will review what are some of the most critical parts of a plan to leave an inheritance to your family and love ones. Some of the topics covered in this workshop include:

1. A family vision plan
2. Investments
3. Debt
4. Planning for Retirement
5. A Will
6. Life Insurance
7. Estate Planning

About our “Get Motivated” Morning Inspiration Speaker: 9:40am - 10:20am
Maintaining Balance while Climbing
the Corporate Ladder of Success

Speaker:
Pastor Brenda Collins - Eagle Heights Church, Revere, MA

This year’s inspiration speaker will briefly reflect on the scripture listed below and will say a prayer to set the stage for the day’s exciting agenda. The goal of our inspiration speaker is to provide helpful strategies to those whom are challenged in finding balance business and personal responsibilities.

Proverbs 31:15-18, She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

About our “Power Networking” Luncheon: 12:45pm - 1:25pm
Soaring to New Heights Using – "The Etiquette Factor"

Speakers:
Dr. Evelyn Watkins of Women of Influence. Introduced by Ms. Jacqui Conrad, Principal - De la Cruz Communications

Background: Women CEOs Experience Longer Tenures, Faster Growth
A new study in Massachusetts found that companies headed by women grew at twice the national average. This study by Angus Loten and published on October 31, 2006 found that Women CEOs are focused on long-term goals and have longer tenures than male chief executives. More than half of the women led firms achieved an annual growth rate of 5 percent or more since 2004 - nearly double the state and national average. When asked about their priorities for driving that growth, 80 percent of women CEOs surveyed identified expanding customer relationships ahead of aggressively pursuing new products, new geographic markets, or strategic alliances, the study found. Another 77 percent said they bought input into the decision-making process through a participatory leadership style. Nearly 98 percent gave to local charities and nonprofit organizations in their community, while about a third took part in philanthropic events at least once a month, the study found.

Today’s speaker will describe how women CEOs and top-managers, on a national level, are using a new brand of management style and focus to grow their organizations.

About our Afternoon “Business Opportunities” Speaker: 3:00pm - 3:40pm
Available Business Opportunities with SOMWBA

Speaker:
Ms. Edith A. Silva - Executive Director of State Office of Minority & Women Business Assistance

A major research study released by Babson College and The Commonwealth Institute finds that 54 percent of woman-led businesses in Massachusetts have achieved annual growth greater than five percent from 2003 to 2004, outpacing the national rate. An additional 18 percent of the companies grew between one and five percent during that timeframe. The Top Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts: Lessons from 2000 to 2004 study underscores the significant contribution that woman-led businesses across all industries are making to the Massachusetts economy – the 215 companies participating in the research this year generated more than $7.8 billion in 2004, and employed 24,510 people. Additionally, 43 companies that have participated over a five-year period have realized productivity gains of 15.9 percent over that timeframe.

We invite you to come and receive information regarding business opportunities with the State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance (SOMWBA) office. SOMWBA is an agency within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that helps promote the development of business enterprises and non-profit organizations owned or operated by minorities and women..