Green is the new black for business

There are many ways businesses can get on board the green revolution. As business owners, you can take big steps like going solar, which can be - believe it or not - nearly cost-neutral. In Colorado, the State authorizes counties and municipalities to offer property and sales tax rebates or credits to home and business owners who install renewable energy systems. And if you are customers of Xcel or Black Hills Energy, there are rebate programs offering up to $35,000. Add up rebates and incentives, and you can have a solar system up and running with very little out-of-pocket expenditure.

If you're not ready to take the solar plunge, there are other ways you can green up your business.

• Switch to energy-efficient computer use, including turning computers and peripherals off at night, installing and using only the essential programs for your business operations and avoiding - if possible - programs that use excessive graphics that require high-performance graphics cards, and buying greener models.
• Recharge batteries, recycle as much as possible, and reuse paper if possible.
• Use green cleaning products.
• Have an energy audit of your facility or offices.
• If you have a company car or fleet, consider buying hybrids or vehicles that get higher mileage.

For more details about these and other ways to green your business, the library has several excellent books: 101 Ways to turn your business green, by Rich Mintzer; Green to gold, by Esty & Winston; and True green @ work by McKay, Bonnin, & Wallace.

So you want to run a small business, part 2 - Franchising 101

Join Cindy Rayfield from FranNet and learn about the intricacies of starting a franchise business. Session will be Tuesday, September 15 at 6pm at Pueblo West Library. For more information or to sign up call Cindy Shimizu 719-562-5667.

SBA Launches New Online Training Course: ‘How to Win Federal Contracts’

WASHINGTON ─ The U.S. Small Business Administration today launched a new online training course to help strengthen access to contracting opportunities for small businesses, including those owned by women, minorities, disadvantaged individuals and veterans.

The training course, “Recovery Act Opportunities: How to Win Federal Contracts,” is part of a federal government-wide initiative announced last month by President Obama and being led by SBA and the Department of Commerce.

“The SBA online training course can help businesses access the federal purchasing system and position themselves to compete for the commercial opportunities offered by government contracting,” SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills said.

In announcing the government-wide initiative, President Obama reiterated his Administration’s commitment to providing “our Nation’s small businesses with maximum practicable opportunity to participate in federal government contracting.” As part of the initiative, federal agency procurement officers are participating in more than 200 events over the next several weeks to help connect small businesses with contracting opportunities. Additionally, SBA and Commerce are expanding their outreach to contracting officials across the federal government to ensure they have the tools to meet their annual contracting goals and increase opportunities to small businesses, including those owned by veterans, women and minorities, as well as those in designated HUBZones.

As part of the outreach to small businesses, the comprehensive online course uses both audio and script to provide information about the federal marketplace, contract rules and, most importantly, how to sell to the government and where to find contract and Recovery Act opportunities. The new training portal is a free online training course designed to assist entrepreneurs during this period of economic recovery. This self-paced, instructional guide provides an overview of the federal procurement process.

The Recovery Act Opportunities course is available on SBA’s Web site at www.sba.gov or directly at www.sba.gov/fedcontractingtraining. The course is indexed by subject matter to allow ease of use, and it includes multiple direct links to additional contracting resources.

The Recovery Act Opportunities course includes direct links that highlight the best contracting resources and engages small business owners in the contracting process. The course also includes practical and fundamental steps to engage business owners in the federal contracting arena.

It is one of more than 24 online tutorials offered by the SBA, and is available 24/7.

For more information please visit www.sba.gov.

Your Medicare health choices, Tuesday, September 1st @ 1pm

John Giarratano, a representative from Human MarketPoint, will speak about the various options available to Medicare enrollees. This event is free and open to the public.

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We would like to know what types of business events, materials, and speakers you are interested in, and would like to get your input on our brief survey. Please click here to complete the survey.

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Obama Administration Announces Efforts to Increase Access to Contracting Opportunities for Minority-Owned, Small Businesses

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that minority-owned and small businesses, including women- and veteran-owned businesses, have greater access to federal government contracting opportunities.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Small Business Administrator Karen Mills announced a government-wide plan that includes federal agency procurement officials holding or participating in more than 200 events over the next 90 days to share information on government contracting opportunities, including those available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

As part of the Commerce-SBA initiative, over the next 90 days:

• Federal agency procurement officials will hold or participate in more than 200 events to share information on government contracting opportunities, including those available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

• SBA and Commerce will expand their outreach to fellow contracting officials across the federal government, passing along best practices for outreach and education to every agency to ensure they have the tools they need to meet their annual contracting goals.

• Locke and Mills will promote small business contracting opportunities in remarks, events and discussions with small business groups across the country, including minority, women and veteran groups.

Beyond the next 90 days, Commerce and SBA will support, monitor and track the impact of these efforts going forward to help ensure the Administration is maximizing opportunities for small businesses.

Small business owners can find out about federal contracting opportunities by visiting www.fedbizopps.gov. Local Commerce and SBA officials are also available in local offices across the country to assist small businesses interested in contracting opportunities. Contact information for local offices can be found www.commerce.gov and www.sba.gov.

So you want to run a small business? Tuesday, August 18 @ 6pm, Pueblo West Library

If you are currently a small business owner or want to become one, this event is a great opportunity to discover the excellent small business resources available in Pueblo County.



Speakers will include Alfonso Garcia, Small Business Consultant for Mi Casa Resource Center, Caroline Parra, Director of the Small Business Development Center, Bill Keathley, Loan Officer for the Southern Colorado Economic Development District, Ernestine Thomas, a Small Business Counselor for SCORE, and Cindy Shimizu, Business Librarian at Pueblo City-County Library District.



This will be a great chance to hear about what is available for current and new small business owners. Got questions? Get answers! Dealing with difficult issues? Find solutions!



For more information, contact Cindy Shimizu at 719-562-5667.