September Promo Days

Eye & Health Safety Month
Read a Book Day September 6
Labor Day September 6
National Suicide Prevention Week September 6
Rosh Hashanah September 9
Patriot Day September 11
William Sydney Porter's - "O. Henry" - Birthday September 11, 1862
Grandparents' Day September 12
Mayflower Day September 16
Mexican Independence Day September 16
U.S. Constitution Signing Day September 17, 1787
Yom Kippur September 18
Autumn Equinox September 23
Native American Day September 24
William Faulkner's Birthday September 25, 1897
Johnny Appleseed's Birthday September 26,1774

PR Internships

PR Internships and relevant experience matter. It's very rare for one to be able to get hired for a Public Relations job without relevant experience – regardless of your education, spend the time getting actual working experience in the Public Relations field. An internship is a valuable stepping stone – and entrée points to the PR agency world.

Export Assistance...Finance

One of your first resources for export financing is a visit to your local bank. If you cannot receive the necessary credit for your export activities from your own bank, you should shop around for another bank willing to consider your loan proposal. Generally, a bank that has an international department or one that is active in small business lending will be more receptive than others to your proposal.

Ask your bank for the name of a correspondent bank that provides international financing assistance. In shopping for a bank, however, keep in mind the distinction between international trade services and international trade lending. Some banks have international divisions that offer international trade services, such as advising and negotiating letters of credit, but these divisions do not lend money.

International lenders, on the other hand, have the authority to make loans, as well as provide related services. Be sure to verify that the bank officer with whom you are dealing has the authority to lend for an export transaction or is willing to work with another division that has lending authority.

Before approaching a bank for financial assistance, you should understand the distinction between venture capital and lending. Venture capitalists invest in a business by providing capital in exchange for equity. Venture capitalists expect that, as the business grows, their equity in the business will grow proportionally. Unlike the venture capitalist, the lender does not obtain equity in the enterprise. Lenders simply provide funds to a small business in the form of loans. Lenders make their money on the difference between the rate at which they borrow money and the rate at which they lend to their customers. Lenders, then, are more sensitive to risk; a proposal that looks good to the venture capitalist may not appeal to a lender.

Usually, you should make your financial arrangements well in advance of expected sales. If you wait until you need credit to begin talking to your banker, you'll probably lose the sales.

Assistance Programs:

http://onestepsourcing.com/services-offered/financial-assistance/

http://www.exportassist.com/res_gov_exim.html

http://www.exportassist.com/res_gov_pefco.html

http://www.exportassist.com/res_gov_opic.html

http://www.exportassist.com/res_gov_tda.html

http://www.exportassist.com/res_gov_idb.html

http://www.exportassist.com/res_gov_ida.html

http://www.exportassist.com/res_gov_miga.html

http://www.exportassist.com/res_gov_wbg.html

Export Credit Agencies:

http://www.exportassist.com/res_eca_official.html

Venture NW 2011, Bend's Venture Conference & Seed Oregon Deadline Near

Deadlines are coming up fast for two competitions sponsored by the Oregon Entrepreneur Network (OEN.) The Seed Oregon PubTalk is a unique opportunity for companies from Oregon and Southwest Washington seeking capital within the range of $100,000 to $2,000,000. In this competition, CEOs of emerging companies learn the rules of the road for effective fundraising and receive coaching from content experts. The first application deadline is Friday August 12.

Central Oregon is gearing up for their annual venture competition October 13-14, and southern Oregon companies are welcome to apply! The competition is targeting $200,000 for its primary investment award, and has added a “concept stage” award that will be worth $5,000 to $10,000 as well. The early bird application deadline is August 12, with an application fee of just $99 that includes a ticket to the event. Learn more and plan your trip to Bend at http://www.bendvc.com

OEN's Venture Northwest is an outstanding networking opportunity for all entrepreneurs and investors. Not only will your application be reviewed by a selection committee filled with investors, but if you are selected, you will be invited to present at the conference, as well as attend the prestigious Intel/Perkins Coie Investor Reception on the eve of the main event. Applications to Venture Northwest are due Friday, September 2. You can learn more and apply via http://www.oen.org/invest.aspx

August Promo Events

Monthly Events
American Adventures Month
Cataract Awareness Month
Children’s Vision and Learning Month
National Immunization Awareness Month
National Inventors’ Month®
Ramadan
Virgo , The Virgin

Weekly Events
World Breastfeeding Week
Aug 1st - Aug 7th

International Clown Week
Aug 1st - Aug 7th

Assistance Dog Week
Aug 7th - Aug 13th

PGA Championship
Aug 8th - Aug 14th

National Aviation Week
Aug 15th - Aug 21st

Little League Baseball World Series
Aug 19th - Aug 28th

National Safe at Home Week
Aug 22nd - Aug 26th

Be Kind to Humankind Week
Aug 25th - Aug 31st

Daily Events
Girlfriend’s Day
Aug 1st

Canada Civic Holiday
Aug 1st

Respect for Parent’s Day
Aug 1st

Psychic Week
Aug 1st

National Night Out
Aug 2nd

Coast Guard Day
Aug 4th

Sister’s Day®
Aug 7th

SNA: What Major & National Advertisers Wished You Knew
Aug 11th

National Garage Sale Day
Aug 13th

Best Friend’s Day
Aug 15th

National Relaxation Day
Aug 15th

National Aviation Day
Aug 19th

National Men’s Grooming Day
Aug 19th

World Humanitarian Day
Aug 19th

National Homeless Animals Day & Candlelight Vigil
Aug 20th

Poet’s Day
Aug 21st

National Dog Day
Aug 26th

Women's Equality Day
Aug 26th

Identifying Generational Markers

There is some debate as to the start and end dates of each generation, these are the generally accepted demarcations usually associated with each American age cohort:

•The Silent Generation or Traditionalists (born late-1920s through 1945)

•Baby Boomers (born 1946 through 1964)

•Gen-X (born 1965 through 1980)

•Gen-Y, or Millennials (born 1981 through 1993)

•Gen-Z, or Generation Next (born 1994 through 2004)

Want Your Product Featured on 40 Morning Talk Shows?

Toys, Strollers, Electronics and Household products! It's a PTPA Media Blitz Alert! PTPA Media (Parent Tested Parent Approved) is on the hunt for the top products for parents and kids for their fall and holiday campaigns. From gadgets and games, clothes and toys and household appliances, PTPA is looking for it all. PTPA is the leading awards company in North America with over 40,000 parent testers. These guys know how to pitch a product. They have been featured on over 40 morning shows.

Submission deadline is August 8th so hurry up and submit here:

http://ptpamedia.com

What is EBITDA?

If you’re not familiar with the term EBITDA, don’t worry. EBITDA is actually pretty simple – it’s simply defined as – Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization.

With that in mind, you can pre-calculate your historical and projected EBITDA as follows:

+ Net Income (or Loss) from your Income Statement

+ Interest Expense (if any) from your Income Statement

+ Taxes (if any) from your Income Statement

+ Depreciation (if any) from your Income Statement or Cash Flow Statement

+ Amortization from your Income Statement or Cash Flow Statement

10 YouTube Videos Every Entrepreneur Should Watch

Inc.com compiled a list of videos that every entrepreneur should watch and Business Insider compiled them at:

www.businessinsider.com/10-youtube-videos-that-every-entrepreneur-should-watch-2011-6#developing-the-ceo-within-you-1

Becoming a CEO is all about constantly learning and improving oneself—and later, others—to establish a true role within a company, instead of merely being a placeholder.

I have watched them all and it’s true, these really are videos that Every Entrepreneur Should Watch.

June Promo

•Accordion Awareness Month, Natl
•Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month
•Aphasia Awareness Month, Natl
•Audiobook Awareness Month
•Bathroom Reading Month, Natl
•Camping Month, Natl
•Cancer from the Sun Month
•Candy Month, Natl
•Caribbean-American Heritage Month, Natl
•Child Vision Awareness Month
•Childhood Cancer Campaign Month, Intl
•Children's Awareness Month
•Dairy Alternatives Month
•Effective Communications Month
•Entrepreneurs "Do It Yourself" Marketing Month
•GLBT Book Month, Natl
•Great Outdoors Month
•Iced Tea Month, Natl
•June Dairy Month
•June Is Perennial Gardening Month
•Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month
•Men's Month, Intl
•Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism Month
•Professional Wellness Month
•Rebuild Your Life Month
•Rivers Month, Natl
•Rose Month, Natl
•Safety Month, Natl
•Skyscraper Month
•Soul Food Month, Natl
•Sports America Kids Month
•Steakhouse Month, Natl
•Student Safety Month
•Surf Music Month, Intl
•Vision Research Month

Funding a Restaurant Franchise?

It’s raining and raining. Like the sunshine, good loan opportunities are hard to come by for restaurant franchises or franchisees. Whether the collateral is commercial or residential, the pool of good quality well collateralized, stabilized loan opportunities are small and, along with employment numbers, shrinking. Costs, meanwhile, and the regulatory burden on small businesses are climbing. Tough times to be a banker, not to mention a small business owner. Some have had loans called in by lenders, foreclosed on and others have walked away but the times are a changing. You can negotiate on the restructuring of your loan, and in some cases, buy back the loan at a sharp discount.

According to Tom Mullaney, founding principal with Huntley Mullaney Spargo & Sullivan, Inc. (HMS) specialized in debt restructuring for companies and high-net worth individuals having trouble paying back their lenders:

“If you have the appetite to think about growing again, now is the time to strike. If that great location is at $90,000 this year, it will be at $120,000 next year. Banks make loan loss reserves every quarter, so it’s a good time to go to the bank and buy your loan back because as time goes by and reserves increase, you odds of getting a discounted loan payoff improve. And, if you do it right, you can buy back your debt at a significant discount. Of course, it all depends on the situation—including personal and corporate guarantees. But there are ways of dealing with guarantees. Now is the time to horse trade with a landlord. The landlords need to show their lenders they have signed tenants with lots of lease term. They don’t want their loans called in, either. The window of opportunity will be gone soon.”

Franchisees are the great American story and franchise lenders are more willing to put capital to work in franchising. So here are some options to grow your business:

1) The answer to lackof-credit-access issue without becoming a lender. Franchise
Note Buyers purchases business-backed notes (IOUs) on the secondary market. They allow franchisors to drop the risk of being their franchisee’s lender while also helping buyers and sellers of existing small businesses to finance and cash-out their
resale transaction without requiring a buyer’s bank loan. They specialize in buying franchise-backed notes, but they also buy notes that are secured by non-franchised small businesses.

“We’re spreading the word that deals can get financed without bank loans – transferring some power from the banks back to business owners.” For more information on Franchise Note Buyers, contact Rich Kolman, president, at (855) 362-2274, or by e-mail at rich@franchisenotebuyers.com .

2) First Franchise Capital specializes in lending to the franchised restaurant industry, and works with well-known brands across the country. The company provides financial solutions to help franchisees purchase real estate and equipment, remodel,
finance new construction, acquire existing locations, refinance debt and restructure ownership. For more information, contact Tom Schuldt, president, at 201-326-4007, or at Thomas.Schuldt@firstfcc.com ; or contact Rick Riecker, first vice president, marketing development at (201) 326-4021, or at Richard.Riecker@firstfcc.com.

3) Infinity Franchise Capital will offer conventional financing for experienced
operators in the nation’s top restaurant brands. The firm will offer loans for equipment, real estate, new store development, partnership restructuring, refinancing and remodels from $100,000 to in excess of $20 million. For more information on contact Sharon Soltero at ssoltero@infinityfranchise.com .

4) GE Capital, Franchise Finance is a lender for the franchise finance market via direct sales and portfolio acquisition. With more than 30 years of experience and $14 billion in served assets, they serve more than 5,000 customers and more than 22,000 property locations. For more information, call 866-GET-GEFF (438-4333).

5) Wells Fargo Restaurant Finance provides capital to corporate restaurant brands, multi-unit restaurant franchises, private equity firms and other financial investors in restaurant companies. For more information, contact Becky Brown, managing director, at (858) 756-8422 or by e-mail at becky.d.brown@wellsfargo.com.

6) United Capital Business Lending, which recently acquired the small business lending operations of Butler Capital, is a subsidiary of BankUnited, the largest bank in Florida with $11 billion in assets. The newly formed United Capital Business Lending now brings the prior experience of Butler Capital together with the financial strength of BankUnited. For information on United Capital Business Lending, contact Trey Grimm 866-218-4793.

7) CG Commercial Finance finances equipment for middle and large-ticket deals for larger or multi-unit restaurant companies, both through debt financing and tax leases. For more information on CG Commercial Finance, contact Jon Albin, senior vice president at 949-720-9511 or by e-mail at jon.albin@cgcommercial.com.

8) Guidant Financial is a provider of 401(k) rollovers as business start-ups (ROBS). Guidant’s services allow entrepreneurs to invest their existing IRA or 401(k) funds into a small business or franchise without taking a taxable distribution or getting a loan. Guidant also offers franchisees the option of matching their financing needs with an appropriate lender. For more information on Guidant Financial, contact Jerry Darnell at 888-472-4455, or by e-mail at jerry.darnell@guidantfinancial.com.

9) AEF is an equipment financing and leasing company, operating in multiple locations across the U.S. and headquartered in Warren, NJ. AEF provides same-day approvals for up to $250,000, and specializes in leases and loans ranging from $25,000 to $1.0 million. AEF is an independent commercial finance company specializing in financing to the QSR franchise and retail petroleum industries. For more information on American Equipment Finance, contact Richard A. Baccaro, president, at 800-785-3060, ext. 203 or by e-mail at rbaccaro@aefllc.com.

10) Pinnacle Commercial Capital, founded in 2002, is a commercial finance company that specializes in financing franchisees throughout the U.S. Pinnacle’s clients include multi-unit operators of national and regional restaurant concepts and specialty retail brands, and provides and manages franchisor-sponsored loan programs to assist with franchisee acquisition and conversion initiatives. For more information, contact William Wildman, president, at (317) 472-2828 or by e-mail at ildman@pincomcap.com; or James B. Railing, vice president, at railing@pincomcap.com

11) BoeFly is the online marketplace connecting lenders with business borrowers, secondary market loan buyers and professional service providers. For more information on BoeFly, contact Mike Rozman, executive vice president, at (646) 755-7433, or by e-mail at mrozman@boefly.com.

May Promo Month Ideas

•Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month, Natl
•Arthritis Awareness Month
•Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
•Awareness of Medical Orphans Month
•Barbecue Month, Natl
•Better Hearing Month, Natl
•Better Hearing and Speech Month
•Bike Month, Natl
•Business Image Improvement Month, Intl
•Civility Awareness Month, Intl
•Creative Beginnings Month
•Ecodriving Month
•Family Wellness Month
•Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month
•Freedom Shrine Month
•Get Caught Reading Month
•Gifts From the Garden Month
•Good Car-Keeping Month, Natl
•Haitian Heritage Month
•Hamburger Month, Natl
•Heal the Children Month
•Healthy Vision Month
•Hepatitis Awareness Month, Natl
•Huntington's Disease Awareness Month
•Internal Audit Awareness Month, Intl
•Jewish American Heritage Month
•Latino Books Month
•Meditation Month, Natl
•Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
•Mental Health Month, Natl
•Military Appreciation Month, Natl
•Motorcycle Safety Month
•Moving Month, Natl
•Older Americans Month
•Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, Natl
•Personal History Month
•Photo Month, Natl
•Physical Fitness and Sports Month, Natl
•Preservation Month, Natl
•REACT Month
•Revise Your Work Schedule Month
•Salad Month, Natl
•Salsa Month, Natl
•Smile Month, Natl
•Strike Out Strokes Month
•Stroke Awareness Month, Natl
•Sweet Vidalia Onion Month, Natl
•Teen CEO Month
•Tennis Month
•Ultraviolet Awareness Month
•Victorious Woman Month, Intl
•Vinegar Month, Natl
•Women's Health Care Month
•Young Achievers/Leaders of Tomorrow Month


May-June
•Family Month, Natl (May 8-June 19)
•Prepare Tomorrow's Parents Month (May 8-June 10)