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Posts Tagged ‘Dr. Deborah Osgood’

What’s the Impact of Federal Regulations on Your Small Business?

Tuesday, September 10th, 2013

Small business owners, representatives of local economic development organizations and trade groups and community leaders are invited to join the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Ombudsman Brian Castro to discuss federal regulatory issues impacting small businesses. The forum will take place  from 10 am to noon, Friday, Sept. 13, at the New Hampshire Education Assistance Foundation Network Organization, 3 Barrell Court, Concord.

This event will give the local business community a chance to openly voice concerns about unfair regulatory enforcement, excessive fines, retaliation, disproportionately burdensome regulations and other regulatory issues involving federal agencies.

“Too often small business owners can face an uneven playing field because of regulations that were written with major corporations in mind,” said SBA National Ombudsman Brian Castro. “We are firmly committed to providing a receptive forum and a responsive, impartial process for small businesses to voice concerns about enforcement of federal regulations, especially those that create barriers to small business longevity and growth.”

Comments and concerns raised at the regulatory fairness forum will be directed to the appropriate federal agency for a fairness review in an effort to reduce undue regulatory burdens, while helping small businesses succeed.

This event is also an opportunity for the small business community to come away with a better understanding of the resources available to small business owners and entrepreneurs through the Office of the National Ombudsman.

The Concord small business forum is open to the public.   Those interested in attending may contact José Méndez at the Office of the National Ombudsman at jose.mendez@sba.gov, or by phone at (202) 205-6178 before the meeting.  To learn more about the Office of the National Ombudsman, visit the SBA website.

The Office of the National Ombudsman was created by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA). The act established 10 Regulatory Fairness Boards, served by 50 small business owners from across the country.  Dr. Deborah Osgood, the Regulatory Fairness Board Chairperson for SBA’s Region 1, will participate in the forum.

VetBizGO Virtual Business Accelerator Serving Entrepreneurial Veterans

Friday, January 13th, 2012

VetBizGO Veterans Business Resource NetworkAs Veterans return to civilian life in New Hampshire and across the country, many are considering owning their own business as a viable means for providing for themselves and their families. Stepping up to support this trend are the Knowledge Institute, specialists in entrepreneurial education and virtual resource communities, and the Foundation for Entrepreneurial Research and Development (FERAD), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship. As a public/private collaboration, both organizations have joined forces to create VetBizGO, a new entrepreneurial education and resource community.

“Veterans are ideally suited to succeeding in business,” said, Dr. Deborah Osgood, President of the Knowledge Institute. “Whether inherent or nurtured, Veterans possess a willingness and ability to take calculated risks, as well as be resourceful, resilient and decisive under pressure – all key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.”

VetBizGO is a Virtual Business Accelerator that facilitates connections between Veterans and thousands of government and nonprofit public business assistance programs and educational resources tailored to supporting venture start-up, growth and success. Content is accessible at no cost and is cross-indexed by type of service, type of agency, geographical location, key word and alphabetical title making it easy for Veterans to learn about and connect with a real person in their local area that can help. Most all programs are free and focus on assisting individuals with core business issues such as legal formation, financing, planning, marketing, import/export and government contracting.

“This virtual community provides an important platform for assisting Veterans with attaining financial independence,” said Dr. William Osgood, Chairman of the Board of Directors for FERAD and also a Veteran. “VetBizGO offers the men and women of our military service a way to leverage their skills and abilities far more importantly than just getting a job – it provides an opportunity for them to build their future through self-employment and small business ownership.”

In addition to improving awareness and access to targeted entrepreneurial development programs, VetBizGO also helps to facilitate connections with established Veterans advocacy and networking venues. VET-Force, for example, is a nonprofit organization launched in 1999 that is dedicated to helping Veterans create and grow small businesses. As a coalition of over 200 veteran support organizations representing thousands of veterans nationally, VET-Force presents a strong unified Veteran’s voice advocating opportunities for veterans, particularly disabled veterans, seeking to succeed in small business and self-employment.

“We see VetBizGO as a critical resource for helping Veterans to develop, launch, grow and succeed in their own small businesses,” said Rick Weidman, Chairman of VET-Force,. “Helping Veterans in this way helps them to build their own employment security, add value to local economies, and contribute to the economic growth across America.”

To learn more about VetBizGO, visit www.vetbizgo.org.

Inspiring Women in Business Conference Scheduled for National Small Business Week

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

woman-entrepreneurWith American Express reporting that the number of businesses owned by women in New Hampshire has grown by 37.2 percent in the last 14 years, there is no better time to be a female entrepreneur in the Granite State.

Recognizing that fact, Women Inspiring Women will present “Inspiring Women in Business” on Thursday, May 19, 2011 from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. at SERESC Conference and Training Center, 29 Commerce Drive in Bedford. The day will celebrate National Small Business Week and include five educational sessions, exhibitors and networking.

Workshops include “Tap Into Your Inspiration” with Deb Titus of Dale Carnegie-NH, “Master Your Money Mindset” with Kathleen Burns Kingsbury of KBK Wealth Connection, “Fearless Marketing” with Nancy Clark of the Glen Group and “Growing a Successful Business” with Dr. Deborah Osgood of the Knowledge Institute. “We Mean Business,” a panel discussion featuring NH Business Review’s 2011 “Outstanding Women in Business” will also be held. These honorees and panelists include Maureen Beauregard of Families in Transition, Maren Boothby of Boothby Therapy Services, Robin Comstock of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Andrea Johnstone, Esq. of Bernstein Shur and Karen Pollard of the Rochester Department of Economic Development.  It will be moderated by Leslie Sturgeon of Women Inspiring Women, also an “Outstanding Women in Business” honoree.

“We felt the perfect way to recognize National Small Business Week and the fact more women are starting businesses than men in NH was to bring business women from around NH together for a day of education and inspiration,” according to Leslie Sturgeon, founder and president of Women Inspiring Women.”

As a result of a generous contribution from Microsoft BizSpark, NH Division of Economic Development, Public Service of New Hampshire, and Exeter Health Resources, the registration price is only $40 and includes lunch. Reservations are needed and space is limited. Contact Women Inspiring Women at (603) 744-0400 or visit http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=jtyn8ccab&oeidk=a07e3npt4qia831e39f for more information and to register.

Women Inspiring Women was founded in 2007 in the Lakes Region by Sturgeon to give women of all ages and backgrounds an opportunity to get together at educational, fun and inspirational events on a monthly basis. Since that time the organization has expanded to Concord, Nashua, Manchester, Bedford and the Seacoast, hosts bi-weekly events including the NH Conference for Women in November, and quickly become the state’s largest organization for women’s empowerment, personal development and networking.