We have all heard the horror stories. Company XYZ hired their next “star employee,” everything was great for the first few months, and then they really got to know the person. Now they wish they hadn’t hired this so called “star” and want to terminate as soon as possible. It happens to the best of us. No matter how solid your hiring practices and employability radar are, bad hires happen.

If, or perhaps I should say when you find yourself in this position, remember these ten tips to try to prevent a lawsuit. After all, you will be spending enough of your time and hard earned money just to replace the person. The last thing you need is to spend hours digging for the documentation to support your decision and paying an attorney to defend it in court.

1-Have a company handbook issued to every employee with expectations and disciplinary procedures clearly spelled out. Be sure to include an “At Will” employment policy, if in fact you are an at will employer. Have all new hires sign an acknowledgement that they understand and agree to abide by these policies or they will face disciplinary action accordingly.

2- Issue clear warnings to all employees (not just the bad hires) when expectations are not met and/ or procedures are not followed in accordance with the handbook. Written warnings with employee signatures that go into their personnel file will ensure the employee understands the severity of the situation and gives them an opportunity to correct the behavior. Upholding these policies regardless of who is violating them will show you are consistent and fair in your disciplinary actions, which will help if the employee claims you discriminated against them.

3- Investigate. Use due diligence to determine if there is an explanation for the employee’s unsatisfactory performance or behavior. Ask around to determine if there were extenuating circumstances that need to be considered.

4- Interview all Supervisors of this employee to ensure the employee has not made any negative comments or brought any concerns to their attention. If the employee’s behavior is a result of discomfort because they have felt harassed, unfairly treated, or felt unsafe and they informed a supervisor of the situation, the termination could result in a retaliation claim. This means the employee feels they were terminated for complaining about the harassment, unfair treatment, or unsafe condition. Terminating them in retaliation for speaking up or taking FMLA is against the law.

5- Collect and Review the documentation that supports your decision- ALL of it! Do not put off filling out the necessary documentation. Your memory will not be the same a week later, if you even come back to it that soon. Once you have all the documentation, compare the situation to similar ones, specifically how those employees were disciplined and how many prior warnings had been in their files. Then keep it all together in their personnel file in the event you need to refer back to it.

6- Seriously consider all employment laws, especially the American’s with Disabilities Act, Anti-discrimination laws, and the Family Medical Leave Act. Even if you know the termination has nothing to do with an employee’s protected class, the courts may not agree. If there is even a slight chance that some one may believe the termination is related to an employee’s disability (or regarded disability,) discrimination, or leave of absence it would be in your best interest to consult your attorney.

7- Do not wait to long to terminate. This is important for a couple of reasons. First, you do not want to give the employee more opportunities or time to do damage to the company. Secondly, if other employees feel like this employee is getting away with something, it will bring down the morale of the group, decreasing their productivity. And last but not least, if a long amount of time has passed since the incident happened that you wish to terminate for, the employee may be suspicious of your reasoning and contact an attorney.

8- Plan for the meeting. As mentioned earlier, have any documentation or “proof” ready in the event the employee denies allegations or asks to see it. Know what you are going to say and think about how they may respond so you can be prepared for any situations that may arise. Also, have a witness present whenever possible. If the employee gets violent or claims you said something that you didn’t say, this person will be able to defend your position.

9- Keep your focus during the termination. Treat them with respect and explain exactly why you are terminating. Keep your cool and do not apologize for the decision. You may however, wish them well on their way out the door.

10- Ensure final pay/ wages and COBRA notices are delivered to the terminated employee as timely as possible. This includes any unused sick, personal and/ or vacation time (according to your company policy.) You obviously do not want to give them any additional ammunition.

Written by Kellie Shumaker, PHR, MBA
Alternative HR
203 Walnut Street
Wrightsville, Pa 17368
717-855-5589
Kellie @Alternative-HR.com

Written By Chick Zoll

A D&O policy typically covers “wrongful acts” by directors and officers of an entity within their capacity to make decisions regarding the entity’s activities.

 A “wrongful act” is often defined to be something like, “any error, misstatement, misleading statement, act, omission, neglect, or breach of duty committed, attempted, or allegedly committed or attempted, by an insured person, individually or otherwise, in an insured capacity, or any matter claimed against him or her solely by reason of his or her serving in such insured capacity.”

The entity may be a public or private corporation, association or other organization and it may be for-profit or nonprofit.

If the D&O policy excludes wrongful acts arising out of the provision of “professional services,” a separate Errors and Omissions (E&O) or other type of professional liability coverage may be needed, although some D&O policies now package E&O, Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), and sometimes fiduciary liability insurance.

Don Jacobs Insurance Services, Inc.
P. O. Box 489
New Bloomfield, PA 17068
Office Phone 1-888-844-6569
Cell  717-979-6982
Fax  717-582-7150
Chick.djis(@)pa.net
http://www.donjacobsinsurance.com/

Written by Catherine Lockey On July – 21 – 2010

3.  A search engine optimized blog is a marketing essential. Blogging is the number one – yes – number one way to get found on Google and drive traffic to your website. Google loves blogs because they are fresh and filled with links.  Your blog is not just a repeat of your website. Instead, it’s a marketing tool used to connect with customers through creative and informative articles.  It’s a place where your business can directly interact with your customers in a friendly manner encouraging affinity toward you and your brand.  A qualified marketing company sets up your blog so others may easily share your posts on platforms like Digg, Twitter, and FB. Your blog must have an RSS feed and optional email sign-up and should be constructed with security and SEO applications.  Your marketing department must learn how to use these or a qualified marketing company will use them for you.  Who hits your blog, how long they stay, which articles are favored and more can be found in your blog analytics.  Because a blog is considered the best social media marketing tool available, if you don’t have one or if you have one and aren’t using it properly, your business is missing out on the most important online conversation of all – the one about your business!

4. You need calls to action in order to generate leads. Your blog and your website are great places to launch creative calls to action. Each call to action should be created around a keyword or phrase (SEO) and include an offer.  A qualified marketing company will review your company goals, find your marketing weaknesses, and strengthen them through your brand identity, website construction, blog articles, and calls to action. An effective call to action asks for lead information from your prospect in exchange for useful/helpful information from your business. In other words, your prospect gladly gives you his email, business, title and phone number in exchange for instant (extremely useful) downloadable information which helps him now.  The prospect’s lead information is emailed directly to your sales people who then follow up.  Analytics are used to monitor the effectiveness of your calls to action allowing you and your quality marketing company to further enhance your ROI.

5.  Email marketing is a necessary  follow-up tool. A qualified marketing company will set up several follow-up emails (clearly sharing your brand identity) to thank your lead for making use of your call to action and ask her if she wants to learn more about your services or products. These follow up emails encourage further investigation into your products or services and may include additional calls to action. A qualified marketing company will provide you the means to handle this in-house or they will handle it for you.  Analytics are used to determine the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

6. Your website and blog must be backlinked – a lot. A backlink is your website address found on a website that is not your own. (Yes, this is SEO related.)  The more backlinks you have on high ranking sites (because some sites are considered more valuable than others), the more valuable you are to Google. Those businesses who have the most backlinks on the most valuable sites get more exposure on Google search.   A qualified marketing company will show you how to generate backlinks yourself or generate them for you. They will also provide you with a list of your competitors’ backlinks and their value (exciting stuff).

7. To excel in your market you must have compelling content. Content is king. Google loves to see fresh, relevant, linked content on your website and blog and people love to read compelling content. The creation of compelling content requires the art of writing and the art of SEO.  A qualified marketing company knows how to to pull readers in, inspiring them to willingly learn more about your business.   Whether your in-house marketing team writes your content or you have your marketing company to do it for you, search engine optimized compelling content is a non-negotiable ingredient in a successful marketing campaign.

8.  You need to participate in social media to drive potential customers to your calls of action. Your qualified marketing company will set up your Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter accounts in a manner which effectively conveys your brand and best positions you with your demographic.  Each social media platform has it’s own culture and etiquette and it’s most effective to act within these cultural norms to attract others to your business.  A qualified marketing company can show you your social media  sphere of influence and traffic stats. More important, they can monitor and respond to social media conversations about your business or teach you how to do this giving your business the opportunity to provide exemplary online customer service and bolster your reputation.

Remember, a thorough understanding of all marketing subcategories is a prerequisite for quality marketing. This is because all marketing subcategories are intertwined and many build upon each other.  One qualified marketing company thoroughly beats a disjointed group of specialists every time.

If taking tax-free distributions from your employer-sponsored retirement plan appeals to you, then you may consider looking into a Roth 401(k) plan. A Roth 401(k) combines features of a traditional 401(k) with those of a Roth IRA. Like a traditional 401(k), workers contribute through payroll deduction. But, like a Roth IRA, contributions are after tax and participants may make withdrawals free of taxes and penalties after age 59 1/2.

Under the Roth 401(k), employees can decide to contribute funds on an after-tax basis, in addition to, or instead of, pre-tax contributions within their traditional 401(k) plans.

The annual maximum contribution for 2010 is the same as for a traditional 401(k): $16,500 plus an additional $5,500 catch-up contribution for employees aged 50 and older.

Employers who provide a matching contribution are required to allocate the match to a traditional 401(k), not a Roth account.

Traditional 401(k) vs Roth 401(k) Comparison Chart

As of January 1, 2006 employers have been free to amend their 401(k) plan document to allow employees to elect Roth IRA type tax treatment for a portion or all of their retirement plan contributions. The Roth retirement plan provision was enacted as a provision of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001.

The longer you remain invested in a Roth 401(k), the more you are likely to benefit from tax-free growth. If you plan to retire in five years or less, a shorter-term time horizon may limit the benefit of tax-free withdrawals.

We would be happy to meet with you to discuss whether the Roth 401(k) makes sense
for you as well as other aspects of your retirement planning.

Andrew D. Grace, CMFC
Financial Advisor
The Conte~Browne Group, LLC
2009 Market Street
Camp Hill, PA 17011
(717) 975-8800
(717) 975-0646 Fax
Andy.grace@contebrowne.com

Registered Representative, Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cambridge and The Conte~Browne Group, LLC are not affiliated.

By Reuel Deppen, CPA

It could be 43.4%!   In comparison, the top rate in 2010 is 35%. 

Starting in 2011, the top federal income tax rate increases from 35% to 39.6% as legislation enacted by the Bush administration expires.  In addition, effective January 1, 2013, a provision in the recently enacted health care legislation imposes an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on unearned income (taxable interest, dividends, capital gains, rents, royalties and other non-wage income).   The top 39.6% rate PLUS the 3.8% additional Medicare rate leaves a top enacted rate of 43.4% for 2013.

The highest income tax rate for 2011 (39.6%) begins when taxable income exceeds roughly $375,000.  The 3.8% Medicare tax (again, scheduled to start in 2013) applies when adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 for married couples and exceeds $200,000 for single persons.

Married couples with taxable income of $500,000 in 2013, of which $300,000 is wages and $200,000 is “unearned” income, would pay about $13,500 MORE federal tax in 2013 than in 2010.

We would be happy to meet with you to discuss strategies to combat these currently enacted increases in income tax rates as well as other aspects of your income tax planning. 

In accordance with IRS Circular 230, no information in this article is considered a “covered opinion” or other written tax advice and cannot and should not be relied upon for IRS audit, tax dispute, or any other purpose.

 The Summit will Provide Timely Information on Pending Federal Legislation

Jun 29, 2010–An upcoming event hosted by Harrisburg University of Science and Technology will provide timely information to food industry leaders, managers and other related industries on the impact of the pending federal Food Safety and Modernization Act. 

The University will host The Food Safety & Quality Summit, a program of the Central Penn Business Journal held in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

The event is set for 7:30 to 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at the University, which is located at 326 Market Street.

Guest speakers at the event include: Shannon Cole, Director of Science, Grocery Manufacturer’s Association; Russell C. Redding, Secretary of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; and Everette James, Secretary of Health, Pennsylvania Department of Health.

“This new law will affect companies’ safety and quality assurance policies and procedures. The summit will provide an opportunity for companies across the food supply continuum to understand the proposed requirements and the implications,” says Rene D. Massengale, associate professor of biotechnology at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. The University recently launched a concentration in Food Science and Technology with courses and initiatives in Food Safety and Quality and Sensory Science. 

Event attendees can learn what the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is doing to monitor and plan for the impact on the Pennsylvania food industry, and hear from industry leaders about the status of the legislation and the policies and requirements that are part of the proposed new law

With its keynote address, panel discussion and breakout sessions, the event provides a venue to share information and address the problems, gaps, questions, and issues facing each sector within the food supply chain with facilitators from academe and industry.

The event is expected to attract representatives of companies and organizations participating in the food supply system including agricultural growers and producers, food processors, food distributors/wholesalers/ retailers and members of related trade associations, as well as middle and upper-level managers from small and medium-sized organizations and managers, directors or owners responsible for food safety and product quality, such as HACCP, QA/QC, and process control professionals.

Tickets are $35. Order tickets online at www.centralpennbusiness.com/events or call the Events Department at 717.236.4300.
                                                  

Event Agenda

7:30-8:15 am:  Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:15-8:30 am:  Welcome Remarks
Dr. Rene D. Massengale, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
Larry Kluger, President, Journal Publications Inc.

8:30-9:30 am: Keynote Address
Shannon Cole, Director of Science, Grocery Manufacturer’s Association
             Nuts and Bolts of the Food Safety Legislation: The Changes and Implications

9:30-9:40 am: Break

9:40-10:40 am Presentations and Panel Session A Call to Action: Improving Food Safety and Quality at the State Level
Russell C. Redding, Secretary of Agriculture,
            Pennsylvania Department of  Agriculture
Everette James, Secretary of Health, Pennsylvania Department of Health
Shannon Cole, Director of Science, Grocery Manufacturer’s Association

10:40-10:50 am:  Break

10:50-11:50 am:  Interactive Breakout Sessions 
A discussion of the problems, gaps, questions, and issues facing each sector within the food supply chain with facilitators from academe and industry
• Breakout #1 for food producers & related
• Breakout #2 for food processors/manufacturers & related
• Breakout #3 for food distributors/wholesalers/retailers

11:50 am-12:30 pm:    Wrap Up Session: Industry Response for Solutions and Next Steps

The Harrisburg Parking Authority operates a garage within Harrisburg University’s Academic Center.  It is accessible from 4th Street. The garage is fully automated and there is a cash-only payment machine on the first floor. More information on parking rates and directions to the University are found online at http://www.harrisburgu.net/campuslife/directions.php#parking

Founded in 2001 to address Central Pennsylvania’s need for increased opportunities for study leading to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, Harrisburg University is an innovative and ambitious private institution that produces graduates who provide increased competence and capacity in science and technology disciplines to Pennsylvania and the nation. Harrisburg University ensures institutional access for underrepresented students and links learning and research to practical outcomes. As a private University serving the public good, Harrisburg University remains the only STEM-focused comprehensive university located between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

For more information on the University’s demand-driven undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs in applied science and technology fields, call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu.

Contact: Steven Infanti, Communications, 717.901.5146
                Dr. Rene Massengale, Associate Professor, 717.901.5133

Posted By Patrick Brinkerhoff

As a busy owner and entrepreneur of a business, it can be challenging to find time to look at your business and experience what you have built.  In fact, in my experience working with small business owners, aspiring to develop their companies, the biggest stumbling block owners’ face is a lack of time.  As an example, I started to write this letter to you a month ago.  Time is the new commodity!

I take time most days to enjoy the park or Curious George with my son.  We watch the sunrise with mom, if he wakes early.

This past week mom reminded us of the summer solstice! I wanted to see where the sun landed on my front porch to verify my passive solar design, but I did not allow time to witness the event.

Later that day, I observed my wife’s sadness as she reflected on the shorter days to come.  We both sense that things are speeding up. Doesn’t it feel like time is moving faster than it did when we were young?

Between the demands of work, family, community service, and self; I, too, struggle to find time to evaluate what I have built.  Today, my schedule is so full; I’ve become adept at juggling multiple responsibilities and still finding time to look at what I have created.  

Even though time is the new commodity, we need to allow time to evaluate what we have built and the direction in which our business travels.

Here are seven techniques I use regularly. I hope that they will help you too!

Don’t wait until you have a big block of time to evaluate your business.  Set a goal to look at the individual aspects of your operation, spend an hour three days a week.  If I’d wait for an entire day I would never actually look. It sounds great to imagine spending a few weeks looking at reports, but it would never happen.  Instead, I set a goal to look at each individual aspect of my current operation; I may, spend an hour three days week.  This process builds a consistent approach for me that yield better habits for future evaluation; it is, also, less stressful and consumes less time.

Never start without a plan.  Invest the time to plan your weekly goals.  I never start without a plan. I invest the time to determine what I want to accomplish each week. Sometimes, I create a stout outline, or blue print of my week; it saves me time and heartache while optimizing my schedule. I feel awful if I miss a beat throughout my week. 

Note your strengths and weaknesses. I write notes on my outline, enabling me to find the strengths in my business model  and image; I note where the model is weak.  Often, I rewrite my outline and notes, so it is clear to me in the future.

Find a mentor to discuss your goals or gain advice. I have found a trusted friend to discuss my notes.  This allows me formulate an outside opinion and gain advice.  Advice, I have learned, is just that; I am not required to use the advice given, but I have found that it usually gives me poise that I am on my correct path.  

Adjust to your business world with confidence.  I try to pay attention to the every changing business world. I adjust where needed with confidence.  

Keep work fun to make things happen. Also, I try to keep in mind where I find business to be fun.  I notice this is where I actually do my best. If the work you perform is fun, your business will grow and you will enjoy a better customer relation. Decide what you like about your business then make it your brand!

Be aware of your work environment, keep it healthy.  Your environment can support you or distract you when you work. I have in all my practices developed a healthy work environment that supports my accomplishments and what I need from my staff of consultants.  To save time and energy, create the kind of work environment that immediately supports you and your employees.

Finally, create an affirmation, or ritual to evaluate new areas every week; to ask for the ear of a trusted friend; and to spend a moment everyday watching the sunrise.

POSTED BY CATHERINE LOCKEY – 2010

The heart and soul of social media and the foundation for influential business marketing is blogging.
Don’t have a blog yet? Then you’re missing out on your chance to leave your indelible footprint in digital space.  A blog is your company’s media channel where your brand is created, expanded upon and recreated.  Every other form of social media points to a blog post somewhere.   Here’s what you need to do to launch a blog that inspires conversations, comments, and followers:

Compelling content is just the beginning.
And, it’s no easy task.  The creation of compelling content requires the art of writing and the art of SEO (more about SEO in the next paragraph).  People talk about, subscribe to, comment on, and read blogs that offer useful, compelling content.  Think about when you enjoy reading and when you don’t.  A professional blog content writer pulls rather than pushes the reader.  Her writing style entrances the brain, piques curiosity, and draws the reader into the story. This is what you need your blog posts to do – to pull not push – so your readers willingly learn more about your business.  Not everyone is a gifted writer who knows how to create compelling content.  Nevertheless; every business needs a great blog which is why hiring someone who diligently practices the art of writing is one of the best marketing investments a business can make. Whether you write your own posts or hire someone to help you, compelling content is a non-negotiable ingredient in every successful blog recipe.

Marketing and SEO are required!
SEO is actually part of marketing and now a required skill for all marketers.  SEO stands for search engine optimization. When it comes to blogging, using good SEO strategies result in a blog post that is attractive to the search engines.  How is this done?  Your blog content writer must be adept at the creative integration of keywords and phrases into your blog article and title.  Competent and creative use of CMS options further allow the writer to tag and optimize your posts.  In order for your blog post to be found in search by your demographic, this creative use of keywords and phrases must be directed to the long tail.  After a blog post is written, it must be seeded or shared so that it generates backlinks. These backlinks improve your blog’s rank making it even more visible to your demographic.  When hiring a blog content provider, remember, a qualified candidate is a gifted writer who integrates sound SEO practices into compelling content, maximizes the SEO options on your blog platform, and uses social media conversations to seed/share the content she creates for you. Expect to pay at least $75 an hour for this kind of expertise.

Don’t blog on someone else’s platform.
You need to hire a professional to set up your blog rather than participate in Blogger or other blogging platforms.  Why? Because all of those coveted keywords and phrases your demographic uses to search for what you write about will be associated with Blogger (or the other platforms) instead of you and your business.  Poor SEO for you, good SEO for them.  Another tip: If your blog is part of your business web site, use a subdomain that reads like:  blog-name.YourWebsite.com.

Blog set-up makes a difference.
Too often Central PA and MD clients come to me lamenting their blog posts get no pageviews, receive no comments, and are not showing up in search.  Often, this is because their blog was not set-up properly.  They had a friend set-up their blog at a discount. Their brother’s sister in law just started a social media marketing business.   Competent, professional blog set-up requires a seasoned professional whose own business blog is successful.  Your blog set-up matters. It determines how well you will be found in search, how secure your blog is, and how others may share your posts. Use common sense when hiring your blog design company. If their blog gets the kind of results you want to see on yours, then you know who to hire.

Extend Your Brand.
Extending your visual brand in your blog design is a no brainer; the hard part is finding a designer capable of pulling your print and web brand into a CMS like WordPress. Great blog design creatively extends your brand generating interest and labeling your blog as top notch.  It’s your design which makes the first impression. Make sure your design is creative, professional, and extends your brand by hiring a professional blog designer when you’re ready for a successful blog.

More about the author
Catherine Lockey, successful business blogger for Cyclone Marketing, is now accepting a limited number of blog content creation customers.  Hiring Catherine Lockey to blog for your business means:

• Your blog posts are professionally written for you and published in your name.
• Your blog posts are filled with compelling content combined with sound SEO strategies maximizing your exposure on the internet.
• Your blog post will support a marketing campaign using a creative call to action and leverage social media to market that call to action.
• You receive a list of suggested changes to be made to your blog platform to maximize your blog’s SEO.
• You receive analytic data about each post so you see your return on investment (ROI).
• Your blog posts are seeded/shared with your and Catherine Lockey’s social media networks.

If you would like to be one of the select few to contract Catherine Lockey to blog for you, email her at cl@oz2designs.com.

The Women in Business Roundtable invites business men and women to this event that will to shake up the normal meet-and-greet. In this networking exercise, attendees will submit two business cards at registration. Then, during an opening networking presentation, the cards will be mixed and attendees will choose two cards. Participants will network to find the people the cards belong to.
The cost to attend this networking luncheon is $20 per member. However, if you register a non-member guest, you both will receive 50% off the cost of registration. Want to bring more than one non-member guest? All of you can register for the discounted price of $10. This is a great opportunity to introduce your friends and colleagues to the benefits of Chamber membership.

If you are not a member of the West Shore and would like to attend a really neat networking event next week, contact Deborah L. Brown and you can go as her guest for half price!  She can take as many non-member guests as she wants, so let her know if you are interested by Thursday, June 17^th, and she’ll sign you up and you can pay the $10 (half price) fee at the door.  If you want to invite someone you know just add them to the list when you reply.

Event details can be found at: http://www.chamberdata.cc/ccao/wc.dll?Evt~Main~&Org=wspa click on June 22.

Power Network Expo 2010 – Gettysburg, PA – Women’s Conference and Tradeshow

Posted by Catherine Lockey On June – 9 – 2010 

Are you a woman owned business or someone who is looking to procure, finance, or hire a woman owned business? Then, the Power Network Expo 2010 on Saturday, August 21st, at the Gettysburg Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center is an event you must attend.
Looking to hire a woman owned business?
PA and Federal procurement officers look out!  Power Network Expo 2010 creates the perfect partnering opportunity where you can find the woman owned businesses you need.

Yes, you can afford to be a vendor.
A multitude of vendors are already registered and because of the accommodating size of the Eisenhower, there is room to spare. Vendor tables cost only $100 making this expo a very affordable way for women to showcase their businesses. “This is an opportunity for women to shine; so often we are out in the background….here we can help each other and grow our businesses,” explains Carol Burns, Power Network Expo founder.

Buy local and support our community.
“Buying local is the greenest thing we can do…we can get great wares right here…” explains Burns. Pennsylvania is fortunate to have so many talented women – the Power Network Expo 2010 makes it easy to buy local. Stop in and get to know your local woman owned businesses.

Thinking about starting your own business?
Young women, college students, and girls who dream of owning their own business, this is the place for you. Learn what it takes to run a successful small business from the women who work at it every day.

Enjoy a rich, full day.
The Expo begins at 11:00 a.m. and runs until 7:00 p.m. Business development workshops, good food, and musical entertainment will be interspersed throughout the day.  Power Network Expo founder Carol Burns has always had a heart for women in business. When asked what inspired her to organize this wonderful event she shares that it is the women who inspire her, “….meeting different women, hearing their stories, learning how they are trying to grow their businesses and make connections….I saw a need for it…,” says Burns.  Register online or buy your ticket at the door to enjoy this rich, full day!

“Whether you are focused on professional contacts, shopping for great buys, enjoying informative business development workshops and discussions or looking for a new career, we believe you will get what you put into it and gain a rich experience.  So make it a powerful girlfriends day and join us at Power Network Expo 2010.” – Carol Burns

Burns is also the founder of Women on Their Way, a successful Adams County business networking group.