Oh goody, goody!

    Great speakers and lessons, great goody bags, great lunch, and networking with other SC women in business .....  what more could a woman ask for in a day-long conference?

     Only a few more days to register.  What are you waiting for?!!

REGISTER HERE NOW!

Your SBDC Newsletter

The Rock Hill Area of Winthrop Region SBDC serves five SC counties: York, Chester, Lancaster, Union and Cherokee.
Call us for free business consultation, assistance in developing your business plan, help with marketing ideas and direction, a free financial analysis for your existing business, and more!  We're here to help!

How Do You Measure Success in Business?

 One of the things we LOVE about working for the SC Small Business Development Centers is watching our clients grow and truly succeed in the businesses they've opened.  We've seen that the most successful small businesses in the community are those whose owners started out by learning what they didn't know about running a business .... then implementing what they had learned .... and finally being extremely watchful of what was working and not working for them, to quickly make changes and add or subtract elements of the business as necessary. They listen to their customers and make sure they offer what those customers are looking for.  It's great to do what YOU want as a business owner, but adding the extra customer service of new products or services that your customers request creates a win-win situation that benefits everyone.

   What IS a successful small business?  It's very possibly not what you may think.  Success is a relative thing, not always measured the same way.  Some people have huge dreams of wanting to be CEO of a giant conglomerate; but others have a much simpler dream to work in a business they love and earn enough money to take care of their families and enjoy a good life with them. Whatever dream you have,  the SBDC will be happy to walk through that dream with you, make suggestions, give you advice on where to start, or how to grow an existing business to the next level.   Truly successful people know that it's best to run ideas past a mentor before implementing them.  Often others can suggest or see things that we can't see ourselves.  So, we aren't just about start-ups, as you may have thought -- we're very much a resource for growing enterprises as well!

   We'd like to feature all of our successful clients in our newsletters.  If you'd like us to feature your business, call Carol at (803) 323-2283 and update her on how and what you're doing, and why you're a business a success!

Featured Business:

Anna Carter, Owner of Tree of Life Studio in Rock Hill is a great example of a business owner who didn't rush to open her business. She planned well and followed her plan.

Anna's Tree of Life Massage and Facial Studio offers therapeutic massage and facials providing her clients with a variety of medically beneficial massages, massages for sports or traffic injuries, pregnancy, and stress relief massage.  Before opening, she made sure she had all the legalities taken care of, understood the business type she had chosen, got herself certified in all areas of her business and encouraged her husband, Hal to get his massage therapy certification as well.  With both of them certified, it created the opportunity for the business to take on more clients, especially doctor-referred patients in need of deep tissue massage, and couples wanting to come in for "spa night" massages together.  

Anna took the right steps at the right time to ensure steady, continuous growth of her business .... and she keeps in touch to get our opinion from time to time.   Now, since Tree of Life Studio opened 2 1/2 years ago and is doing well, she's getting ready to move to a new location with more space for both clients  and new products, but with the same friendly, cozy atmosphere of her current location. Tree of Life will re-locate on November 1st to 860 Cherry Road, Suite #102 in Rock Hill, right behind Hers and His Hair Stylists.   She's planning an Open house, so be sure to watch her website or Facebook page so you don't miss it!

Anna loves her business, loves her customers, loves the skin care products she offers and loves being able to work with Hal.  In Anna's book and ours, that's a business success story! 

Great job, Anna -- We love having you as part of our SBDC family of small business owners!

Upcoming Events:

October 19, 2015:

   This is a FREE workshop, sponsored by the IRS.  This training will be held
 in Room 415 of the Thurmond Building (College of Business) on the Winthrop University Campus, corner of Park Avenue (off Cherry Road) at Memorial Circle.  Room 415 is on the 4th floor, and is elevator accessible.   Parking passes for the day will be emailed to registrants the day before the workshop.

Sign-in will begin at 8:30 am, and the workshop will begin promptly at 9 am and end at noon.

Agenda includes:

• What you need to know about federal taxes when hiring employees/contractors
• Employee vs independent contractor
• Payer responsibilities
• Identify payer-related forms
• Verify employee information
• State New Hire Registry
• File Forms W-2 online
• FIRE system
• How to manage your payroll so you withhold the right amount from employees
• Wages subject to employment taxes
• Accountable vs. non-accountable plans
• What you need to know about Federal Unemployment Taxes (FUTA).
• Define FUTA wages
• Deposit rules
• Forms & filing

 Resource materials will be provided for:

• South Carolina Department of Revenue
• Registering a business in South Carolina
• Reporting and collecting sales tax
• Withholding tax
• South Carolina Department of Employment & Workforce
• Unemployment Insurance Tax and Claims
• Tax Liability
• Legal entities
• Wage report
• Independent Contractor

Register

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October 27, 2015 

 8 am - 2 pm:  "A Woman's Business" conference ..... 

An interactive seminar for women business owners and managers, non-profit directors, and aspiring women entrepreneurs looking for mentoring, business advice, suggestions and creative input.    Click through for details and registration information, as well as a list of participating sponsors, facilitators, and women panelists.  

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Do you need ideas, advice, analysis to help you expand your business?  Call us. Consultations and most services are are free (except for seminars and websites). We have answers to your questions, or can find someone who does ...... we're here to help! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Winthrop Region Small Business Development Center Located at Winthrop University College of Business Rock Hill, SC (803) 323-2283  WinthropRegionalSBDC@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Get our newsletter in your email through Constant Contact:                                       Subscribe to our SBDC Newsletter  LIKE us on Facebook for daily business information in your newsfeed Follow us on Twitter!

Union, SC -- Entrepreneur's Start-Up Workshop

An Entrepreneur's Start-Up Workshop will be held in Union, SC for area residents interested in starting their own businesses.   This event will be held Wednesday, August 5, 2015 from 9 to 11 am.  Details and Registration information on the flyer below.  This event is offered through a cooperative effort between the Winthrop Region SBDC in Union, and the Union County Chamber of Commerce.

How to Stay Productive Working From Home

If you were given the opportunity, would you willingly work from home? Most people would say yes without a doubt. However, the people that are currently working from home might have a different viewpoint. Yes, working from home allows you to stay in your pajamas all day and allows you to take care of your children/pets, but is that necessarily a good thing? 

Nowadays more and more people are working from home; either to run their successful internet business, or because technology advancements have allowed them to do so. No matter the industry, employees need to follow certain strategies to make sure that they are as efficient at home as they would be in a traditional office space.

Entrepreneur.com complied a list to help individuals stay productive when working from home. The key strategies to remember include:

• Have a Separate Office Space. Working from home doesn't mean you can stay in bed or in front of the TV with your laptop. Career experts recommend setting up a specific office area in the home so you can “go to work” and not be distracted by dirty dishes, a crying child or a favorite TV show.
• Set Clear Boundaries.“Create very strict boundaries where there are no dogs, kids or spouses allowed,” says Cardone. “The door needs to remain shut with only those that have top clearance allowed access.”
• Keep Regular Work Hours and Prepare. Keeping regular work hours is key for maintaining productivity. “Your family and friends need to pretend you simply aren't there, unless it's a dire emergency,” says Garfinkle. “Remind your family of these hours and let them know you expect them to respect your work time so that you won’t have to work when you should be spending with them.” 
• Change Your Mindset. “The main motivation of convenience or comfort, which most people who work from home have, is flawed,” says Cardone. Yes, it’s more convenient to not have to go to an office every day, but remote workers can’t view it as an excuse to slack off.
• Know When to Throw in the Towel. If your productivity is declining or it’s difficult to maintain a work-life balance, then it may be time to re-evaluate your work situation. Not everyone is well-suited for working from home. Some individuals prefer having an interaction with co-workers, and that is okay. Working from home isn't for everyone.

Summarized from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235907

Now's the Time for Aspiring Entrepreneurs to Put Their Ideas to Work!

Have you always had the BIG IDEA? Have you always dreamed of having your own business? This may be the time for you to step up and make those dreams come true!

New entrepreneurs, say experts, are generally expected to lead the economic recovery in the U.S. With help in putting your business plan together from the SBDC, and further assistance possible as a result of the new economic stimulus package when you’re ready for financing, that BIG IDEA may finally be within your reach!

If you are located in South Carolina in the counties of York, Lancaster, Chester, Union, Cherokee, Florence, Marion, Dillon, Darlington, Marlboro, Chesterfield, Lee, Horry, or Georgetown, the Winthrop Regional SBDC has free counseling, training workshops, and resources available to you. Give us a call at (803) 323-2283. We are a partnership program of the U.S. Small Business Administration, located at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC