News from the Maine Small Business Development Center

Maine Small Business Development Centers February 2014 Meet with a  Business Counselor In This Issue Retirement Planning Tax Tips E-Week Maine Build-A-Biz Veterans in Business   Veteran Business Initiative  Service member or veteran business owner? Have a business question?  Contact: Gordon Platt 207-615-3294 Maine SBDC  Upcoming Workshops February 12  - Bangor Business 101 February 12 - Bangor Top Ten Marketing "Musts" for Small Business February 12 - Bangor The Art of Networking February 13 - Machias Marketing Essentials February 26 - Fairfield Creating Your Marketing Plan February 28 - Portland Introduction to Small Business Taxes for Sole Proprietorships February 2014 - Portland Strategic Planning Basics for Small Business Wednesdays - 4 -6 pm Six Workshops! Attend one, or attend them all! MULTIPLE DATES Strategic Positioning & Risk Assessment - 3/19 Knowing Your Target Market & Competition - 2/12 & 3/26 Assessing Your Industry - Trends/Social Responsibility and Sustainability - 2/19 & 4/2 Solid Financials - Cash Flow Forecasting - 2/26 & 4/9 Solid Financials - Balance Sheet Management - 3/5 &  4/16 Growth Strategies & Setting Goals - 3/12 & 4/23 Cost: Any 1 session is $20, OR prepay for all 6 sessions for $100 For more information or to register, contact Chris Long at 780-4949 Join Our Mailing List Retirement Planning for Business Owners 3 Steps to Making Retirement Savings a Reality Many business owners - particularly smaller businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs - face difficult decisions when it comes to providing their own benefits. As the business owner, you decide how to spend or invest your income. Often, the decision is how to prioritize. It's not uncommon for a business owner to put off his/her personal retirement saving strategy in order to prioritize the cost of health insurance, for example. If your business itself is not producing equity, creating a separate capital base for retirement is extremely important. The good news is that as a business owner, you can take advantage of retirement saving vehicles such as a SEP-IRA and other income tax planning strategies. Read the full article here. Small Business Taxes Helpful Resources to get you through Tax Season It's tax time and our business counselors often get asked about choosing good tax preparers. Making sure to wisely choose a qualified professional is important. To help you, theIRS has published a list of tips to help you find the right person.   Additionally, the below articles highlight important 2014 tax information and changes: Important Tax Figures for 2014 Tax Changes for 2014: A Checklist Tax Brackets, Deductions and Exemptions for 2014    The IRS website is full of helpful information. They've also made some virtual workshops.    Free tax preparation services are available for those who make $52,000 or less. Call 2-1-1 to find a location near you (or visit their site). In addition, the IRS offers free software for those who make $58,000 or less through their FreeFile program.  Celebration of Entrepreneurship In Maine - February 8-22   National Entrepreneurship Week is organized in Maine by a coalition of business and education partners in support of the creative and managerial efforts of entrepreneurs and small business. Workshops and business competitions are among the events designed to inspire young entrepreneurs and enhance the skills of older ones.   For more information, visit www.eweekmaine.org Youth Entrepreneurship Program Registration open! Build-A-Biz, a youth entrepreneurship education program, is now accepting registrations for their ages 5-9 and 10-18 programs!  The programs gives children education, attention and real-world experience into business ownership. They learn to set goals through experiential activities.  For more information or to get your child involved, visitwww.buildabiz.me.

Maine Small Business Development Centers | Website | 207-780-4420