*Vol 2006 - Issue 11* *November, 2006* /*Post Office Box 23874 Chattanooga, TN 37422 (423) 886-8367* / *NOVEMBER MEETING * Erin Creal Executive Director Chattanooga Room in the Inn Our speaker this month is Erin Creal of the Chattanooga Room at the Inn. As many of you may remember, we held a Dress for Success event for the ladies at the Room at the the Inn. Erin will give us an update of the efforts of her organization. To sign up for the event, either email Nesha at Nesha_holloway@bsbst.com or try out our new Event Registration section on our Website. Click here to register for November's lunch or go to www.chanawbo.org and click on Event Registration. Luncheon: *Thursday, November 15* Sign in: 11:15 AM Lunch: 11:30 AM Location: Mountain City Club 729 Chestnut St Cost $17.00 Register by *Monday November 15* Call 886-8367 or email Nesha_holloway@bsbst.com All reservations must be paid *WELCOME - NEW MEMBER* Kathy Casey WKM Construction, Inc. 910 Wilcox Court Kingsport, TN 37660 423-246-5758 *OUR MISSION STATEMENT* Empower women business owners through education, opportunity and support, to achieve success economically, socially, and politically *Here are some photos of the 2006 Chamber of Commerce Nautilus Award Ceremony. It was a fun event and it was cool to have so many of our members nominated and to have a winner as well! Everyone was a winner in our books.* Entrepreneur award winner Kary Kline Pat Egen and Nautilus nominee Marj Flemming Robyn Cummings and Deborah Levine *President's Column By Celeste Friend* Hello Ladies, WOW! I just returned from the Nautilus Awards and our NAWBO members have made us proud (again). We had six nominees in four categories and two recipients. Congratulations to Sandi Brock and Kary Klein who received the Lightkeeper Award and the Navigator of Entrepreneurship Award, respectively. It is awesome to be associated with a group of women that are such a vital force in this community! To clear up any confusion concerning our future meeting agenda, I plan to proceed as follows: 11:15 Networking 11:30 Meeting begins 11:45 Food served/Meeting suspended 12:00 Meeting resumed 12:30 Formal meeting adjourned/Additional networking Knowing exactly what to expect should help us all to plan our day better. If you are having a busy day and need to leave at 12:30, you can. If you have some extra time, then it is a great way to get in some networking. Also please plan to arrive before 11:30 so that you do not disrupt the meeting. Thanks, Celeste ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *2007 Small Business Outlook * Adminstaff, the nations leading professional employer organization conducted a survey in late October regarding small business owner?s confidence for the future. The year 2007 looks optimistic for small business owners with 70% saying they expect their companies to exceed this year?s growth levels in 2007. The breakdown of small business growth was: 70% plan to add employees 5% expected a drop-off in their workforce 59% expect to see an increase in employee compensation 33% plan to maintain their current compensation levels 64% expect to pay employees overtime 44% plan to increase capital spending The survey also noted that small business owners will have several challenges to overcome. Large organizations will have similar challenges, such as: Controlling costs Retaining their best employees The economic outlook Increased business competition All in all, not a bad outlook for next year. As we near the end of 2006, it's good to take stock of where we've been, where we're headed and what we want for the future. *NAWBO CHATTANOOGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2006-2007 * President - Celeste Friend Immediate Past President - Marj Flemming Vice President - Julie Bestry Secretary - Katrina Chesney Meeting Management - Mary Robertson Treasurer - Deborah Wooten Membership Chair - Julie Bestry Newsletter - Pat Egen *Did you know?* How did hamburger start? Recipes for placing meat between slices of bread date back to Roman times. But that was for steak, not minced meat. Thus, the steak burger is older than the hamburger! The honour of producing the first proper hamburger goes to Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, WI. In 1885 Nagreen introduced the American hamburger at the Outgamie County Fair in Seymour. (Seymour is recognised as the hamburger capital of the world.) *PAGE TWO* *Top Five Tips - **Here's a series of Top Five tips* *Top five business practices customers appreciate* 1. Fast Service 2. Easy Interactions 3. Good value 4. Caring help staff 5. Staff available, but not intrusive *Top five areas where entrepreneurs overspend, according to Legalzoom.com* 1. Insurance 2. Taxes 3. Employees 4. Advertising 5. Themselves *Top 5 ways to save on postage using the United States Postal service:* 1. Use bulk mail 2. Use flat-rate box for $8.10 ? "any weight to any state" 3. Low-cost mailing list corrections 4. Free "return on investment" calculator for direct mail programs 5. Free "carrier pickup" program for packages Chattanooga NAWBO Website National NAWBO Website Send us your comments and articles: Editor Email