Today’s class was full of great and useful information to any prospective and current small business owner. The presenter was Mrs. Lucie Daly, Sales Consultant for PAYCHEX. Mrs. Daly presented Payroll 101 to the class and explained why it is beneficial for a business owner to outsource payroll. Some of the reasons were because of tax codes and employee benefits and certain insurances that need to be paid on time all of which if the employer fails to execute on time could result in hefty fines. Mrs. Daly also explain that with PAYCHEX the business owner has peace of mind to concentrate on running and growing the business. PAYCHEX does all of this and more all for a very affordable price.

www.paychex.com

ldaly@paychex.com

The class today was very excited to hear from Mrs. Vivian Akouko, of Evay Cosmetics. As an Entrepreneur Mrs. Akouko has been very successful with more than one small business.  Evay Cosmetics is branding itself with a new packaging for the skin and hair care products that they design. Evay Cosmetics has gone through the growth of a small business and has learn many valuable skills that was shared with the class. Mrs. Akouko explained to the class very important marketing, FDA approvals and distribution issues that can come up in a start up business. Mrs. Akouko also explained that Entrepreneur need to educate themselves and that seeking guidance from Universities and small business resource centers (like Upper Albany Main Street program) is very important.

The Upper Albany Main Street (UAMS)/Micro-Business Incubator (MBI) is excited to present today’s guest speaker to the current MBI class, Mrs. Nadine Francis West. Mrs. West is the Vice President and Chief Administration, Finance and Governance for the Metro Hartford Alliance. The information that Mrs. West provided had the students on the edge of their seats. Listening with interest the class learned of new initiatives that the Metro Hartford Alliance is executing currently. The Graduate!CT, (http://www.metrohartford.com/initiatives/graduate-ct) were professionals can seek guidance on furthering their education. Also, the Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE) initiative was mention and of course many questions were asked. One such question was asked by Monique Smalls “Mrs. West how does one become a member of HYPE?” Mrs. West of course explained the process of contacting the Executive Director of HYPE and as a University of Hartford student membership is free; the main purposes of HYPE is attracting and retaining talent in the Hartford region, for further readings please visit the HYPE website (http://www.metrohartford.com/initiatives/hype). Mrs. West also spoke of the Strategic Plan 2012-2013 titled “Sustain the Core Seize New Opportunities”, further information can be found at, (http://www.metrohartford.com/initiatives/strategic-plan). Finally Mrs. West finished this most enlightening presentation by speaking about the many other programs and initiatives at the Metro Hartford Alliance such as the; Micro-Business Incubator, BusinessLINC Connecticut, and the newest initiative called LiveHartford. LiveHartford (http://www.livehartford.org/) is an initiative to help professionals stay and live in Hartford, which is a very diversified and Historic city. We thank Mrs. West for her time and most exciting presentation.

Today’s Guest speaker was Mrs. Kim Hawkins Director of the Business Resource center for HEDCo. Mrs. Hawkins explained the different loan services offered by HEDCo. Mrs. Hawkins went through the loan applications and what the business owners would have to provide as far as documentation. HEDCo also provides support to business owners for holding meetings, making copies and using computers at their office. The students were very intrigued with the information provided by Mrs. Hawkins.

Today’s guest speaker was Mr. Shahzeb Hashmi, MBA, JJD.

D. Mr. Hashmi is a very successful serial Entrepreneur. He spoke with the student that currently in the Micro-Business incubator program about his organization “Pure foods Management”. The different issues that franchisees face on a day to day basis and what to look for if someone wants to become a franchisee. Some of the points that were talked about were How do you start a franchise, Advantages/Disadvantages, Location’s and Buying or leasing. Everyone was very enthusiastic and there were many follow up questions asked.

Today’s class had a very energetic discussion about what the students are actually planning out and executing with their respective businesses. Dr. Johnson, gave very informative steps to some of the students and help guide them through various processes in order to execute their individual projects.

Today the students spoke with the former planner for the city of Hartford, Ct. Mr. Mulu Deres spoke with the class about the importance of consulting to Micro-Businesses and develop new innovative ways to resolve problems that Micro-Businesses face on a day to day basis. Mr. Deres also spoke about the importance of taxes, zoning and proper licensing for Micro-Businesses within the city of Hartford. Mr. Deres informed the students that he would be available to answer any question they may have during the semester since he will be volunteering at the Upper Albany Main Street office.

Today the Deputy Chief Emory Hightower, Jr. and Community Service  Officer (CSO), Anthony Rinaldi, both of the Hartford Police Department spoke with the students of the Micro-Business Incubator (MBI), University of Hartford, about the community and safety. The session was very informative and the students had plenty of questions for our distinguished friends of the Hartford PD.

This was the last day of presentation by the students of their respective businesses.