ENTREPRENEUR TEAMS Association

Week of 9-8-2014

http://entrepreneurteams.org

828-552-5345

A program of the Entrepreneur Skills Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established March 5, 2009

IN THE BEGINNING The Fall Season of 2014 marks the beginning of the Entrepreneur Teams Association. This Association is a new program of the Entrepreneur Skills Network founded 2009 in Whittier NC by Gail Cooper, Cathy Gibson and Wanda Mills. The founders of the Entrepreneur Skills Network operate a Thrift Store in Whittier. At this Thrift Store low income seniors and volunteers receive on the job retail training to improve their employment skills and experiences. The Entrepreneur Teams Association is Asheville based with a team meeting room and an office at the corner of Charlotte Street and Woodfin Place. The activity here will be monitored by Chuck Beattie, Michael Valentino, and Al Bouchard, all with varied entrepreneurial experiences. Consultations to set up a 501(c)(3) educational and charitable nonprofit organization are also available. Special teams are envisioned for startups, marketing, business recordkeeping, tax reporting, personnel practices, researching funding sources, preparing grant request proposals, and others initiated by Association members. An Entrepreneur Teams Association Membership Application is included with each weekly issue of this newsletter. Join us and encourage your entrepreneur friends to join also to enrich the offerings at Team Meetings and other events. ____________________________________________ NONPROFIT SPECIALTY TEAM Title: Process to set up a 501(c)(3) nonprofit a. What qualifies a nonprofit as 501(c)(3) b. What are the benefits of 501(c)(3) status c. Preparing and filing Articles of Incorporation d. Developing By-Laws e. Organization Meeting f. Application to IRS for 501(c)(3) status Starting Date: Monday, October 13, 2014 Meeting Times: Choose one Mondays 3 - 5 pm Mondays 6 - 8 pm For more information or to join this team contact Al Bouchard at: [email protected] LOVE YOURSELF ALWAYS! Love is the cornerstone of your being.

Senior Corps of Retired Executives SCORE is a free national mentoring service offered by retired executives who have a wide variety of business expertise.

Administrative Team

Chuck Beattie

Teams Coordinator

Visit http://www.score.org/to learn more about SCORE services and locate a Chapter near where you live or work. _______________________________ New Members Jonathan Poston - Yiveo, Inc. Liz Stroud - Helping Hands by Liz Chris Kaminsky - Lone Bird Studio All members of teams and any one offering classes or articles for this newsletter to Association Members must be a member of the Association.

Michael Valentino Teams Marketer

Al Bouchard

Nonprofit Consultant

START OR JOIN AN ENTREPRENEUR TEAM Kitchen tables, garages, basements, restaurants are often the meeting places where entrepreneurs gather with family, friends and associates to launch a new business. These are common Entrepreneur Teams. The Entrepreneur Teams Association encourages entrepreneurs and business folks to continue with weekly meetings to discuss their business activities. Input from other entrepreneurs or business folks helps correct deficiencies in any business operation. The Asheville office has a Team Meeting Room for Association members to meet with their team of 3 - 6 entrepreneurs. Some of the Administrative Team of the Association will be part of a new team until it has at least 3 members. Team Meetings can be scheduled in morning, afternoon or evening hours convenient to team members. Call 828-552-5345 for information. Office

Entrepreneur Skills Network Founder’s Circle

70 Woodfin Place Suite 117B Asheville, NC 28801 [email protected]

Gail Cooper

Cathy Gibson

Wanda Mills

Accidental Entrepreneur, First Time by Al Bouchard

You’re fired! I was 30 years old. Prior to that statement I served four years as a Clinical Lab Technician in the U.S.Navy. After my discharge, I was a teacher and later Assistant Headmaster of a private co-ed boarding school south of Boston for nine years. Both positions were low paying employment. What led to my firing was that four months previous, I was hired to teach 24 Los Angeles County probation youth 14 to 18 years old at this Halfway House. These youth were not allowed to attend public school because of their previous school disruptions. Their literacy, math and learning skills were at the 1st to 4th grade level. I had agreed to accept this position with the understanding that I would teach 12 students in the morning hours and 12 students in the afternoon hours. A week prior to being fired, the owner informed me that he was increasing his enrollment to 36 residents. He told me I would be responsible to teach all 36 youth. I responded that youth with these poor learning skills needed smaller class sizes and he should hire a second teacher for a better student to teacher ratio. A week later, he found a teacher willing to teach all 36 students and I was fired on the spot. The Activities Director at this facility was an Englishman with excellent youth guidance skills. Reg and I shared many youth care experiences during my employment there. When Reg learned I had been fired, he suggested I start my own Group Home for Los Angeles County Probation youth. I responded that my savings would only cover my living expenses for about three months and I had no experience in starting and operating a business of my own. Reg arranged to have a friend of his who owned an apartment building to give me a furnished apartment rent-free for one month in Los Angeles. Low finances and one month’s housing were my parameters for planning to start a Group home, research the staffing and housing requirement and find a suitable property for this venture. It seemed like a long shot to me. But I took on the challenge. My first task after settling into my new apartment was to contact the Los Angeles County Probation Entrepreneur Teams Week of 9-8-2014

Department to learn what the requirements would be for starting a Group Home. I learned I could start a Group Home for 10 probation youth ages 16 - 20 years old without a license from the State Department of Social Services provided: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The house I use for the Group Home passes the City Building Codes for residential use for 10 youth and 2 live-in adults. The staff includes a part time Social Worker Additional staff would be needed if I accepted alcohol or drug addicted youth in my program Anticipated staff background and experience A complete operational plan for youth at the Group Home that is approved by the Los Angeles County Probation Department

A business plan is a good practice for starting any business. Little did I know then that these five requirements were a blueprint for a major portion of my business plan. I spent my days the first two weeks contacting the appropriate agencies to learn building codes, talking to other Group Home operators, and searching for property where the Group Home might be located. I spent my evenings writing out in great detail exactly how I envisioned the Group Home would be staffed, its daily programs, what equipment, furnishings and supplies I would need. I determined early on that I had no experience with alcohol/drug addiction rehabilitation. I structured the program with the requirement that all the youth in this program had to attend school regularly or have full time employment. No youth with alcohol or drug addiction would be admitted to this Group Home. This last decision automatically relieved me of considering additional staff for rehabilitation. I completed the program planning details in two weeks. My earlier experience at the private boarding school was very helpful for projecting youth activity, defining and choosing qualified staff. I presented my plans and progress to the Probation Department staff for review. By the end of the third week, my operational plan had been approved. What remained to be done was to find a property for the Group Home, find a relief staff person and a parttime social worker. Continued next page >>>

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The property for the Group Home was a huge hurdle to overcome. I did not have the financial resources to purchase, lease, rehabilitate or furnish any property I inspected those first three weeks. I sensed that this might be one element that would prevent me from starting a Group Home. While scanning the real estate classifieds at the beginning of the fourth week, I came across an ad for leasing a furnished Los Angeles rooming house that was vacant. I phoned the owners and arranged to meet them the next day at their rooming house. I had the feeling I was ‘Home’ as soon as I walked through the front door of this house. All the physical elements of the property I was looking for in a Group Home were there. There were 6 bedrooms each furnished with 2 beds, linens and 2 bureaus. There were three bathrooms. Two small rooms to the left of the large living room could serve as a counseling room and my office. The living room flowed into a dining room of the same size with glass cabinets and drawers filled with dishes and glassware. A large, fully equipped kitchen was to the left of the dining room. These were all elements in my program business plans. The owners had operated this house (once owned by a silent movie star) for several years as a rooming house with kitchen privileges. This house was approved for this use by City Building Inspectors. I told the owners of this rooming house about my background and how I would use the property. They agreed to lease their house to me if approved by the Probation Department Inspectors. They also allowed me to delay paying the security deposit until I was receiving a steady income. The Los Angeles County Probation Department Inspector approved the house for a Group Home. I was moved in to the new house by the time my rent free apartment agreement expired. I had three probation youth in residence the first month. Thereafter, I had 9 or 10 youth in residence for the five years I operated this Group Home. All this happened in the 1960s. I researched and acquired nonprofit status for this Group Home. Later, I started a nonprofit Youth Homes Association for Directors of other Los Angeles County Group Homes. Entrepreneur Teams Week of - - 2014

Nonprofit agencies are also a business. They must follow the same business planning, maintenance, marketing, and business practices as a profit making business to be successful.

Al Bouchard is the Executive Director of Entrepreneur Skills Network. He is also an Educator, Nonprofit Management Consultant, Grant Writer, past Real Estate Property Manager, and a basic, minimalist webmaster. Visit http://nonprofit-insights.com Al’s email is: [email protected] _____________________________________________ CALL FOR ARTICLES Members of the Entrepreneur Teams Association are encouraged to submit information about themselves, their business practices and articles about any aspect of business that they are familiar with that can benefit other members, entrepreneurs or business people. A picture to accompany any article is very helpful with a short bio for others to see who the author is and what experience the author has. _____________________________________________ VOLUNTEERS The Entrepreneur Teams Association is newly formed and is seeking new members who also are willing to serve on a committee to make the Association more functional. Committees   Planning Planning Classes and other Activity Public Relations Announcements & Publicity Membership Seek new members, develop forms Teams Oversee Team groups & Classes Volunteers Seek Volunteers to assist with activities Publications Assist with weekly newsletter

_____________________________________________ PART TIME POSITION FOR LOW INCOME SENIOR Entrepreneur Skills Network has a part time position open, 20 hours/week, for an unemployed low income senior 55+ years old in Asheville office at 70 Woodfin Place, Ste 117B. Qualifications: 1. Good people skills 2. Basic computer and Internet skills 3. Basic record keeping skills 4. Basic bookkeeping skills 5. Trustworthy with funds Call 825-552-5345 for more information on the position. This is a subsidized position with a nonprofit headquartered in Bryson City. Call Bettie Seay, Director at 828-488-3047 for income guidelines to qualify for position and to set a hiring appointment if qualified and interested. Page

Entrepreneur Teams Entrepreneur Teams is a model for entrepreneurs and business people in any community to meet regularly with each other to discuss their business activity and have others offer insights to modify or develop their business activity. Entrepreneur Team Coordinators are volunteers that pull together teams with regular meetings to discuss ways for members to overcome obstacles in their business or practice and assist each other to be better entrepreneurs and business folks. In his books, Napoleon Hill wrote about the mastermind group principle as: "The

coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony." "No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind [the master mind]." Each Entrepreneur Team follows general guidelines to benefit the members of the group. Each Entrepreneur Team: 1. Has three to six members of non competing businesses or practices. 2. Has weekly meetings at a time and day set by the team members. 3. At the first meeting, all members take turns to talk about their business or practice.

Entrepreneur Teams Association

4. At all meetings each member identifies a problem and seeks input for solutions by other members. 5. Each member offers guidance, suggestions, or potential solutions to the problems expressed. 6. Each member expresses activity to be accomplished in the coming week. 7. The following week each member talks about the action taken since the last meeting. 8. Steps 4, 5, 6 and 7 are repeated each week. Three to six members in a team allows enough time for each member to cover the steps outlined in a reasonable time frame for a meeting. Weekly meetings allow the members to get to know each other and feel more comfortable to offer solutions on an ongoing basis. Item 6 allows each member to set a goal to be accomplished in a week before the next meeting. Item 7 encourages each member to accomplish the goal set for the week to be able to report it at the next meeting. The Entrepreneur Teams Coordinator will find space for the Team members to meet at a time convenient to its members. The Coordinator will find out what services are available locally to team members to assist them in operating their practice or business. The Coordinator will also check out what mentoring, business courses or classes are available locally or online for team members.

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ENTREPRENEUR TEAMS ASSOCIATION

Phone: 828-552-5345 http://entrepreneurteams.org/ 

70 Woodfin Place Suite 117B, Asheville, NC 28801

. . where business owners, nonprofits and entrepreneurs hobnob together .

.

The Entrepreneur Skills Network offers the Entrepreneur Teams Association program to have entrepreneurs in any community meet regularly with each other to discuss their business activity and have others offer insights to modify or develop the business activity. Entrepreneur Team Members meet weekly with other entrepreneurs in their community to discuss ways for members to overcome obstacles in their practices or businesses and assist each other to be better entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Teams Association Member Application Name: _________________________________________ Phone: ____________________ Mailing Address: ____________________________________________________________ Email: ___________________________________________________________________ Business Specialty – Check all that apply: ( ) Bookkeeping ( ) Accounting ( ) Internet

( ) Store

( ) Consultant ( ) Artworks

( ) Marketing

( ) Nonprofit

( ) Legal ( ) Health

( ) Other ________________________________

Website address, if any: ________________________________________________________ I hereby certify that I will always conduct my business in an ethical and legal way according to the laws of my state and country. Signature ________________________________________

Date ____________________

Membership Benefits: 1. Weekly meetings with your team,

2. Networking with other entrepreneurs,

3. Rent Asheville meeting room space hourly,

4. Nonprofit overview and grant funding consultation,

5. Web page on ESN Mall website,

6. Entrepreneur Teams Weekly Newsletter.

Membership Applications & fees received in 2014 have an end date of December 31, 2015 Mail form with $ 50 Annual Membership fee payable to: Entrepreneur Teams Association. Send to: Entrepreneur Teams Association, 70 Woodfin Place Suite 117B, Asheville, NC 28801 

For Office Use only: Sponsor:_________________________ Web Page:

Entrepreneur Team - ________________ 

http://esn-mall.com/ _____________________.html 

ENTREPRENEUR TEAMS ASSOCIATION

Phone: 828-552-5345  http://entrepreneurteams.org/ 

70 Woodfin Place #117B, Asheville, NC 28801

. . where business owners, nonprofits and entrepreneurs hobnob together .

.

The Entrepreneur Teams Association encourages entrepreneurs in any community to meet regularly with each other to discuss their business activity and have others offer insights to modify or develop any business activity. Entrepreneur Team Coordinators are Association Members who volunteer to pull together local Entrepreneur Teams to have regular meetings to discuss ways for members to overcome obstacles in their businesses and assist each other to be better entrepreneurs.  

Entrepreneur Teams Coordinator Application Name: __________________________________________ Phone: ____________________ Mailing Address: _____________________________________________________________ Email: ____________________________________________________________________ Business Specialty – Check all that apply: ( ) Bookkeeping ( ) Internet

( ) Accounting

( ) Store

( ) Consultant ( ) Artworks

( ) Marketing

( ) Nonprofit

( ) Legal ( ) Health

( ) Other __________________________________

Educational Service(s) you can offer: _________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Website address, if any: _________________________________________________________ I hereby certify that I will always conduct my business in an ethical and legal way according to the laws of my state and country. I am a member in good standing of the Entrepreneur Teams Association. Signature ________________________________________

Date _____________________

Mail this form to: Entrepreneur Teams Association, 70 Woodfin Place #117B, Asheville, NC 28801  For Office Use only: Name: Web Page:

Entrepreneur Teams Coordinator - ___________________ ____  http://esn-mall.com/ _____________________.html

Notes:____________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________