July 1, 2008  

A BUSINESS NEWSLETTER from SBA's resource partner. Also at e-news.

NEWS

A DEFINITION--IF YOU ARE PUZZLED

DISASTER ASSISTANCE NEWS:

THE CEDAR RAPIDS BUSINESS RECOVERY FUND

(COMING SOON. WE WILL ADVISE YOU.)

As first announced in the Cedar Rapids Gazette on FRIDAY, June 27, 2008, a local fund is in the process of being created to assist “for-profit” enterprises to recover from the great flood of 2008. “Chamber President Lee Clancey said the organization . . . expects to announce a $750,000 disaster recovery fund [to] be used for either zero percent forgivable loans or grants to help businesses consolidate loans . . . The zero percent loans probably will be for a maximum of $20,000 . . . ‘This is a community team effort,’ Clancey added..”

SCORE® is pleased to be participating in a small way in the development of this program, and we will immediately advise all businesses on our distribution list of its forward progress, how to's, and details. Let us know if you want more information by sending an email to: score@scorecr.org

ONLINE LESSONS AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME

In the comfort of your home you can now access online lessons at your convenience. The button below will take you to one such lesson. Others are available to you at SCORE-ONLINE LESSONS.

PRESS BUTTON FOR "QUICK START BUSINESS PLAN" Lesson

FREE OFFICE SOFTWARE

Small businesses often start with minimal resources. Many cannot afford the commercial and proprietary office software suites distributed by the major software companies. There is good news:

or OPEN OFFICE. ORG

One of the world's most powerful and current Office suites is free. More importantly it is "open" (meaning no restrictive licenses) and can be downloaded by anyone. It includes a powerful word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, "pdf" export and data base. It is also compatible with the leading commercial equivalent. If you need an Office suite and cannot afford hundreds of dollars for one, check it out.

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Brought to you by the Cedar Rapids chapter of SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business," a nonprofit association and resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration. SCORE is dedicated to entrepreneurship and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide. Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 7.5 million entrepreneurs.

Copyright 2007. SCORE Chapter 227. All rights reserved.

SCORE® Ch. 227 c/o SBA, 2750 First Avenue NE, Ste. 350,
 Cedar Rapids IA 52402-4831
(319) 362-6405 Ext. 2005

Office hours:  10-12 and 1-3  --NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED