Hurricane Irene - Loudoun County Power Outage Contact Information from Supervisor York

Following is a message from Supervisor Scott K. York, Chairman At Large, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. For Supervisor York's website, click here.


"With the impending threats Hurricane Irene poses to Loudoun County, I want to provide you with up to date contact information in the case of any outages. I have been assured that Dominion Virginia Power is preparing their crews and trucks in order to be ready for any outages. Dominion Virginia Power would like anyone to report outages or down lines to call the toll-free number: 1-866-366-4357. The interactive voice response system is available 24/7 and is the quickest way to report outages or down lines. NOVEC customers call the toll-free number: 1-888-335-0500, in the case of any power outages or down lines."


"The National Hurricane Center’s website, http://lyris.loudoun.gov/t/39646315/125591690/95740/165/, allows you to track the storm and get up to date information."

A Movie Review for Motivation

Pursuit of Happyness - A Movie Review
by Ruth Cope, Business Counselor, Loudoun SBDC

Last night I watched the movie Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith as Chris Gardner. (Yes, it is "happyness" instead of happiness, but you will need to view the movie for the reason behind the misspelling.) I had read his book last year and was motivated and inspired by his rise from homelessness and poverty to author, motivational speaker, and owner and ceo of his own brokerage company, Gardner Rich LLC.

He says his mom taught him that, "in spite of where he came from, he could chart another path and achieve whatever goals he set". He followed his goals in spite of numerous difficulties. Sometimes we all feel we are having a tough time. Listen and read about some of Chris Gardner's difficulties and see how they compare to yours....He was evicted from his apartment for not paying the rent, jailed for not paying parking tickets, walked and took the bus to job interviews and appointments, and slept in public bathrooms and homeless shelters while interning for his first position at Dean Witter. In spite of all of this, he continued to protect and shelter his son as he was slowly achieving his career dreams and goals.

In an August interview with Christine Roman, he said that, "entrepreneurs shouldn't wait for a perfect economy to pursue something". He also said, "skills, talents, and expertise are transferable". You have to transfer these to opportunities you are passionate about.
Chris has authored another book, Start Where You Are.

If you have a dream to be an entrepreneur, check out Chris Gardner for inspiration and motivation and the Loudoun SBDC for assistance with your plans.
http://yourbottomline.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/06/chris-gardner-start-your-business-now/

Ruth Cope
Loudoun SBDC
http://www.loudounsbdc.org/
rcope@loudounsbdc.org

Loudoun SBDC 3rd Annual Business Plan Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FROM: Loudoun Small Business Development Center

21145 Whitfield Place, Suite 104

Sterling, VA 20165

DATE: August 11, 2011

SEMINAR: 2011 BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

CONTACT: Cathy Campbell (703-430-7222)

Sterling, VA……….The Loudoun Small Business Development Center is offering its Annual Business Plan Competition. Entrants will gain insights on their plans from a panel of local business leaders in the fields of finance, law, marketing and entrepreneurship. Winners in each of the two award categories will, in addition, garner local awareness of their businesses and the following prizes in order of first through third place: Local Business Model (for example, home-based, local retail, some IT, consulting): $1000 plus a Local Business Services/Prize Package, $500, $250, and; Scalable Business Model for businesses with a market opportunity large enough to develop to annual sales of $50-$100 million (for example, some IT, government contracting, medtech): $1500 plus a private lunch with John May of New Vantage Group and Eric Major of K2M, Inc., $750, $500. All entrants must either: (1) be in the start-up phase of a for-profit business with its primary place of business to be established in Loudoun County, or; (2) have an existing for-profit business less than three years old with its primary place of business in Loudoun County. Submission deadline is 5:00 p.m. on October 12, 2011. Click here for Competition Guidelines. Major competition sponsors are K2M, Inc. of Leesburg and New Vantage Group-Active Angel Venture Funds of the DC metro area.

The Loudoun SBDC is a member of the Virginia SBDC Network, a statewide service network funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. Additional Loudoun SBDC funding sources include George Mason University-Mason Enterprise Center, the County of Loudoun, Loudoun County Industrial Development Authority and Town of Leesburg.

Loudoun SBDC - Assistant Director Position, Leesburg, VA

Loudoun SBDC has an open Assistant Director position. This career opportunity is transitioning from a part- to full-time position. It is our policy to post our staff openings both internally and externally.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

LOUDOUN SBDC

STERLING, VA

Do you want a career which truly makes a difference in the lives of Loudoun entrepreneurs? Are you excited about working with some top business leaders in Loudoun? If so, this position may be for you! Loudoun Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a nonprofit organization providing counseling and seminars to small businesses, has immediate opening for high-energy individual with rock-solid knowledge of small business planning/operations and social media/web technology. Must have experience in counseling, teaching or training, plus administration and strong interpersonal & communication/presentation skills. Preferred: MBA, knowledge of high tech, financial and/or federal contracting fields. FT. Email cover letter & resume to careers@loudounsbdc.org.