VILLAGE HAPPENINGS

Interested in Having Your Business Showcased?

Shoot me an email: chris@launchmechanic.com, and we’ll come visit you 🙂

Recommended Events & Opportunities

Nurse Entrepreneurs!  Village Live Event Series.

Translating Nurse Know-How into Income | Hosted by Chris.

• Coming in April: Making the Shift from Nurse to Entrepreneur |  Featuring keynote speaker Teresa Sanderson, RN | Nursing Continuing Education Consultant, Nurses Feed Their Young Founder, Marketing Consultant & Trainer, Nurse Entrepreneur Preceptor

Join us in April for this informative discussion with Teresa Sanderson, serial entrepreneur and Founder of Nurses Feed Their Young, a movement to improve nursing culture and work environment.  A serial entrepreneur and founder of a successful hospice agency that grew to $3M, today Teresa operates a business focused on helping nurses realize their potential for entrepreneurship!  By working with Teresa, nurses learn they can generate new streams of income by translating their unique skills and experience into continuing education courses and content. 

Start Smart Class for Entrepreneurs.  Start Smart is an interactive virtual class for entrepreneurs who are serious about launching a startup. CEOs, successful entrepreneurs, and others who’ve seen and done it all before are invited guest speakers and an integral component of the learning experience! LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Branding goes beyond a mere color palette and logo—it’s your reputation, and is essential to keep your customers returning. However, many small business owners struggle in developing a strong, solid brand. In this workshop, you will gain a better understanding of the importance of good branding and learn tips for building your own successful brand.

Join CWE (Center for Women Enterprise):

• Recognize the difference between strong and weak branding, and understand how a well-conceived brand is critical to a company’s growth and success
• Define your own business’s vision and brand, and receive instructor and peer feedback
• Learn how to articulate your brand to designers to translate your vision into a quality result

SAVE THE DATE – You can join this FREE session on how to prepare to go after capital!  If you’re looking to become more profitable, want to access funding, or just looking to get a handle on your finances, this session is for you!

During this session, you will work with an expert to draft or review your 36-month financial projections to help you better understand and communicate the story of your numbers. Your expert will walk you through how the model works, how to think about the inputs, and what the numbers mean.

Preparation: To get the most out of this session, make a list of your products/services with pricing, your costs to produce the product/service, and your overhead expenses. Don’t worry if you don’t have anything to start. You and your expert can still talk through the model so that you will be able to complete the template on your own.

Brought to you by Verizon SBDR.  Sign up here. 

Through a partnership between the Cheshire County Conservation District, National Center for Appropriate Technology, and the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship, a second cohort of New Hampshire farm businesses have participated in their seven-week business planning course which aims to strengthen and transform farm business through the creation of a business plan. This course concludes with the Pitch event at the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship. Learn more about the event here.

Our celebration will take place at the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship: 25 Roxbury St, Keene, NH 03431. Participating pitchers:

• Amanda Allen, Woods and Weiland Farm
• Melissa Spencer, Ripple Cut Flower Farm
• Gerianne Fierro, Lucky 13 Farm
• Jean Balamuth, Cook Hill Farm
• Katherine Woodard, Woodard’s Sugar House
• Anthony Muene, Two Mountain Farm
• Hans Mayer, Farthest Field Farm
• David Hoffman, Seward Mountain Farm
• Louis Plante, Bear Mountain Maple
• Owen Kohout, Mountain Ed’s Orchard
• Lauren Hubele, Gemmo Forest

Village Goodies

• Retailers | Affordable Packaging Ideas for Etsy & Other Retail Products. Get the details here.

• Bank of NH handed out $5 bills recently at the Moka Pot in Antrim, NH

Free money!  What?!  There’s nothing more fun than walking up to one of your favorite cafes and seeing people out front WAVING money!  I got “cash mobbed” by the kind ladies at the Bank of NH.  This was such a success that Moka Pot got CLEANED OUT!!  Successful business day for MokaPot owners Dan and Angie!

• Restaurants | Funding Available for Infrastructure Support. Deadline Extended

Up to $15,000 in funding is available for restaurants needing Infrastructure Support

Local Restaurant Infrastructure Investment Program is a reimbursement program for NH small food service establishments that are physically located in New Hampshire, provide indoor dining, and meet all the eligibility criteria.

Eligible businesses can receive up to $15,000 per location. The program application period will close once the funds are depleted, or March 15, 2023, at 4:00 P.M., whichever comes first. Awards will be issued on a rolling basis.

Get more information here.

• All Businesses | Trusted Source for Loans and Advice.

Village Recently Met the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund

Since 2012, the NH Community Loan fund has loaned over $15M to 41 farm and food businesses.  This wonderful organization provides loans, capitals and technical assistance to underserved people.  Loans are provided for affordable housing to expand the supply of housing for workers, seniors and first-time homebuyers.  The Business and Community Finance team participates in:

• Nurses | Excellent starting point & blueprint for launching from Nursepreneurs.com

Catie Harris’ Nursepreneurs website is a valuable starting point for any nurse thinking about shifting from working to launching your own business. Catie offers a FREE Nursepreneur Blueprint that walks you through 4 stages of developing your business.
Recommended by Village!

Bonus! Tune in to Catie’s Nursepreneur Podcast!

• Bobbi Strikes Again! | The Lioness 2023 Entrepreneurial Resource Guide is out!

Bobbi Carlton continues to provide much valued information, news and opportunities to women and all entrepreneurs throughout New England.  For an overview of local, regional and national small business resources for female entrepreneurs, Village recommends Bobbi’s Lioness’ Annual Resource Guide For Female Entrepreneurs.  It’s a perfect introduction to the world of women-owned enterprises and ecosystems.

Village’s Must Go’s

• Small Business Digital Alliance

Launched in February 2022, the Small Business Digital Alliance brings together major players, influencers, and companies in tech, e-commerce, benefits, and other industries to help connect small businesses with digital tools, trainings, and expanded opportunities, and grow their digital networks to reach new customers – free of charge.

• NH Community Navigator Program

New Hampshire’s Community Navigator Program is powered by an ecosystem of experienced small business and microenterprise technical assistance providers across the state. Small businesses can gain access to resources and services at no charge. 

Be sure to check out the small business resources that are available throughout the state of NH at the  NH Community Navigator Program.

Outside NH and looking for a Navigator Program in Your State? Click the button below.

• EForum

The EForum is a Cambridge MA-based nonprofit, supported by the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at MIT. Check out their  calendar of entrepreneurial events. 

You’ll find general information about EForum here.  

Free Courses & Coaching

Ready to grow? We’ve got the perfect program for that.

• FREE content, coaching & networking for your business! Oh yeah, and the 10K Grant Opportunity is a huge bonus 🙂

Verizon’s Small Business Digital Ready Program offers all of these to small businesses. The program includes personalized content, coaching, networking and so much more.  AND these online tools are in one place, so it’s very easy to use.  All  funded by a Verizon grant which is why…  It’s FREE!

Here are some top-shelf live events coming to you in March courtesy of Small Business Digital Ready!

In this digital age, business owners must be storytellers and story writers, too. To engage prospects before they click away, you must communicate clearly and descriptively on websites, social media, advertising, and printed materials to compel readers to become customers and fans. We all know great writing when we see it, but what are some of the speedbumps to creating compelling content? What are some of the common mistakes when we write about our businesses, products, and services? In this Ask the Expert session, learn the best practices from a professional content creator. Sign up now!

There’s a little-known secret in your town – hidden within universities, libraries, trade associations, and many other local groups, teams are ready to help you grow your business with special resources, guidance, and programs. Learn what these local resources typically have to offer, how to find them in your area, and how to get started. In this Ask the Expert session, hear from a small business expert who has worked with local groups, schools, and associations to create lasting, impactful partnerships. Sign up now!