Inman Square Association Meeting – March 14th

Hello everyone.  The Inman Square Business Association will have the next regular monthly meeting Wednesday, March 14th, 10:00 AM at Bukowski Tavern, 1281 Cambridge Street.  The meeting is normally the THIRD Wednesday of the month but due to a scheduling conflict it needs to be March 14th.

Also, some other items that may be of interest to you:

City web page on MBTA fare increase/ service cut proposal

Here is a link to the City’s web page with information on the MBTA  fare increase/ service cut proposals and the City’s response.  Also, a link for to a poster that has been developed by local organizations for businesses to hang in storefront windows to show support for the MBTA but dispute the fare increase/service cut proposals.

Link to poster:

http://www.box.com/s/dmg5xhys8c41z9xpx5n6

All the current materials provided through the City of Cambridge are at:

http://www.cambridgema.gov/mbta

 

Walk your way to health with the US Surgeon General

On March 22nd, join U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin on a walk in East Cambridge and Kendall Square as she discusses ways in which walking and physical activity are becoming integrated [again] into our urban environments.

The walk meets at the Kendall Square/Red Line MBTA Station at 4 PM

Reception and award presentation at 5.30 PM.  For more info see attached flyer.

Please circulate this to Cambridge businesses & nonprofits with 50 employees or less. About 10 indoor recycling bins are available for free from the City of Cambridge. See photos at http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/wan/2879083856.html

The bins are in good condition and come in various sizes. If you are interested, please come and get them at the Cambridge Recycling Center during open hours only. The Center is located at 147 Hampshire Street Cambridge, MA 02139, in the far right corner of the DPW yard. Hours of operation are Tuesday and Thursday 4:00 – 7:30pm and Saturday 9:00am – 4:00pm.

Bring a truck for pick up and two people to load them. First come first serve.

 

Food Trucks:  Apply to the Riverfront Mobile Food Program!

The City of Cambridge invites applications from qualified mobile food vendors to sell freshly-prepared food and beverages on designated City streets near the Charles River. Public parking spaces will be made available on Sundays from late April to mid-November, 2012, during Memorial Drive closures. Vendors can apply to participate in the program and qualifying vendors will be offered spaces to operate throughout the season.

Space is limited – submit your application by March 19 at 8:00 P.M. to be considered in the first round of applications. Program details and application are available at www.cambridgema.gov/mobilefood. Contact mobilefood@cambridgema.gov with questions.

Cambridge Business Development Workshops in March:

Using QuickBooks to Prepare to Get a Loan

Join us for this specialized QuickBooks Boot Camp to find out what bankers look for and how to prepare and present your case when applying for a loan to grow your business. This seminar teaches you how to organize and present financial data to a bank. This workshop will cover how to tell a story with your financials and why the story is important when applying for a loan, look at sample financial statements that led to successful bank financing, how to analyze financial statements from a banker’s perspective and questions that will arise in a potential banker meeting.

The instructor recommends bringing your business’ Profit and Loss and month-by-month Balance Sheet to class so you can apply techniques to your own data.

  • Date: Thursday, March 8, 2012
  • Time: 9:00 A. M to 11:00 A. M.
  • Cost: Free to eligible Cambridge residents and business owners, $20 for others.
  • Location: City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room. Directions and Map.
  • Preregistration: To pre-register please contact Rona Holmes at 617/349-4637 or rholmes@cambridgema.gov or call Pardis Saffari at 617/349-4654.
  • Presented By: Center for Women and Enterprise.

Enhancing Your Marketing Strategy

You already employ basic marketing strategies for your business, and you’re ready to take your efforts to the next level. This class will provide you with strategies you can immediately apply, including engaging your customers and prospects to increase word-of-mouth and sales, using social media to grow brand awareness, how to maximize your email marketing efforts and much more.

  • Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
  • Time: 8:30 A. M to 10:30 A. M.
  • Cost: Free to eligible Cambridge residents and business owners, $20 for others.
  • Location: City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room. Directions and Map.
  • Preregistration: To pre-register please contact Rona Holmes at 617/349-4637 or rholmes@cambridgema.gov or call Pardis Saffari at 617/349-4654.
  • Presented By: Center for Women and Enterprise.

QuickBooks Tricks to Track Customer and Job Profitability

In QuickBooks, you can track the profitability of each job and customer by seeing which customers costs you more to deliver services and what aspects of the contract takes up the majority of costs. This workshop will cover topic such as tracking of job and customer profitability, how to set up jobs/contracts and link them to estimates, purchase and sales orders, invoices to enable profitability reports and much more!

  • Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012
  • Time: 9:00 A. M to 11:00 A. M.
  • Cost: Free to eligible Cambridge residents and business owners, $20 for others.
  • Location: City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room. Directions and Map.
  • Preregistration: To pre-register please contact Rona Holmes at 617/349-4637 or rholmes@cambridgema.gov or call Pardis Saffari at 617/349-4654.
  • Presented By: Center for Women and Enterprise.

Using QuickBooks for Inventory Management

Interested in tracking inventory in QuickBooks? This workshop is designed for businesses that do not have a point-of-sale system but need to track purchased and assembled goods. We will cover all basic functions needed to get started, some best practices and the customization of reports to provide the managerial tools to better manage working capital investments in inventory. Topics will include inventory vs. non-inventory components, how to configure assemblies, stock levels and the planning reorder process and more tools in QuickBooks for inventory functions and adjustments.

  • Date: Thursday, March 22, 2012
  • Time: 9:00 A. M to 11:00 A. M.
  • Cost: Free to eligible Cambridge residents and business owners, $20 for others.
  • Location: City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room. Directions and Map.
  • Preregistration: To pre-register please contact Rona Holmes at 617/349-4637 or rholmes@cambridgema.gov or call Pardis Saffari at 617/349-4654.
  • Presented By: Center for Women and Enterprise.

Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Small Business Tax Workshop

This workshop is designed for the tax novice. Topics include registering your business with the DOR, meeting employer responsibilities, reporting business income, filing sales and use tax returns, sales tax responsibilities and more.

  • Date: Thursday, March 29, 2012
  • Time: 10:00 A. M to 12:00 A. M.
  • Cost: Free to all.
  • Location: City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room. Directions and Map.
  • Preregistration: Register with the Department of Revenue by calling 617/887-6367.
  • Presented By: Brian Lynch, Massachusetts Department of Revenue.