2012 New Year GGBA Meeting Hosts
The Business Center!
December's GGBA Holiday Business Meeting Brings New Cash Flow Opportunities!
Fran May of American Communications Network (ACN) informs business owners of financial opportunities through ACN
The Greater Germantown Business Association welcomed faithful partners as well as new businesses to their annual holiday party held at the Germantown Y at 5722 Greene Street today.
The topic for this month was Network Marketing: A Recession-Proof Stream of Income for Businesses, a much needed presentation in a wavering economy. Our guest speaker was Fran May, of American Communications Network (ACN) a network marketing business that offers individuals the ability to become independent business owners. Fran advised us that ACN offers technology services that most people already use, but because the middle man is eliminated (advertising) many of these services can be enjoyed at a fixed or lower rate. Services such as telephone, cable, internet, home security, gas and electric. In addition we learned that ACN has been featured on Donald Trump's hit show Celebrity Apprentice as well as endorsed by Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
Fran May is a proud third-generation business owner who is quickly moving toward financial independence through ACN. He boasts "I work at my job 5 days a week, and I work on my FORTUNE during the weekend!" Take a moment to visit www.JohnChurchville.acnrep.com or
November Guest Speaker CEO Deborah Gary Gives Tips for Retail Business Survival
in a Struggling Economy
GGBA welcomed DHEx Enterprises, LLC and Color Book Gallery's CEO Deborah Gary at the Germantown Y on Tuesday, November 15th at 8:30 am. Having weathered the economic storms that many businesses fell prey to, Deborah pointed out key components in getting started and surviving in a fluctuating retail market.
Deborah first explained why most retail business fail, citing that no business plan, lack of experience, and insufficient capital were only few of many reasons. She then stressed the necessity of "becoming official" by getting licensed & procuring legal assistance if needed. She stressed that while getting started, most of the business plan writing and paperwork should be created by the business owner as opposed to having someone else do it for them.
Deborah further presented the pros and cons of store-front vs cyber-marketing and advised of some of the pit falls one can encounter as well as the advantages they both offer. In addition, Deborah suggested that other streams of income should be established while owing a retail business, particularly in this economy. General and specific questions were answered at the end of her presentation.
GGBA's October 2011 Meeting Focus:
The Neighborhood High School Students, and Our Democratic Nominee for 8th District Councilperson
GGBA business members and participants gathered together at the Germantown Y ( 5722 Greene Street Philadelphia, PA) to learn about how to take in high school interns and expose them to the daily responsibilities of business ownership.
Ron Nichols of Mastery Charter School Intern Program spoke of the 18 week internship graduation requirement for students to meet the demands of the professional world and to demonstrate the skills needed for post secondary and workplace achievement. Mr. Nichols informed us that the interns report once a week (Wednesdays) from 1:30pm - 5:00pm and that liability and transportation are covered by Mastery. His brochure boasts that 60% of the interns placed in the past were offered jobs at their sites and that 100% of the mentors reported being very satisfied with the program.
For more information on obtaining an intern from this school contact Ron at (215) 866-9000 ext. 1085.
Felix Carrasquillo, from Student Success Center, of Germantown Promise Academy High School (GPAHS) and Festo Okidi, Philadelphia Youth Network WorkReady Program both represented their affiliation with GPAHS students and preparing them for the workplace through the programs they offered. Both projects are being funded by the Department of Labor, and students receive a stipend as men tees. Mr. Carrasquillo advised the businesses of the various activities and programs offered to the students at GPAHS to successfully prepare them for the work place. The students are available five days per week, after class using a minimum of 10 hours per week to fulfill their internship requirements. For more information about this program, please contact either Felix Carrasquillo at (215) 844-3281 or Festo Okidi at 267-502-3724. This is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of services offered by our community schools at no cost to your business. It is also a perfect time for you as a business to offer much needed mentoring opportunities to the students of your community.
We then welcomed Democratic Candidate for 8th District Councilperson Cindy Bass to our meeting who first spoke of her intention to make her office receptive to the requests and needs of the community. She stated that she will designate a staff person to work with business owners to assist with accessing city services that they need. She wants to promote an open door policy between her office and the community she serves. After addressing the business association, she stayed to answer a few questions and address concerns.
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GGBA's New Fiscal Year Meeting Brings New Faces and Greener Interest to the Germantown Community!
Scott Dylan Kelley of Re:Vision Architecture - The Greater Germantown Business Association meeting members and participants
On Tuesday, September 13, 2001 at 8:30 a.m. at The Germantown Y - 5722 Greene Street. The Greater Germantown Business Association launched it's new fiscal year with guest speaker Scott Dylan Kelly of Re: Vision Architecture. His dynamic presentation was on the benefits of greening our business community.
Scott's wealth of knowledge coupled with his laid-back style gave our business participants a feeling of "achievable possibility" when asked to consider transitioning to a greener lifestyle. He also advised us that a back-burner mentality toward greening would ultimately yield inevitable governmental mandates that will cost us a lot more down the road.
Immediate and inexpensive steps toward greening your business would include:
1) caulking 2) purchasing energy efficient lighting and 3) and purchasing airators (a screw-on valve to attach to faucets that reduce your hot water bill significantly!) In making those three very inexpensive changes, one's energy bill can be reduced by almost 1/3 the cost!! Similar businesses purchasing products from the same supply source could reduce the carbon footprint as well as cut costs in business expenses when buying in bulk. These suggestions (along with many more regarding creating an energy efficient business workplace as well as home) were offered. As the GGBA businesses became quite engaged in the discussion, member, Roger Kern of the Commerce Department stated that further information regarding possible funding opportunities on or around the corridor could be obtained by contacting his office as well.
Scott advised us that to be LEED certified, five criteria must be met: water management, site management, how the business deals with their energy, types of materials used on site and indoor environmental quality. The levels of ratings range from Satisfactory to Platinum. He concluded by stating that Germantown is prime for greening in that it is best to refurbish old buildings as opposed to starting new. Ours is an historic area, and offers a plethora of wonderful buildings to bring back to life, as well as give back to the community through example of a much needed green life style.
The Greater Germantown Business Association supports Liberation Fellowship CDC's goal to redevelop Town Hall, located at 5928 Germantown Avenue as a LEED certified hub for continuing STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subject education and green collar business development, as well as a cultural arts center. This venture will serve as a beacon of sustainable Germantown business corridor development.
Scott Dylan Kelly is co-founder and Principal of Re:Vision Architecture. Beginning his career with historic
preservation and adaptive re-use projects, Scott became interested in the
building elements and methods that cause buildings to endure and be more
sustainable. Although Scott was an early adopter of the US Green Building
Council’s LEED benchmarking system, he continues to push the envelope of green
building through “living building” and “zero-energy” projects. In
addition to practicing and teaching green architecture, Scott also consults to
design firms, developers, building owners and manufacturers who are interested
in green design charrettes, sustainable design, and green building rating
systems such as LEED. In this role, Scott has guided dozens of LEED
projects to successful completion, including projects at every level of LEED
and using every available rating system. For his advocacy and design
work, Scott was awarded the Philadelphia AIA’s prestigious Young Architect
Award, and his firm has received numerous awards, including the Cascadia Green
Building Council Living Building Challenge Award and Awards of Excellence from
the Society of American Registered Architects.
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GGBA Maintains Opposition Against Plan for Chelten Plaza Save-A-Lot/Dollar Tree Complex
GGBA began its opposition to the Save-A-Lot/Dollar Tree development planned by Pat Burns’ development company by initiating a Petition Campaign that has garnered over 1,500 signatures. We had three reasons for opposing Burns’ development plan:
1. The plan was a back-room deal that was not disclosed to our community or its businesses and neither businesses nor community residents were given an opportunity to be heard or to provide input into the plan;
2. The plan features low-end stores in an area that we are committed as a business association to upgrade by encouraging more mid-level businesses to locate here for the benefit of residents and consumers who shop in the area;
3. The plan was not aligned with best practices in energy-efficient design and Smart Growth concepts that our goal for a “Green Business District” in Germantown demand.
GGBA supports the community demonstrations of protest across the street from Burns’ development site by a coalition of community groups and neighborhood residents including but not limited to West Central Germantown Neighbors, Germantown Cares and Living in Germantown.
We have continued our opposition to the Burns project by joining our sister organization, Liberation Fellowship Community Development Corporation, and five other community groups and organizations in filing an appeal to the Zoning Board challenging the issuance of the zoning permit to Burns by the Department of Licenses and Inspections.
The appeal is scheduled to be heard by the Zoning Board of Appeal on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at 1:00 p.m., 1515 Arch Street, 18th floor. We are asking that as many of our members and community residents who are able to do so be present and support our combined effort to stop this antiquated project from surfacing in the 21st century.
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The Greater Germantown Business Association
Upcoming Speakers:
January 10,2012 - Business Services Offered By The Business Center and the Commerce Department - Pam Rich-Wheeler and Rojer Kern (Guest Speakers)
February 14, 2012 - Tax Workshop for Filing 2011 Taxes - Walter Moyer Tax Accountant (Guest Speaker)
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