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President's Corner
Happy New Year to all of you. The fresh energy that
we feel as we begin a new year is exciting and filled
with great opportunity. I appreciate the new
opportunity that I have to lead this fine group of
women business owners. I am looking forward to the
personal and professional growth that I am certain to
gain from the experience.
I extend my thanks to the WBO board members who
are taking on leadership responsibilities this year.
They are a great bunch of ladies who are passionate
about the health and vitality of this organization and
I am happy to be working with them.
The changes the Board suggested for 2007 were
unveiled at the January 9th meeting and they are
highlighted in the Spread The Word section
below.
We are interested in your feedback and thoughts for
the New Year. Please feel free to share your ideas,
comments, and suggestions with us; and together
we will be empowered to seize the opportunities that
2007 presents, that are certain to forward our
success.
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| Meeting Update- "Everything You Wanted to Know, but Were Afraid to Ask" |
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Accounting. Financial Statements.
Taxes.
These are not inspiring words for many of us. As
small business owners we need to be familiar with
them and use all the resources at our disposal to
optimize our finances. According to the IRS, last
year small business over paid by $160 million in taxes.
We don't want to be part of that number.
Linda and Ted Chapekis of The Accounting Office
emphasized the need for quality advise for small
business owners regarding how to optimize your
profit through well planned and accurate financial
strategies.
Specific topics and questions from the membership
included how to tell if your company should be an 'S-
Corp', 'LLC', Sole Proprietor or other entity; the tax
advantages vary depending on the amount of money
generated in your business and your financial plan.
Each business needs professional advice to
ensure they are in the right classification.
We briefly discussed life insurance deductions,
cell phones, how to calculate cars for work vs.
personal use, legal deductions for travel expenses,
home offices, and children as employees. Audits
were also
brought up with the good advice of being pleasant to
the auditor and having all your information available
to ease the process. Linda pointed out that audits
are usually triggered by an irregularity in the
filing.
Linda and Ted led an animated discussion on a topic
that is full of questions for many without accounting
or business training. This meeting gave us all
incentive to explore how to improve our financial
statement to make 2007 a very profitable year.
Among the 2006 Tax Law Changes that were
mentioned, pay attention to the new Charitable
Contribution restrictions:
All cash contributions made after August 17,
2006 to a qualified charity must now be supported by
a dated receipt or a dated bank record. If you
donate clothing or household items instead of cash,
no deduction will be allowed for most contributions
unless the donated property is in "good" condition or
better. Sandy Hilton,
Healing In
Motion
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| Upcoming WBO Events |
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Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, February 6,
2007
Taking the Fear out of Public
Speaking
Join us as we welcome the
Washtenaw Toastmasters Club to discuss how to
break through the common fear of public speaking, so
your knowledge and confidence shine through
your presentations and speaking.
Sponsor: Mary
Bortmas, Unforgettable Photos
Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, March 6,
2007
Surviving 9/11 and Beyond
Mrs. Juana Gissendanner co-owner of T.J.
Giss Enterprises is going to talk about making a
success of your business in this volitile economy.
Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, April 3,
2007
Speaker: Mr. Turner S. Thompson,
Financial Archetics
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| Opportunities |
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Drowning in Paper?
Presented by Carolyn Anderson-Fermann,
Simply Organized Life
The average American
household
consumes about 24 reams of paper per year. It is no
wonder you feel buried in paper clutter. It multiplies
in your home, on your desk, your kitchen table, your
coffee table and maybe even your floor! Discover
how to get control of all that paper from the junk
mail to bills and other important documents in 10
easy steps.
Thursday, February 8, 2007, 6:30-8:30 p.m.,
Ann Arbor Rec & Ed
Cost: $25 for Ann Arbor Residents, $30 for Non-
Residents
Your Wedding Team Bridal Expo
Your Wedding Team is
made up of WBO members who
have an interest in making a wedding the best it can
be. In March, YWT is having a
Bridal Expo. YWT
is interested in any other WBO members that have a
business that support can the bridal couple. If you
would like to have a
table at this event, contact Kate McClellan at 734-
255-1369. There will be a fee of $25 for a small
table top.
BECOME A WBO MEETING SPONSOR
For $25 you can be the sponsor of one of our
Monthly Meetings. You will have 5 minutes to
describe your business and "train your salesforce".
You will also get a link to your site in
the WBO Newsletter and a listing in the WBO
website. We
are looking for Meeting Sponsors starting with the
March Meeting. Contact TRose at
contoursexpress@thesistersgroup.com to sign up.
THE WBO NEWSLETTER CAN FEATURE YOUR
BUSINESS
For $25 you can feature your business in the
WBO Newsletter. Not only do you get in print, but
your article and links to your site remains in the WBO
newsletter archives. Contact
Hillary Handwerger at hhandwerger@ix.netcom.com
to tell me which month you want to sponsor.
MEMBER DISCOUNTS
You can advertise any special
services you can provide to WBO members for Free
or at a Discount. This is a benefit both the the
provider and all WBO members. The Member
Discount providers are listed on our website and in
each issue of our newsletter. Contact Lisa Hudy at
membership@wbo-mich.org
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| Spread the Word – What’s New at WBO for 2007- Jeanne Loveland, President |
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- Empowered 10 word Introduction templates
and Sponsor Templates to aid members in presenting
their businesses in clear and concise language.
(Many thanks to Jan Davies-McDermott for preparing
these templates, and providing examples)
- Direct Connect – After our Empowered
Introduction, which will now take place after
the “business of the month” portion of the program,
we will have a 5 minute break to allow members a
time for direct, focused, on purpose Networking.
- There will be one sponsor per meeting as opposed
to two to help the meeting flow a bit smoother. The
sponsorship fee continues to be $25.00 and now with
the template provides a learning experience as well
as the opportunity to market your business.
- The Business Challenge from last year has been
shortened to the
Business Tip/Resource of the Month and will
conclude the meeting.
- Member to Member discounts will no longer be on
the back of Membership Cards. They will be printed
in a brochure and placed on the website. The only
cost of taking part in this opportunity is the discount
that you offer.
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| Business Challenge |
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Check your actual cash flow monthly. Its
important to see where your money is actually
going.from Linda and Ted
Chapekis, The Accounting Office
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| New Members- Please welcome |
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Ellen Mohan, Dance Pro DJ Service
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| 2007 Member Discounts |
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TLCI, Website Design, Development,
Consulting, SEO, Marketing, 10% off, 662-0154
Healing in Motion, $20 discount for
Myofascial
Release and Exercise (Wellness Program), 913-
4816
Contours Express, Women's Fitness, 1 month
free, 761-8663
Cafe Marie of Ann Arbor, Breakfast/Lunch
Cafe, 20% off, 662-2272
Ann Arbor Diet Center, Personalized Weight
Loss Services, 10% off, 327-2800
Artway Interactive Writing, 10% discount,
734-484-9795
AFFILIATE OF
NAWBO
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WBO members meet monthly, on the first Tuesday
of the month at Lake Forest Golf Course.
Please join us. Meetings start at 6:00.
Find out more....
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