Awards program includes small business tips

April 26, 2015

Q: Where can I go to network with other small-business owners and lenders, and pick up some pointers?

A: I suggest attending the 2015 Small Business Awards Luncheon/Workshops/Expo hosted by SCORE Houston. This year's event will be on May 7 at the JW Marriott Houston, 5150 Westheimer, in the Galleria area.

The U.S. Small Business Administration will present seven of Houston's best small-business entrepreneurs with prestigious awards including the Small Business Person of the Year. The keynote speaker will be Sallie Sargent, president and CEO of the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee.

Before the luncheon, SCORE will conduct two small-business workshops.

"Creating an Intentional Culture": Liz Lara-Carreño, outreach program director for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program at Houston Community College, will discuss how to gain and retain a competitive edge by aligning the environment, communications and emotional drivers to a company's strategic vision and brand.

"Email vs. Social Media: Which One is Right for Small Business?" Business coach Toni Harris will discuss how the various social media platforms fit in your business; which platform has the best return on investment; and how to determine which tools are effective at growing your business.

At the event you also can visit exhibits and network with sponsors, representatives of banks and other lending institutions, small-business entrepreneurs, SCORE mentors and other SCORE Alliance Partners. To learn more and register for the luncheon and workshops, visit www.scorehouston.org.

Marvett Sawyer Howard will receive the 2015 Financial Services Champion of the Year Award for her work fostering the development of the Houston small business community. Howard is the assistant vice president for community development banking at Capital One Bank.

Among the many programs that she directs or helps coordinate is Capital One's "Getting Down to Business" Program. This is an innovative technical assistance training program designed specifically for small businesses with annual revenue of less than$1 million.

The program is free and features a multicourse in-depth curriculum, offered over eight months. Capital One will match funds that participants deposit in a savings account up to $2,000, which the business owners can use for operations, staffing or the purchase of supplies upon completion of the program. Deadline: May 5. Apply Online Now.

Construction college can upgrade small contractors

April 12, 2015

Q: I've been able to start up my construction business, but to really get going I could use some advice on how to win bids, effectively deal with general contractors and, in general, operate my small business. Where can I get help?

A:  I recommend the Construction Contractors' College, a program of the Entrepreneurs' Learning Center at the Kingdom Builders' Center. This program launches on June 9 with a curriculum shaped by representatives from certifying agencies, experienced contractors and successful small businesses. The program's major sponsor is Capital One Bank, and it's free to participants. Qualified graduates have access to more than $750,000 in funding to assist in expanding their businesses.

The overall goal of the Construction Contractors' College is to help small and minority business owners in construction and construction services who have been in business at least one year. It's designed to prepare owners to bid on contracts in the public and private sectors. The curriculum has been developed and will be taught by experienced business leaders to achieve the following objectives:

1. Develop sound business practices.
2. Improve the credit-worthiness of the individual owner and the business.
3. Position businesses for bidding opportunities.
4. Take the owner's business to its next level, particularly in the area of economic development, enabling these businesses to become employers increasing the financial stability for themselves and their employees.
5. Give business owners face-to-face time with general contractors.

The comprehensive curriculum is designed to provide relevant and useful information that can be practiced immediately. Course topics include credit awareness, specialized business plan development, certification, bidding, project management and access to capital.

Participants will learn to develop a business structure around their skill or trade, improve their likelihood of securing financing, have direct access to the Metropolitan Transit Authority's express certification process and receive coaching and counseling from experienced professionals, including SCORE and other seasoned consultants.

The six-month program is for small construction contractors who have been in business at least a year and have filed tax returns in their business names. Classes will meet two evenings each month at the Kingdom Builders' Center, 6011 W. Orem Drive. Application for the next term closes on May 1, and only 20 slots are available to the best-qualified candidates.


Click here to learn more and apply online or call 713-726-2519.

Sonetel - the global telephone service for global entrepreneurs

Sonetel - provider worldwide of a free, global business phone system service for small and medium businesses.

It enables free internal voice and video calls worldwide and marries IP-telephony, mobile phones and regular telephony into a seamless, company-wide, global solution. For free.

419,634 companies from 239 countries have already signed up to get this easy-to-use global telephone infrastructure for their business.

Sonetel is also a global phone company providing local phone numbers worldwide. This enables entrepreneurs to open "virtual offices" anywhere, for as little as a dollar a month - to get closer to their customers.

Sonetel's service also allows international business calls to be made - at the cost of a local call - from a mobile phone. Other services such as fax-to-email and voice response help businesses get a professional customer interface for as little as 1 cent per call.

160 man years have been invested into building Sonetel's unique technical platform with a sincere passion for service quality, automation and ease of use.

Sonetel is a privately held Swedish company backed by the founder Henrik Thomé, ALMI (Swedish Government organization) and other Swedish investors.

Team

Sonetel's Research & Development team in India develops and manages the Sonetel Phone System which is installed in high security data centers in California and Amsterdam. Sonetel's customer support team is located in India.

Management team

Henrik Thomé CEO and founder, Prashant Pant COO and Magnus Anckarman VP Business Development.

Henrik Thomé is a Swedish serial entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in telecom and Internet. Sonetel is his 7th venture. Earlier ventures include Envox providing voice application development software, handling over a million phone lines worldwide. Investors included Intel Capital, NorthZone, Eqvitec and Provider ventures. Linewise - a company developing and hosting advanced voice and Internet solutions for IKEA, Swedish Skatteverket etc.

Prashant Pant has 12 years of experience in telecom software engineering. After graduating from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 2000, he has worked in diverse roles in architecture, development and management of advanced telecom software systems for wire-line and wire-less networks.

Magnus Anckarman has 25 years experience in sales and marketing, primarily in the Telecom business.

Key partners

Sonetel cooperates with select global technology and service providers that are capable of meeting Sonetel's stringent quality and price requirements.

Voxbone is the market leader in providing worldwide geographical, toll-free and iNum telephone numbers.

Grandstream is a global leading provider of high quality voice and video IP desktop phones, with +400 employees.

Sonetel has integrated with the Grandstream product range to create a true plug'n play experience for the user.

Sonetel also uses the services and products from dozens of other global leaders in their respective fields such as Oracle, Cisco and Level3 - in order to deliver a dependable, business quality service.