Executive Summary

Survey presentation

Appendix

The business partners believe their familiarity with the design needs and creative demands of local clientele will provide an untapped opportunity to harvest success. “However, we knew applying for a loan to purchase the necessary equipment and supplies would be our biggest challenge,” says Oppelt who was referred to MetroAction by the University of Scranton Small Business Development Center.

“The staff at MetroAction really helped us understand the entire loan application process,” observes Kuhn after the pair obtained a $15,000 small business loan. To keep overhead expenses down, Smart Blonde is operating as a home-based business, an additional benefit to Kuhn, a new parent.

Smart Blonde Creative has recently been a recipient of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC funding.

Come join us on Tuesday, December 13th for a FREE session of the course at the Hampton Inn Hotel at Montage Mountain in Scranton from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM. This event will be begin on December 13, 2011 and continue every Tuesday evening for eight weeks.
Call Rich Scott to register at (570)510-6980. Seating is limited.

First Friday art walks are held on the first Friday of every month at galleries and businesses around Downtown Scranton. Paintings, photography, sculpture, music, performance art…you never know what you’ll find at First Friday in Scranton.

Support local artists and businesses and mingle with your Northeastern Pennsylvania neighbors, all in a casual atmosphere. Hope to see you there!

Through an innovative partnership between Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program and MetroAction these businesses are now able to access these training scholarships as well as flexible loans to help their businesses grow. The Brewing the American Dream initiative supports small business owners in the food, beverage and hospitality industry by providing accessible financing, as well as business and financial literacy tools and assistance.

For more information on scholarship opportunities for the Small Business Institute or the Brewing the American Dream loan program, contact MetroAction at (570) 341-0270 or visit www.MetroAction.org.

The Civic Ballet Company of Scranton and a property located at 312-314 North Washington Avenue recently received funding through the Main Street Scranton Façade Program. MetroAction has partnered with Scranton Tomorrow to help local businesses make improvements to the exterior of their properties through this program. The program provides grant and loan funds to local businesses making façade improvements to their business.

Civic Ballet Company of Scranton –was approved for a $3,728 in grant and loan funding through the Main Street Scranton Façade program to purchase new exterior signage for their existing facility on Mifflin Avenue.

Thomas Egan and Maura McGuire were approved for $5,000 in grant and loan funding through the Main Street Scranton Façade program to complete exterior painting, woodwork enhancements, architectural elements and install new windows at 312-314 North Washington Avenue.  In addition, the owners were approved for an additional MetroAction loan totaling $7,500 that will serve as the matching funds component of the project.

For more information on the the Main Street Scranton Façade program contact MetroAction at (570) 341-0270 or visit www.MetroAction.org

MetroAction has been asked to serve as the fiscal agent for this grant and administer the loan funds. These businesses can apply for loans up to $100,000 and borrow funds at a 1% rate.

Eligible applicants can contact Lisa Kenny at (570) 341-0270 or visit www.MetroAction.org for more information.

But Bird hoped to do more than just work for Wilmot. He planned to own it. “I saw a lot of potential in the nursery and thought I could make it one of the best garden centers in the area. So I asked the owner, Robert Wilmot about his future intentions,” says Bird.

After completing his master’s degree in agronomy at Penn State University in 2003, Bird joined the Wilmot staff, full time. For the following fiver years, Bird apprentices under and received management training from Mr. Wilmot. In 2008, Mr. Wilmot was ready to sell and Bird approached Honesdale National Bank’s vice president and commercial loan officer, Ron Sebastianelli, who referred him to MetroAction.

Through MetroAction, Bird received assistance with his budget and obtained financing to purchase his spring inventory. Today he owns the region’s largest and most comprehensive garden center, with more than 450 sizes and types of trees and shrubs and a gift shop.

Bird isn’t stopping to smell the roses just yet. With MetroAction’s help, he plans to build a new facility so Wilmot Nursery and Landscaping is “more of a destination, not just a place to shop,” and believes his budding business can rank among the top 25 garden centers in the northeast.

Leave a comment and let us know what you’re doing to celebrate Veterans Day.

First Friday art walks are held on the first Friday of every month at galleries and businesses around Downtown Scranton. Paintings, photography, sculpture, music, performance art…you never know what you’ll find at First Friday in Scranton.

Support local artists and businesses and mingle with your Northeastern Pennsylvania neighbors, all in a casual atmosphere. Hope to see you there!