First Friday Scranton
Join us this week for First Friday in downtown Scranton! For a full list of venues and a .pdf of the map, visit http://firstfridayscranton.com.
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.
(more…)
First Friday Scranton
Join us this week for First Friday in downtown Scranton! For a full list of venues and a .pdf of the map, visit http://firstfridayscranton.com.
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. (more…)
First Friday Scranton
Join us this week for First Friday in downtown Scranton! For a full list of venues and a .pdf of the map, visit http://firstfridayscranton.com.
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. (more…)
Downtown Scranton is experiencing a boost in activity thanks to the efforts of the Main Street Scranton program. To learn more about how this national program is impacting the growth and successes of the local downtown community MetroAction interviewed Lisa Sauder of Scranton Tomorrow’s Main Street program to find out more about the program that has the community so excited. (more…)
First Friday Scranton
Just a reminder that tonight is First Friday in downtown Scranton. For a full list of venues and a .pdf of the map, visit http://firstfridayscranton.com.
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. (more…)
From the occupancy sensors to low-flow fixtures, it seems that Fidelity Bank has thought of everything when it comes to making its new West Scranton branch “green”.
“We’re constantly encouraging our customers to be economically responsible with their finances and by going green with our new building, this is our way of demonstrating our commitment to being economically and environmentally responsible,” says Dan Santaniello, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Fidelity. (more…)
Did you know that 1 ton of 100 % recycled paper saves the equivalent of 4,100 kWh of energy, 7,000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air emissions, and three cubic yards of landfill space?
Attendees at our first Go Green Business Summit learned about staggering statistics like this and ways that their businesses can be more eco-friendly. More than 70 business leaders and environmental experts gathered to discuss innovative approaches, best practices and new trends in greening their businesses. The program was sponsored by Lackawanna County, PPL and WBRE/WYOU.
Commissioner Corey O’Brien described houw Lackawanna County is improving its environmental footprint. Everything from eliminating gas guzzling county vehicles to implementing a county-wide recycling program in all county offices.
Michele Dempsey, DX Dempsey Architecture, Brad Bason, North Central Digital Systems, Jamie Reeger, Environmental Institute of Lackawanna College and Marlene Satter, SRA International, provided presentations on a host of informative topics.
A panel discussion with area experts and trend setters (including Danielle Fleming, Danielle & Co, Tom 
McLane, McLane & Associates, Shannon Cross, Outlook Construction, Jay Barton, WBRE/WYOU, Pam Fendrock, PennFuture and Nancy Crickman, EMAP) and a keynote address on Tomorrow’s Trends by Tom Tuffey, PennFuture rounded out the program.
More than 15 vendors were on hand to provide attendees with resources and assistance in making eco-senstive choices for their businesses.
Be sure to check out our upcoming training programs. And, be sure to check out the other articles on this blog about what local businesses are doing to improve their environmental footprint.
If you attended the Go Green Business Summit, we’d love to know what you thought of the program. Please feel free to share your comments and best-practices for greening your businesses.
There’s a new grant opportunity for NEPA businesses that want to implement an IT project. The IT Kickstart grant is a reimbursement grant program that encourages small and medium-sized companies in Pennsylvania to implement IT projects.
The program could assist your business to: build/improve upon your website, install/upgrade servers, install/upgrade ERP Systems, increase competitiveness in a growing market, and much more!
To learn more about the program attend one of the kickoff events, Tuesday November 18 at East Stroudsburg University or Thursday, November 20 at the Radisson, Scranton. For more information on the program or to register for a kickoff event, visit www.ebizitpa.org.
When it comes to growing a business, whether you are a new business owner or you have been in the game for some time, there are many models and strategies that can be used to help you expand your business. But which one is the right one? After all, there are many different types of businesses and many unique entrepreneurial styles.
Before fabricating or adopting a growth strategy, there are a few steps that should be taken that will yield valuable insights about you and the future of your business: where you are and where you want to go.
The I.D.E.A. (identify, develop, evaluate, and act) method is a great way to help you plan the growth of your business. With the completion of each step a clearer picture will begin to form that will help you create and execute a plan of attack.
Identify – Before anything else, you must identify exactly what type of business growth you wish to achieve. This could be anything: the desire for more clients, higher sales, expansion projects, a more diverse product line etc. The sky is the limit. Write down what type of growth you want to obtain.
Develop – In order to arrive at the desired destination there must be signs along the way that will continually point you in the right direction. This is the development stage: constructing milestones or a series of objectives that will help you reach your ultimate goal. These objectives must be specific and they must all successively lead to a higher level of achievement until you reach your final terminus.
Evaluate – In order to stay on the right path you must evaluate your every move. This will help ensure that you are where you need to be and that you are going where you need to go. Without employing this step it is very easy to veer off the correct path. However, the proper use of this step will help you understand exactly what needs to be done and what adjustments need to be made in order to keep your plans on target.
Act – This final step is simply making the necessary adjustments that the 3 previous steps have directed you to make. But keep in mind that you should not become over zealous when it comes to adjusting your plans. Make sure that you leave enough time between the adjustments to see the results. This will help you determine what is and isn’t working.
This exercise is a great starting point for any entrepreneur who is looking to grow their business. Hopefully these steps will help you come up with a plan to get your business where you want it to be.
MetroAction recently received $100,000 in funding from Scranton Industrial Development Company (SIDCo) to support its small business financing program, which serves residents in Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming Counties.
This funding will allow MetroAction to continue to provide lending services to under-served small businesses. “MetroAction is dedicated to supporting small businesses in our region. These businesses are creating jobs, enhancing family incomes and revitalizing our community. The support of organizations, like SIDCo, is invaluable,” states MetroAction’s president, Natalie O’Hara.
“Partnering with MetroAction is a welcomed opportunity for SIDCo.” noted Joe Tomko, president of SIDCo. “Combining the resources of business organizations like SIDCo and MetroAction will provide greater support to our small business community”
MetroAction provides financing, training and counseling to start-up and expanding small businesses in throughout eight counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, including Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties. These programs were created to meet the needs of businesses that are typically underserved – businesses owned by low-income individuals, women, ethnic minorities and the un-employed. Many of the entrepreneurs that utilize the loan programs lack start-up capital and cannot save money fast enough to acquire the funding they need to finance their small business.
Since 1997, MetroAction has helped nearly 200 entrepreneurs obtain over $2.7 million in capital and continues to provide ongoing counseling and training to hundreds of individuals. The continued support of area economic development agencies, such as SIDCo, is essential to the overall success of MetroAction.
SIDCo was established in 1914 to promote the interests of small business. Today, the organization still works to encourage both the development of small business and the creation of jobs in the community. SIDCo continues to serve the Lackawanna County region by providing short-term working capital loans to local businesses.
For nearly a century, SIDCo has been contributing to a healthier economy by providing area businesses with approximately $5.4 million in financial assistance. Loans of up to $75,000 with terms of up to 5 years can be obtained. Also, special façade improvement loans are available to qualified candidates that wish to improve the exterior of their facility.
For more information on MetroAction’s programs and services, please contact MetroAction staff at (570) 342-7711 or visit www.metroaction.org. For more information on the SIDCo working capital loan program, please contact Jim Coleman at (570) 342-7711 ext. 122.
Pictured: Joe Tomko (far left), president of SIDCo and Jim Coleman (far right), secretary/treasurer of SIDCo present a check to Natalie O’Hara (center), president of MetroAction.