Building Main Street
A Joint Venture of the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce & Main Street Ventures

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Join Us on February 23 for a Wine & Cheese with the Experts

Avoiding Trouble and Improving Business Profitability through your "Back Office" Operations

Our evening will start with some casual networking (complimentary wine & cheese provided), and quickly provide real value as our featured panelists speak to issues that usually get short shrift in a growing business:  how good financial systems can intelligently grow your business, learning how to avoid "human resources" pitfalls that can hold your business back, and avoiding big liability and fines under the new Massachusetts Regulations concerning personal data privacy safeguards that all businesses and organizations must comply with by March 1.

Brief Overview

Because most businesses start out with limited staff and resources, their initial approach to managing financial information and initial staffing is very much "seat of the pants."  Processes and systems, to the extent they exist at all, are cobbled together on an as needed basis. 

While this approach allows a new business to get off the ground, it usually takes an expensive "lesson" or similar "hiccup" for the business owner to truly recognize and appreciate the important position solid operations play in creating a sustainable and profitable company.

Our featured panelists will lead discussions on some common "hidden" issues that can play a critical part in every business' survival.  You'll learn why even a full-time bookkeeper can't guarantee you're not leaving money on the table somewhere, how increasingly complex regulations and requirements surrounding employment have essentially obliterated the concept of a "simple hire," and how to avoid being subject to $10,000 or more in fines if you fail to comply with the new Personal Data privacy safeguards by the March  deadline.

More on our Featured Panelists

Patricia Hunt Sinacole is the Principal of First Beacon Group LLC , a Human Resources (HR) consulting firm that provides a full spectrum of HR services to a wide variety of companies across New England.  In addition to running her company, Pattie also serves as a regular “Job Doc” columnist in the Sunday Boston Globe and is a regular chat facilitator at Boston.com

Calvin Wilder is founder and principal of SmartBooks, a bookkeeping and controller services firm that combines finance expertise, process excellence, and efficient software systems to deliver a true accounting solution to small and midsize businesses. Prior to launching SmartBooks, Calvin served in Senior Management roles(including founder) of several small businesses.  One of these - Thrive Networks - grew to be New England's leading provider of outsourced IT services to small businesses and was ultimately acquired by Staples (where  Calvin served as Chief Financial Officer of its information technology services subsidiary).

Jack Speranza is Principal of Main Street Ventures, a professional services firm that provides small businesses and start-up companies the strategy, process, technology, and people they need to create high-impact operations, products & services.   An attorney and software engineer, Jack has been working at the intersection of technology, business and the law for over 15 years.

About the Building Main Street Workshop Series

Our first Building Main Street Workshop was conducted last fall and deemed an immediate success, with over 15 local business owners gathering to learn about how to use social media to build their businesses. 

Covering a wide range of topics critical to successfully building a small business in today's marketplace, our Building Main Street Workshops combine networking, expert instruction and continued mentoring to help businesses improve their top-line revenues and overall profitability.