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LAKE COUNTY – The Lake County Business Services Network presents its second-annual workshop, Gear Up for Business Success, for Lake County business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa. A continental breakfast will be served.
Gear Up for Business Success will offer tips and techniques for starting a business, hiring the right employees, applying for business loans, and marketing to increase sales and brand your business. Lake County business owners, entrepreneurs, and business service providers will be present to provide tools, ideas, and their experience with success. Attendees also will have the opportunity to make contacts and get information about local business resources.
Gear Up for Business Success is a workshop customized by its own attendees. During the day there will be three sets of breakout sessions – each with three options from which to choose.
Registrants may choose "Starting Your Business," "Working With Lenders," or "Making the Register Ring" during the first breakout session. During the second, they may choose from "Starting Your Business," "Ready, Set, Go* High Season Ahead," or "Building the Right Team." A third session offers either "Identity Crisis," "Working With Lenders," or "Building the Right Team."
Registration is $25 per person in advance through April 6; $20 per person in advance when two or more colleagues, business partners, or fellow entrepreneurs from the same organization sign up (one form must be completed per attendee). Registration after April 6 is $40 per person.
Payment for advance registration must be received no later than April 6; postmarks will not be accepted. Checks should be made payable to the County of Lake and completed registration forms and payment should be mailed to: Lake County Economic Development Program, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, CA 95453.
Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa is located at 8727 Soda Bay Road. For more information about Gear Up for Business Services, call (707) 263-2368.
The Lake County Business Services Network is a network of service providers that work cooperatively to deliver no-cost and low-cost services and support to local business owners and entrepreneurs. The network comprises the County of Lake, City of Clearlake, City of Lakeport, Center for Business & Workforce Development, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, Community Development Services, Employment Development Department, Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mt. Konocti Facilitation, SAFE-BIDCO, and the Small Business Development Center at Yuba College.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
MIDDLETOWN – Middletown now has its own online Ryze network, thanks to Althea Garner, a real estate broker and business networking expert living in Fountain View.
Garner is a native of South Africa, who became an American citizen just last year. However, it was in 2005 that she ventured north from her home outside Los Angeles bound for Middletown.
She came in time to participate in Middletown's famous western parade and festival, Middletown Days. She also came to share her business networking expertise through a special seminar, which was held at the Calpine Visitor Center.
Garner knows how to win friends and influence people. When she attended the pancake breakfast at the local Middletown Fire Station the day of the parade, she made a point of introducing herself to everyone there. Of course, everyone there was a total stranger to her. But, that did not matter. She engaged everyone in conversation. Many asked to have their picture taken with her. So, she definitely made a positive impact with people in Middletown.
For the past two years through Garner's Ryze network, B2B Networking, people around the world have been talking about Middletown. In fact, just last year an international buzz for the town was created by Ryzers, 30 Middletown High School students, a local marketing company called CDMM and a Lake County press kit.
This buzz culminated in the Fox News Channel choosing to visit Middletown Days for the first time in the 45-year history of its event. This is truly amazing when you consider that the Fox News Channel only has four remote units to cover ALL of the news in the Western United States.
Nevertheless, Fox's international news correspondent, Adam Housley, not only came to Middletown, but also addressed the parade crowd from the reviewing stand on behalf of the network. He thanked the high school students for writing to the network. Then, he wowed the crowd by telling them that all day long when the weatherman did the weather report he would point to Middletown on the California map and tell the world that we were having a parade and festival and that Fox News wished them well.
Garner is keenly aware of some of the issues facing Middletown and wants to help. That is why she decided to donate the Ryze network. She believes that increasing the communication capability between businesses and organizations is a positive step toward solving issues confronting the town.
This gift could not come at a better time as the Middletown Area Town Hall just elected its first governing board. Now, it is just as easy for board members to communicate privately with one another through a network as it is publicly with all of Middletown or Ryze’s online world that has joined the network, Project-Middletown.
Use of this Ryze network is totally free for anyone who takes the time to subscribe. It really is no surprise that people from around the world have already started to subscribe to this network. You will find that individuals form Atlanta, Philadelphia, Southern California, New Zealand and Australia have already joined the network. Is it not amazing the amount of passion that can be created through use of the Internet?
It is hoped that organizations like the Middletown Area Town Hall, Middletown Area Business Association, Middletown Rotary Club, Middletown Lion's Club and the Middletown Central Park Association (the folks who put on Middletown Days) as well as local businesses will take full advantage of this wonderful resource to both grow and preserve the quality of life here in Middletown.
To join Project–Middletown, visit www.middletownca-network.ryze.com.
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WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, an amendment authored by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) to protect real estate sellers from identity theft was adopted by the Ways and Means Committee.
Thompson's provision changes the tax code to better protect people's Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) or Social Security Numbers (SSN) during real estate transactions.
The National Association of Realtors has endorsed this critical change to the tax code.
"Privacy has become a growing concern for people involved in real estate transactions," said Thompson. "The current law gives too many people access to sellers' personal information. This change makes sure that information is protected."
Thompson's amendment updates the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), a tax law enacted long before identity theft was a prevalent problem.
FIRPTA places sales of U.S. property under heightened scrutiny if the seller is from overseas, to ensure sellers pay all appropriate taxes to the U.S. government.
U.S. sellers can avoid this additional scrutiny by providing the buyer with their SSN or TIN. Fears of identity theft are making sellers reluctant to provide this personal information, causing transactions to fall apart or buyers to assume liability should the seller fail to pay certain taxes.
"Mr. Thompson has shown great leadership on an issue of growing importance," said Linda Goold, Tax Counsel of National Association of Realtors.
"The National Association of Realtors has identified transactions in different parts of the country where sellers have canceled the sale of their property simply because they don't want to give their Social Security number to a stranger,” said Goold. “Everyone wins under Mr. Thompson's proposal. It assures that the IRS will continue to receive important information, that seller's privacy is protected and buyers are not at risk of losing the opportunity to purchase a home solely because of a seller's legitimate privacy concerns."
"Congressman Thompson's amendment is the FIRPTA fix that's needed to help protect home sellers from concerns about identity theft," said Colleen Badagliacco, President of California Association of Realtors. "By enabling settlement providers to securely collect the information, this amendment also effectively protects home buyers from being held liable for someone else's due on sale taxes."
Ted Loring Jr., President of Consolidated Management, a Eureka, California-based property management company, said ID theft concerns have become so serious that some sellers won't provide a tax identification or Social Security number to the buyer.
"That leaves the buyer on the hook, liable for any taxes due on the sale that haven't been collected from the seller,” Loring explained. “Allowing the seller to give his or her tax id to a trusted party, like the escrow company, takes everyone off the hook. The seller's identify is protected; and the buyer doesn't run the risk of being billed for someone else's tax liability."
"This is an important solution to a big problem that affects people nationwide," said Thompson. "We were debating a bill to better protect taxpayers from fraudulent and predatory behavior, and my amendment was a perfect addition. Congress is a key player in the fight against identity theft, and today we expanded the tools taxpayers can use to protect themselves."
Thompson's amendment was included by the Ways and Means Committee in the Taxpayer Protection Act, HR 1677.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE – The March 15 mixer for the Middletown Area Business Association, hosted by Jeff Barone of KIMCO Development, set a new attendance record.
Barone said more than 80 people showed up for the mixer, which was held at the Coyote Valley Professional Plaza in Hidden Valley Lake.
The food, refreshments (including wine) and door prizes were impressive. The live Irish music in honor of St. Patrick's Day provided by the Don Coffin Band added to the ambiance of the evening. FolkS from as far south as Santa Rosa and as far north as Upper Lake made the trek to Hidden Valley Lake for this amazing business mixer.
There are two more mixers scheduled by MABA in preparation for Middletown's biggest event of the year – "Middletown Days," June 16-17 (Father's Day weekend).
There is a mixer at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at Star Gardens Nursery in Middletown; another mixer is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at the Greenview Restaurant in Hidden Valley Lake.
The mixer at Star Gardens is extra-special in that last year that mixer marked the debut of the Aero Airport Shuttle and Charter Service. So, this year's mixer marks their one-year anniversary. The Aero Shuttle was recently chosen as the "Star of Lake County" for best new business.
According to Lee Turner, whose Greenview Restaurant will shortly be featuring a new menu, his May 17 mixer will feature live western music. The last time the Greenview Restaurant hosted a MABA Mixer, they put on an outdoor luau – complete with a Hawaiian music and a dancer.
Neither one of these mixers should be missed. Attendance is free at all MABA mixers, which are open to the public.
But, that is not all. These mixers are a tremendous benefit to the community. They present a unique opportunity to spread one's business message. Anyone who has experienced MABA's door-prize procedure at the end of the first hour knows this.
However, it is important to get an idea as to how many people plan to attend in advance to help with the planning. If you would like to attend a MABA mixer, contact Lamar Morgan at 709-8605 and leave a call-back phone number, if necessary. A special Evite invitation needs to be sent to you through which you can RSVP.
Help in making a MABA mixer a success is always welcome. So, when you call, do not hesitate to ask how you might be able to help.
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