Ways to Empower My Business Fund

 Stand with us! Give to help Small Business! 

http://igg.me/at/HonorGivingFund/x/10382501

Small Businesses Do NOT "have" to Fail!

Marie had no choice; she had to start a business to make ends meet. She soon realized she was by herself and had no help. She knew custom blankets but did not know how to market, sell or manage her business.

This is the plight of many entrepreneurs who “have” to be in business because they are underemployed or have a business idea and no one to help. We, “Nerds” put our heads together and developed affordable technology that is FREE until the small business makes enough money to pay us.

We also developed a Marketing curriculum and a Sales curriculum that we would like to teach for FREE, but that costs money!

About us

My name is Stan Washington, founder and president of Honor Services Inc. After graduating from University of Illinois, I was recruited to GTE as a programmer of the 911 system. Years later I was recruited to James Martin & Co. where I consulted on business strategy. I was then recruited to McDonald's Corp where I spent the bulk of my tenure. 

I became the executive of Operations and Technology, managing technology for 14,000 locations. After surviving many reorganizations and down-down-sizing’s, I chose to become an entrepreneur. With no, plan, no direction, I struck it out on my own and ran into many problems.  It reminded me of my entrepreneur parents.

Six dollars and fifty cents was my allowance when I was in high school. That consisted of fifty cents to go to school, fifty cents to eat lunch and fifty cents to return home for five days. If I lost one quarter I had to miss a meal. This was the plight of my entrepreneur father and many others in my neighborhood who "had" to do something because jobs were not accessible. 

I partnered with some great people who knew Technology, Marketing and Sales and we are bringing this knowledge to those in need! WYRB will assist us in spreading the word on radio.

Here is what we need from YOU

We plan to help enthusiastic small business owners who need Marketing, Sales and Technology resources by supplying vital training to point people in the right direction, just like I did at McDonald’s corp.

1. We will deliver Sales training for "Low Cost" to FREE to those who have invested $1000 or 1000 hours into their business. We will determine the validity of the request through an interview. (The entrepreneur must purchase our sales book and workbook). This needs your financial support!

2. We will deliver Marketing training for "low Cost" to FREE to those who qualify, just like those listed above. This takes time and needs your financial support.

3. We will deliver Technology training on our solution. Honor Services Office is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Invoicing and Email Marketing tool that is designed to grow as your business grows. We made this "low cost" to FREE to help small businesses get a solid start, but this needs to be subsidized.

4. We developed low cost resources to help the Do-it-Yourself’ers. Our Peaceful Selling curriculum helps teach new and existing entrepreneurs ways to grow their business with “sales” techniques. Our Plans to Prosper curriculum teaches marketing strategies that can be used to grow and expand the business. Each comes with a book and workbook.

5. We offer services (not for free) to execute the marketing for small businesses. We help the small business owners with executable marketing to drive in sales. 

Our Impactful Plan that includes YOU

On April 18th, we will start with our first event. “Ways to Empower My Business” at Chicago State University. We will introduce business owners to enable connections to be made, discuss our books and do a signing, and get many entrepreneurs to sign-up for our intense training that moves them from being “hustlers” to CEO’s.

This event, and others like it will have a cost. Marketing, locations and follow-up to ensure that we are successful will need your funding. We plan on using the knowledge we got from helping McDonald’s owner operators grow their business into the millions. (believe it or not, some McDonald’s fail, so we will use the “Plan for Success” to help!)

We will execute training in four week waves. With a month off for follow up in between. This will total six waves a year.  We plan to start in Chicago and expand to other cities as partners come along side of us. The great part about our project is we have already finished building everything! We are READY NOW! But we cannot do this alone and need your help.

Risks & Challenges

Opportunity International is a company who supplies “Micro” loans to small businesses in countries who can’t even afford infrastructure. This has been a roaring success because a loan of $50 is huge to someone who wishes to keep their dignity but cannot afford large loans. What has this got to do with us?

We feel that people "valuing” our business is risky. It will be up to us to help make the value proposition a reality. When something is FREE, it is not always valued. We need to charge people enough to make it valuable but low enough to make it affordable.

You can make a difference!

 Other Ways You Can Help

We pray for our customers and all those who support them. We ask that you do the same! If you have other “In-kind” donations, then feel free to contact us at (888)611-7725 or visit www.honorservicesoffice.com. Please tell many others about our cause and campaign.  Buy our books and share them with a business. Invite us to be on television radio or news. Spread the word! Blessings!

Click here to give! http://igg.me/at/HonorGivingFund/x/10382501

Veteran Business Owners Avoid $20,000 Scam

Photo Courtesy of US Department of Veterans Affairs

By: Stan Washington
Date: March 27, 2015

Imagine the excitement as the person who has served their country, returns home to open a business. They scrape their last penny together to open a business to service the government that supported them all these years, hoping to get a set aside contract. Now imagine an unscrupulous person preying on their business stating they will "teach" them how to obtain set aside contracts if the veteran business owner would only pay $20,000. Are you furious yet? I am! 

This message is not just to those who are veterans, but to anyone who is going after a government contract.

Safeguard Your Email Address. Your email is listed in public domain. Be careful of getting the eye-catching email stating “Contracting” or “Sub-Contracting” opportunities. Many unscrupulous companies poll the public lists, grabbing email addresses to send you spam. Be sure to use software like Microsoft Outlook that disables any web links or “phishing” software that may have been sent in this email.  In Outlook simply move the message to “Junk Mail”; this disables any malicious behavior in the message.

Seek Help from Government Agencies. Veterans have a wealth of information and services available to them for FREE.  Civilians can also participate in some of these conferences but not all. Look into these resources as they do make themselves available frequently.

Connect with People. Visit “Business Development Centers” in order to understand what is available to you. Some of these centers specialize in helping those who wish to do business with the government. In fact they have quota’s on how successful they are in assisting veterans and civilians. Stop wasting time at home and get out and meet people.

Small business owners who wish to pursue VA set-aside procurement opportunities must be verified as a service-disabled Veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) or Veteran-owned small business (VOSB) by the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE). In order to get free training visit the Veterans Administration Blog:

http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/18526/training-for-veteran-small-business-owners-to-compete-for-va-set-aside-procurements/

Firms who have started the Verification process can contact CVE’s Customer Service Contact Center at (866) 584-2344, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  For an update on your application, please contact CVE by phone or email atverificationfollowup@va.gov

Ways to Empower My Business - Resources and Book Talk

On Saturday April 18, 2015 at Chicago State University Library Auditorium we will be hosting our “Ways to Empower My Business” Resources and Book Talk. 

1. Address: 9501 S King Dr, Chicago, IL 60628

   Phone:(888)611-7725 x1

It’s time to turn the “Hustle” into a money making business! We have brought together mentors, resources and advice for small business owners who are ready to grow but do not know how.

Authors Victoria Cook, Dan Duster and Stan Washington will be there to sign their books, discuss the curriculum and give tips to those who have been in business but need some fresh new ideas. We welcome those who are just starting out as well!

Please remember to bring your business pitch and win prizes! More details on this in days to follow!

Victoria Cook, founder & managing director for The Center for Guilt-Free Success, helps women entrepreneurs grow their businesses through coaching and training. Known for her proprietary 7-step Guilt-Free RESULTS™ process, she often is in demand as a speaker. Named "Business Brick Builder" by the International Coach Federation Chicago Chapter in 2013. Her innovative approach reflects her commitment to building the strengths of her clients as she helps them market their businesses more confidently and easily. Victoria is co-author of Plans to Prosper: Strategies, Systems and Tools for Small Business Marketing Success.

Dan Duster President 3D Development Group, is more than a salesperson. He sits on numerous boards, conducts training for personal development and goal achievement, and he still holds one of the largest picnics on the lakefront of Chicago for his high school, college friends, and colleagues. He loves people. One of his favorite hobbies is playing bid whist, where he welcomes any and everyone to challenge him. He combined his passion for sales with the skills of training and became one of the most decorated salespeople in his area. In 1999, Dan felt the need to formally begin helping people get over the fear of selling.

Stan Washington, a McDonald’s executive turned entrepreneur is founder and president of Honor Services Office, software that helps small business grow sales, market businesses, and process invoices easily. He has helped thousands of small businesses achieve sales into the millions. His leadership of operations and technology enabled multi-billion dollar corporations to increase sales and he is ready to share their tips. Stan also is the co-author of Peaceful Selling: Easy Sales Techniques to Grow Your Small Business and Plans to Prosper: Strategies, Systems and Tools for Small Business Marketing Success. 

Women Business Owners Ask Great Questions

By: Stan Washington

Date: March 03, 2015

"But how do I build my audience?' one aspiring entrepreneur asked me. Mary at www.amtenterprisesinc.org is in rapid growth mode and she wants to take her concept to a very large audience. She wants to meet new potential clients and grow her business but has a few questions about building the audience.

How do I build my audience? How do you keep track of all these people? What's the right amount of time for follow up? Should I buy an expensive ad? Many questions like these were discussed. Here is what I suggest.

Deliberately Build Your Audience. Get out of your house and meet people. There are no deals in your house. Identify your target market and get out and meet them. Shake their hand and shake their baby's hand. Stop hiding behind the comforts of your home if you have a home based business. Meet the people and then go back home and provide the service they need.

Don't Rush. A quality audience is better than a large audience of strangers who could care less if you succeed or fail. Meet people and document where you met them in Honor Services Office or other CRM. Build your relationship with your audience and treat them with "Personal Engagement." 

Follow Up. I try to follow up that day, but if at all possible following up within twenty four hours is acceptable. I personally like to send an email after I step out of the meeting. This is important to me because quite honestly I would forget!

By deliberately taking your time, building your audience, and following up, you can purposefully grow the right type of audience who will remain loyal.