Land of Opportunity

My good friend Vonelle Vanzant is the center director at the UA Fort Smith SBDC. The Fort Smith SBDC is conducting a “Starting a Business in Arkansas” seminar in Spanish on Monday, February 07, 2005 from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the Flanders Building, Room 114, of the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith at 5210 Grand Avenue. The speaker will be Manuel Ocasio, Hispanic Liaison with BancorpSouth in Van Buren. Attendees will receive a copy of the Arkansas SBDC’s 50-page “Guía para Nuevas Empressas “, a business start-up guide written in Spanish. Contact the Fort Smith SBDC at 479-788-7758 for details or to register.

The House and Senate passed by unanimous consent legislation (H.R. 241) to permit taxpayers to claim charitable deductions in tax year 2004 for donations they make for tsunami disaster relief until January 31, 2005, instead of having to wait until next year’s filing season. Only cash gifts made specifically for disaster relief are eligible. See IRS Tax Information for Contributors

Governor Mike Huckabee has proclaimed January 20th as “Arkansas Entrepreneur Day”. The Arkansas Small Business Development Center is offering their popular “Starting a Business in Arkansas” seminar on Thursday, January 20th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in 14 cities throughout Arkansas. Teams of business consultants, bankers, and training specialists will conduct all 14 seminars simultaneously. Admission is only $20 and includes a wealth of valuable, high quality handouts. If you made a New Year’s resolution to start a small business in 2005, here’s your chance to make good on your resolution. Locations and registration