Monday Night Bible Study met Monday night 30 April 2012. Montague “Monty” Stephen Mills taught four parables to a class of 20 people:

• The Master’s Return (Mark 13:33-36)
• A Thief in the Night (Matt 24:43-44)
• The Wise and Evil Stewards (Matt 24:45-51)
• Ten Virgins (Matt 25:1-13)

This Monday Night Bible Study meets most Monday nights at Edgemere℠, 8523 Thackery, Dallas, Texas  75225. Verify study times and agendas by calling the Monty Mills at 214-821-3258.The study guide Jesus’ Parables and Word Pictures was written by M. S. Mills and is distributed by 3E Ministries. 

Jewish Family Services – 50+ Networking Group met on Monday, 30 April 2012. Allison Harding led this meeting. At age 5, we dream that we can do anything; at age 15 mysteries go away and we begin to focus on possible occupations usually following suggestions of a mentor, and at age 25 we are in a profession that we selected. Too often our job search plan is fixed on what we have always done – positions that do not exist in the current economy. Therefore, Plan B is required to help us land our next employment. Consider other things we would like to do; these need to be unrelated to our former career.

This 50+ Networking Group meets on most Monday afternoons at Jewish Family Services of Greater Dallas, 5402 Arapaho Road - Dallas, Texas 75248. Official information for this group and other networking groups hosted by Jewish Family Services of Greater Dallas is available at http://www.jfsdallas.org/. 

Bob Panico, Chief People Officer, at R. H. Sweeney Associates spoke about networking at Carrollton Career Focus Group on Monday, 30 April 2012. Continuously evaluate networking contacts assigning each to one of three levels in a network pyramid. This pyramid has three levels. Level one at the tip of the pyramid should have 10 to 12 contacts. Level two in the middle should have 13 to 200 contacts. Level three at the base of the pyramid should have 200 to 300 contacts. Level-one contacts closely match our networking criteria and are contacted frequently. Use a spreadsheet to manage contacts. “Don’t ask “what can I do for you?” but rather ask “what are your needs?” A networking resume can help contacts recognize opportunities for you.

Carrollton Career Focus Group meets on most Monday mornings at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Texas. Official information about this group is available at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarrolltonTX_CFG/. 

Networking Lunch on Friday, 27 April 2012 was at Anamia's TexMex Restaurant, 3408 Preston Road, Plano, Texas. There were 11 people present. Participants get to know each other better, discuss their experiences in the job search, encourage each other, and enjoy a meal in the company people looking for their next employment opportunity. The Networking Lunch is at a different eatery each week; the location is announced by message posted to http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/CC_NorthDallas/.

Rev. Walter Purkey spoke to the North Dallas / Plano Career Focus Group on Friday, 27 April 2012 about the Facets of Grief. He believes “facets” is a better word than “stages” because grief is not a linear process. Grief is a universal natural human experience. People work hard to make sense of things always trying to balance security and freedom. The facets of grief are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. When you retire, get a meaningful hobby, volunteer, or otherwise stay active; otherwise, you can be dead in six months. Frequently people identify themselves with the job.

The North Dallas / Plano Career Focus Group meeting on Friday, 04 May 2012 will be an open forum and on Friday, 11 May 2012 a representative of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce will speak to this group.

The North Dallas / Plano Career Focus Group meetings are on most Friday mornings at Christ United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. Official information about this group is available at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/CC_NorthDallas/. 

Nine people attended the DFW Entrepreneur Startup meeting on Thursday, 26 April 2012; the small group ensures that each attendee gets to ask questions. Richard Sherman, CPA told the group:

• There is no need for individuals to start a corporation since this does not mean you have limited liability
• Purchase insurance policies appropriate to the business
• Keep all business accounts separate from personal accounts and vice versa – do not comingle business and personal accounts doing so can cause tax deductions to be overlooked and credibility to be lost causing any gray areas to be suspect and scrutinized
• Having personal and business accounts at the same bank makes it easy to transfer funds from personal account to business account as a loan; each transfer should be a large enough amount in whole dollars that it will not be confused with typical business income
• Use a computer program such as QuickBooks to record all business transactions
• Use a computer program such as Quicken to record all personal transactions
• Record all miles driven for business and keep vehicle maintenance receipts for the odometer reading on them; the maintenance receipts provide an independent record of miles driven that satisfies Internal Revenue Service requirements.
• Too much detail in record keeping is preferred to ensure that required information is not lost.

Richard A. Sherman, CPA does business as Sherman Accounting and Tax Services in Arlington, Texas.

The next DFW Entrepreneur Startup meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 10 May 2012 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Dallas Baptist University, 110 Grapevine Hwy, Hurst, Texas. This will be a brainstorming session where somebody will present a business for group discussion. The official source of information about DFW Entrepreneur Startup is http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/dfw_estartup/. 

I have found two business oriented groups in the Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas area were people enhance their business knowledge and network with people who have entrepreneurial interest.  These are DFW Entrepreneur Startup and AmSpirit Business Connections – North Dallas Chapter. There are most likely others. Indeed, there are a great many career networking groups in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. See CareerDFW.org for the most complete list of career networking groups in the Dallas / Fort Worth area available.

DFW Entrepreneur Startup puts persons who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs or currently have their own business with people who have extensive experience as entrepreneurs. Typically one of two meetings each month is a brainstorming session where a business is presented to the group and the group suggests improvements, opportunities, risks, etc. in a constructive and supportive manner. The second of two meetings each month hosts an established entrepreneur who describes their business. These are lunch-time meetings; therefore, attendees are welcome to bring a brown-bag lunch and eat it during the meeting. All attendees of these meetings sign a short non-disclosure agreement. The official source of information about DFW Entrepreneur Startup is http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/dfw_estartup/.

AmSpirit Business Connections – North Dallas Chapter helps people grow their business and achieve individual success. Information about AmSpirit Business Connections – North Dallas Chapter is available at https://www.facebook.com/ConnectNorthDallas. 

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Posted Tuesday, 24 April 2012 as a web page on my weebly website:

Richard Sherman, an accountant by trade, will describe how he transitioned from a corporate job into working for himself at the DFW Entrepreneur Startup group on Thursday, 26 April 2012 at Dallas Baptist University Hurst-Colleyville, 110 Grapevine Highway, Hurst, Texas 76054, (214) 333-5888. The meeting begins at 11:00 AM and adjourns by 1:00 PM. Participants are welcome to bring their brown-bag lunch and eat at this meeting. This group has the DFW_EStartUp – DFW Entrepreneur Startup LinkedIn group and the dfw_estartup Yahoo! Group.