DFW Entrepreneur Startup group met on Thursday, 24 May 2012 at the Colleyville – Hurst campus of Dallas Baptist University.

Attendees were reminded that we should always have a convenient quick means to provide our contact information to people we meet; in other words, we should always carry business cards with accurate, complete, and current contact information.

Each person, except the speaker, at this meeting said their 30-second introduction. This recognizes new attendees and helps regular attendees stay current on who is doing what.

Ten entrepreneurs and/or future entrepreneurs were attentive to the presentation presented by Brenda Ryan, Founder / Publisher, of The Referral Resource Guide. The current issue is available in Adobe portable document format at http://thereferralresourceguide.com/clickthru.asp?id=624 on the website by the same name at URL http://thereferralresourceguide.com/. Only “Businesses With Integrity” are described in this guide.

Brenda established Connections Publishing Company in 2005 to publish The Contractors Guide that became The Referral Resource Guide. A clear focus on what can be done rather than on obstacles enabled this business to succeed without the benefits of a business plan. Endorsements have been published in the guide since their appearance in the third issue.

The official source of information about DFW Entrepreneur Startup is http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/dfw_estartup/. 

DFW Entrepreneur Startup Group met on Thursday, 10 May 2012 at Dallas Baptist University – Hurst-Colleyville Campus, 110 Grapevine Hwy, Hurst, Texas 76054. Seven people attended this brain storming session. The meeting began at 11:00 AM and adjourned about 1:15 PM. Participants are welcome to bring their brown-bag lunch and eat at these meetings. This group has the DFW_EStartUp – DFW Entrepreneur Startup LinkedIn group and the dfw_estartup Yahoo! Group.

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.