New Businesses Open!

Dana Barrett - Roswell, GA
Dana is a single mom/entrepreneur/super woman/dreamer who believes she can have it all. At some level she's the typical story of the dot com disaster. Her career as Vice President of Technology for an up and coming dot com was interrupted by a second salary cut. Dana said no to the pay cut, started her own consulting business and made her ex-boss her first client. 2+ years later that business is going well, and she has several steady clients and several large projects.

But was that enough for a single mother of a 10 year old? No way. Dana had this dream that someday when she (semi) retired, she would open a bookstore near the beach where she could hang a sign that said "Gone Fishin'" in the door whenever she felt like it. The combination of an available location and a sister who pointed out that there was no reason to wait to live her dreams was the basis for Coffee Buy The Book.

Of course, Dana thought with her entrepreneurial background and bank balances, that she could just waltz into a bank and they would hand me some money. Nothing was farther from the truth. That's when she found Count-Me-In. With her loan and a lot of hard work, Coffee Buy The Book opened on schedule in May.

Louise Deis - Las Vegas, NV
Louise never had to think about making a living for her family until her husband fell and broke his back in 1998 - he hasn't worked since and their savings had dwindled to nothing. With her husband's help, Louise wrote a business plan to start a custom auto shop using his contacts. Louise found the staff and lined up three months worth of work. Although he isn't currently capable of doing much work, Louise can't wait to work alongside her husband.

Elva Salinas - Irving, TX
Elva is a first-generation Mexican-American and the first generation from both sides of her family to attend college. After attending the University of Texas at Austin, Elva transferred to a small, private college in St. Paul where she obtained her BFA in Visual Arts.

She is a graphic designer for the Home Depot during the day and started her business in her spare time. Elva recently launched her website elvasalinas.com where she sells her whimsical line of stickers and postcards. With her Count Me In loan, Elva paid for advertising, printed brochures and bought her office supplies.

Donna Guzman - Vacaville, CA
Donna's dream of having a business started when she was 7 years old. Every summer

Donna was charged with making school clothes for her younger deaf sister and herself.

As a young adult, she began exploring other creative outlets which grew into the business she started in 2002 - Rock*Paper*Scissors. With her loan, Donna will launch a website to showcase some of her original mosaic artwork, sewing and other creations. Donna is building a base of eager customers in her hometown and recently received an invitation to show her work at an art gallery in Napa Valley, California.

On TV!
CNN The Flip Side - Kathleen Hays and Valerie Morris host CNN's interactive and conversational show focusing on your financial needs and interests.

PBS Nightly Business Report - Nightly Business Report is America's #1 daily business news program. Seen by one million US viewers nightly, NBR provides business and economic news and investment information.
NY1's New Yorker of the Week - NY1 is New York City's 24-hour news channel

In Magazines!
Our first-ever national advertising campaign created a buzz when it landed on newsstands across the country. The campaign increased traffic to our website, generated hundreds of phone calls and tripled requests for loan applications!

In June, Count Me In hosted a BRAG! Party at our offices to launch Peggy Klaus' book, "BRAG!" The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It.

Peggy is on our Advisory Board and a Fortune 500 communication and leadership coach.
This party kicked off Peggy's 12-city US book tour on the heels of her appearance on 20/20.

In today's competitive world, bragging is a necessity - not a choice. Remaining
quiet about yourself, or worse, downplaying your successes leads to being underappreciated.
BRAG! will give you the skills that lead to plum assignments, raises, promotions and stronger professional relationships. Filled with self-promotion dilemmas and solutions, BRAG! was written for everyone from telecommuters to those who are between jobs. It is a MUST for the small business owner!

Peggy has made a limited number of her books available to Count Me In for sale at $15 plus $3.85 shipping. If you'd like a copy, call us at 212-245-1245. 100% of your purchase benefits Count Me In.

This book is for anybody in business who wants to promote their BEST asset - themselves!
The Today Show filmed the party and aired it the following morning. Several guests were interviewed for the show and Count Me In Board Member Deborah Rosado Shaw contributed by answering the question, "What does bragging mean to you?"

Want to join the buzz?
Tell your friends that Count Me In has ONE MILLION DOLLARS available to loan to women starting businesses! Let them know about this amazing opportunity.

And - there's more news from Count Me In...

Movin' On Up!
Count Me In is moving. We've outgrown our office space on West 26th Street and have moved to a beautiful new office on Central Park South. We're right at the foot of Central Park and, from our offices, can look out our window and watch construction on the new AOL Time Warner building - what a magnificent building that's going to be!
Our new address is:
Count Me In
240 Central Park South
Suite 7H
New York, NY 10019
Phone - 212-245-1245
Fax - 212-245-1236
When you're in the neighborhood, please stop by - we'd love to show you around!

Paid In Full
Loan Recipients Renee Stoffel, Mary Ragon, Donna Valdes, Alicia Ashford, Karen O'Holleran, Lisa Acocella, Patti Richards and Elizabeth Latacki have all paid off their Count Me In loans in full. Count Me In applauds each of you!

Spanish Translation
Aplicar para un prestamo de Count-Me-In. Clic aqui para aplicar para un prestamo

BizLine
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Keep In Touch
We want to hear from you! Send us your comments and ideas to info@count-me-in.org