Ohio & Pennsylvania Get a variety of business services from your . . . power company?
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Ohio and Pennsylvania entrepreneurs who are customers of OhioEdison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison or Penn Power canobtain a variety of discounted services and products through theFirstEnergy Advantage program.
Enrollment in the program, the first of its kind in the UnitedStates, is free for customers. Among the discounted products andservices available are business insurance, health benefits, fuel,overnight delivery, personal computers and office supplies.
For more information on the program, call (800)465-3380 or visitFirstEnergy's Web site at http://www.feadvantage.com.
Massachusetts
Wanted: urban minority-owned businesses
Entrepreneurs who already operate a business or plan to start acompany in a low-income urban area in Massachusetts can apply forloans of $20,000 to $100,000 from the Urban Initiative Fund.
The program is for companies in any industry that have less than$500,000 in annual sales and are at least 51 percent ethnicminority-owned. Principals in start-up firms must demonstrateindustry knowledge and the management experience to make theirbusinesses successful. Businesses that have credit issues areeligible if they are in the process of resolving theirdifficulties.
In addition to providing loans, the Urban Initiative Fund offersto help entrepreneurs by paying part of the cost of up to $5,000 oftechnical services such as consulting and accounting.
Health Care
Supplement your health-care insurer's informationresources.
Employers who want to offer workers more health-care informationthan their insurers provide can subscribe to the Mayo ClinicHealthquest Online. This Web site includes everything from an"advice nurse," where users can look up symptoms and getinformation on treating more than 150 common ailments, to apersonal score card, where users can input information to determinewhat health problems they may be at risk for.
Those seeking to change bad habits can set up ahealth-management plan, which includes progress reports, rewardsand encouragement. Also featured are simple, nutritiousrecipes.
Finally, employers can customize Healthquest's home page togive employees company news about health and benefits programs.
The cost of a monthly subscription to Healthquest Online variesdepending on company size. The minimum fee is $995 for fewer than100 employees. For more information or to subscribe, call(800)430-9699 or visit http://www.mhqprodinfo.org.
California
Keeping your employees off drugs--the resources you need todo it right
If you think employee drug abuse doesn't impact yourbusiness, think again. According to Ontrack Program Resources Inc.,a nonprofit community-aid organization, nearly 60 percent of U.S.workers using drugs are employed by small businesses, and duringthe past year, one in four employees between ages 18 and 35 usedillicit drugs. The results: higher workers' comp premiums andunemployment insurance rates as well as reduced productivity.
Using these and other facts, Ontrack has developed a drug-freeworkplace program to help small businesses in California. Ontracktargets firms with up to 50 employees but will also work withselected larger companies. Among the help offered is guidance fordeveloping a workplace drug policy, training for supervisors andmanagers, creation of employee-awareness programs and informationon where to refer workers.
Assistance is provided free via phone, fax, on-site consultingand through the company's Web site, which offers downloadabletemplates. For more information, call (888) 900-4288 or visithttp://www.ontrackatwork.net.
