A Special Meeting of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at 10 a.m. at the EDA offices at 36 West State Street, Trenton. The Members will meet to discuss and act upon a request pertaining to organizational and operational matters.
By Hugh R. Morley/The Record
July 23, 2012
* He says agency puts state “in the game.”
Bernard “Bernie” Flynn has been a New Jersey deputy attorney general, counsel to the state’s commissioner of insurance and a CEO.
Yet his latest job, as board chairman for Choose New Jersey, the non-profit organization charged with buffing the state’s image as a place to do business, could be his most challenging.
Flynn, whose day job is president and chief executive officer of West Trenton-based NJM Insurance Group, replaced the first Choose New Jersey chairman, Dennis Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey.
Flynn’s appointment came a few days after CNBC released its annual business-friendliness ranking, which found New Jersey’s climate had worsened to 41st best in 2011 from 30th.
Flynn takes the chairmanship of an agency created by Governor Christie in 2010 to market the state to the world. It’s funded by 15 companies that each contributed $450,000 over three years, and works closely with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the state’s business czar, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
The newly minted chairman took time to answer some questions from The Record:
By Katie Eder/NJBIZ
July 23, 2012
As one of the 150,000 small-business owners in New Jersey missing out on potential customers through a Web presence, Jonathan Gratz has wanted to build a website for his Marlton-based gas products supply store, South Jersey Hearthside, but lacked the staff, resources and time to launch and maintain one.
However, an initiative launched today by New Jersey’s Business Action Center, Google Inc. and Intuit Inc. aims to give small-business owners like Gratz the tools to create a free website and increase their business online.
“There’s a misperception among small-business owners that it’s expensive, difficult and time consuming to launch a website, when it’s actually free and easy,” said John Ploumitsakos, director of small-business engagement and advocacy at Google. “Once a small-business owner puts their company online, they realize they’ve been missing out on additional opportunities for customers. They realize the in-person customer really starts with an online search.”
According to Ploumitsakos, Internet users spend $2,000 on average in a brick-and-mortar store as a result of researching a product or service online, so if the state’s small businesses take advantage of the New Jersey Get Your Business Online initiative, they will see a revenue boost from increased traffic in their stores.
By Christopher Sheldon/Long Branch-Eatontown Patch
July 20, 2012
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno continued her tour of fast-growing New Jersey businesses on Friday morning when she visited AASKI Technology Inc. in Eatontown.
Guadagno spoke with the business owners and took small tour of the facility located at 1 Industrial Way West and praised it for its growth over the years.
“This is one of many examples of a businesses that can grow in New Jersey,” Guadagno said.
AASKI is an information technology business that specializes in systems and software engineering and project management. Its main headquarters is located in Ocean Township.
Kim Guadagno toured Diversant’s headquarters Wednesday
By Edward Van Embden/Galloway Patch
July 18, 2012
In an effort to learn the strategies employed by those New Jersey companies that have been able to buck recent trends by succeeding in a tumultuous state and national economy, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno has been making the rounds as part of her fastest growing businesses tour.
Her most recent stop: Monmouth County and DIVERSANT, a national IT staffing and solutions firm and Minority Business Enterprise headquartered in the Greater Red Bank area.
On Wednesday, Guadagno, serving as the state’s acting governor in support of an out-of-town Gov. Chris Christie, learned about how DIVERSANT had grown from its 2005 founding to a company with roughly 600 consultants working throughout the country and $100 million in revenues.
By Stacy Jones/Star-Ledger
July 10, 2012
A new office of seven state employees will help New Jersey companies sell goods around the world and invite foreign firms to do business here.
Eddy Mayen, director of the new Office of International Business Development and Protocol, said his team of agents has already started traveling to spread the word and court potential foreign investors.
“One of my team members is from Taiwan and fluent in Mandarin,” he said. “She’s there right now. The greater China region is a tremendous market for the state of New Jersey.”
The office will concentrate its outreach efforts on nations that already invest heavily in New Jersey, like Germany, Switzerland, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada.
The state has already hosted 30 foreign delegations and meetings with trade partners, according to Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who introduced the office a press event in Parsippany yesterday.
Asbury Park Press
July 8, 2012
Recognizing the central role being played by the state’s most innovative businesses in creating jobs and fueling what Gov. Chris Christie has deemed “the New Jersey Comeback,” Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno on Thursday kicked off a monthlong tour of the fastest-growing businesses across the state.
The first visit was to SunDurance Energy, a township-based solar energy company that develops, designs, builds and operates solar power solutions for the commercial, government and utility-scale markets.
“As one of the Garden State’s fastest-growing businesses, SunDurance illustrates the fact that New Jersey has what it takes for businesses to grow and be successful,” Guadagno said.
A meeting of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) Board has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Eatontown Municipal Building, 47 Broad Sstreet, Eatontown, NJ. Formal action may be taken at this meeting. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found 48 hours prior to the meeting at the websites of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority: www.nj.gov/fmera, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority: www.njeda.gov.
By Dino Flammia/NJ 101.5
July 5, 2012
Maybe some things are free. In every New Jersey county, businesses and residents can find a place devoted to navigating them to success. The services provided at the Business Resource Centers and One-Stop Career Centers come at no charge.
Once a fragmented system, the state’s One-Stop Career Centers place an array of employment and training services under one roof.
Job seekers can get an assessment of their skills and abilities, as well as a review of their job qualifications, experience and abilities. They can also benefit from an in-house network of volunteers who offer weekly classes in resume and cover letter writing, interviewing skills and networking. Training is also available for eligible participants who are seeking skills in a market they are unfamiliar with.