The South Shore Women's Business Network is dedicated to serving our members, supporting our community and to helping facilitate innovative & productive networking meetings, right here on the South Shore!
A Message from the President ~

Hello!
 
Spring has finally arrived! We have done so much behind the scenes for our members in these last four months. Our new 2018 board is rocking and rolling with creating some fantastic standard operating procedures.  
 
Our intention is to continue to build a strong networking group with 27+ foundational years under our belt. We have done some spring cleaning and look forward to taking that energy into the summer, with our By-law refresh. 
 
We will continue to focus on building our membership and creating space for our members to thrive. As your working President during 2017/2018, I will continue to make every effort to attend all events, listen to what our members' needs are, learn from any challenges that arise, and make the necessary adjustments along the way.
 
There are currently two events coming up that need hosts and venues. Our Halloween Business After Hours event on Thursday, October 25, and our Morning Mixer on either November 6 or 7. Please contact Lisa Dooley, owner of Your Organized Life, if you are interested in hosting either of these upcoming events. Lisa has helped us organize our calendar with an amazing slate of planned events. Lisa's email address is lisa@yourorganizedlife.biz .
 
 
We are consistently accepting seven new members each month and we anticipate that number reaching - and exceeding - 8-10! Keep an eye out for our Membership Drive Party coming soon!
 

Sincerely yours,
 
Nicole Perry~
2017/2018 President
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New Member
Mentions!



Welcome to our most recent new members.  We look forward to learning more about you at our meetings & events in the year ahead!

1)  
Leticia Costa, Eastern Bank

2) Julie Lambros, Love Your Home Organizing 
     

3) Colleen Regan, Scentsy

4) Cynthia Auckly-Barbuto, Grossman & Associates
     

5) 
Kathleen Kelble, Pembroke School of Performing 
Arts
6) Susan Curtis, Susan Curtis Interiors 
     

7) Cathy Broderick,
Cathleen Broderick 
Photography

8) Dee Davidson, Simply Soothing Sanctuary
     

Upcoming SSWBN Events

Be sure to register for our next Business After Hours event on May 31st, sponsored by Leticia Costa, of Eastern Bank


Here's a list of our events in May and June. 

May 9 Morning Mixer Networking event at Plymouth Quarries Showroom, Hingham
Sponsored by Pat Lynch, of Bridgewater Savings
Free to all
May 18 Focus Coffee Blooming Business  
Coffee with the President
May 31 Business After Hours A Memorable Event
At The Anchor in Duxbury
Sponsored by Leticia Costa, of Eastern Bank
Free to all
June 15 Focus Lunch 2018 Halftime
Lunch with the President
June 21 Quarterly Networking Breakfast Featured speaker Jeanne Yocum, founding member SSWBN, breakfast and networking activities




Members: Free, Non-members $10. 
Please register at www.sswbn.org/events (desktop best)








Please mark your calendars for SSWBN's Quarterly Networking Breakfast on Thursday, June 21st at Linden Ponds in Hingham. Author Jeanne Yocum, one of our SSWBN founding members, will be speaking on the topic of Self-Employment. We have an exciting agenda planned and look forward to seeing you there.







June Quarterly Networking 
Breakfast  Charitable Partner
Magical Moon Foundation

We are looking forward to celebrating our charitable partner Magical Moon Foundation at our June Quarterly Breakfast. It is the mission of The Magical Moon Foundation to nurture and empower children with cancer.  The Magical Moon Foundation (MMF) supports children and families faced with cancer. While there are many wonderful organizations that support cancer research, the MMF is unique in being a non-profit organization that focuses on empowering children to use their inner strengths to manifest miracles in their lives. The magic behind the Magical Moon begins by encouraging children to find the warrior within. Rather than kids fighting cancer, they become brave young Knights turning their struggles into motivation.

Thank you to Pat Lynch, of Bridgewater Savings Bank for contributing your educational article!






Things to Think about Before Taking on Student Loan Debt

I view the expense of a college education the same as any other expense: know your budget. If you earn enough money you can afford to buy a $200 pair of shoes, but if you make minimum wage or slightly higher you may want to shop for a much lower price. Before we buy a car, we know what we can afford or want to pay monthly. If you can afford a payment of $300 a month you look at the Honda CRV or Ford Escape not a Cadillac Escalade. Let's go a bit bigger, if you want to buy a house, assuming you are not paying cash, you will need to know how much the bank will lend you. If you earn $60,000 a year you are not going to be able to finance a $400,000 mortgage.

So, why, when it comes to a college education, do people spend more than they can afford? College prices, on average, range from community college (two years Associate degree) $4,000 per year to private colleges/universities $60,000 or more per year (including room and board). In between we have state universities at about $23,000 or $10,000 without room and board.   In addition, there are other costs including books, computers, travel, dormitory decorating, some fees, entertainment, and automobile expenses if the student commutes. As consumers, we need to purchase our education the same way we purchase other items. Historically, college costs increase 5-6% annually, more than average inflation rates.

We hear a lot these days about student loan debt. Millennials (those born circa 1980-2000), now 18-38 years old, some just entering college, and some 14 years post college, have or will have incurred the largest amount of student loan debt in history.

There seems to be some financial illiteracy amongst students and parents. Many student loans that are deferred, meaning no payments are due until six months after graduation, still accrue interest from the day the loan is taken out. So, those who finance $20,000 a year and don't   make payments during the college years, after four years will owe $80,000 plus interest that has accrued. That can be an additional $12,000 or more depending on the loan's interest rate. In order to pay that off in 10 years it is about $1000/month. Federal student loans sometimes offer income based repayment, meaning you can pay back based on your income. Potentially, someone can start out making a payment as low as $200/month with interest still accruing. The monthly payment will increase as income increases. It could take up to 40 years to pay that back. Most students don't know this and many parents don't understand it. Helpful hints, try to pay the interest while still in school. Pay as much as you possibly can as early as you can. Just because the loans are deferred until graduation doesn't mean you can't make payments before then. Summer job income, internships and on campus jobs are a great way to assist with managing debt.

Stay within your budget. If you are graduating with a degree that has a current average earning of $60,000, why would you spend $200,000 on that education instead of $80,000? Some people think a diploma from a fancy institution will get them the job. Not necessarily true. Read up on internships and interviewing skills to level the playing field. The high school seniors, and their parents, want to have the experience of living away. This is an expensive experience. Average cost for room and board is about $14,000 for the school year. If you can afford it great; but if you can't why do it? State colleges and private universities are strategically located so there is usually one within commuting distance from where you live.
A college education is almost a necessity for those of us with no talent for the trades or entrepreneurial ventures. But it is expensive. We need to be wise and educated about our choices that will impact the quality of our and our students' lives for the next 40+ years. Bottom line, know before you owe. Affordable options are out there. The choice is the student's as to how much debt they can afford or want to take on upon graduation.

 
Pat Lynch, VP & Loan Officer
Bridgewater Savings Bank
781.293.3202, NMLS#414897




Thank you to  Randy Veraguas, Sales Director for Atria Senior Living's Marina Place,  for contributing your educational article!


May is Mental Health Awareness Month
First of all, I love that mental health even has a month! It's wonderful and allows people more opportunities to talk about it, educate others, to take away stigmas and give help and guidance to those who need it - who otherwise may never have considered a change.
 
Where I work at Atria Marina Place, we're offering more events this month for the public and professionals to come in. We want to prove, not just talk about, the fact that we take mental health seriously and our goal is to keep our residents happy as well as safe. It's one thing to say everyone's happy, it's another for our guests to see it and hear it from the residents themselves.
 
All year long our goal is to have everyone living better by focusing on 4 key choices that our own CEO's personal doctor came up with. This man is the late Dr. Henry Lodge from Columbia University and he's made these 4 key choices into a book called Younger Next Year, which also became a PBS documentary.
 
*Nutrition, Exercise, Connection and Goals
 
Nutrition:
Consistent access (that doesn't mean once or twice a week you get a good meal). Consistent access to nutritious food is Key #1. It's your body's fuel.
 
Exercise:
You need this fuel for Exercise.
Exercise triggers your body's natural repair process...and the benefits are dramatic. You've all seen countless before and after pictures. That progress doesn't just happen, it's intentional. The older you are, the more important it is to keep moving. Remember, you're doing a disservice to your grandparents by doting on them hand and foot. It's nice to offer somebody a drink, but when they're older, you can say, well, get it yourself! Hahaha, tough love! And I'm kidding around here, but I'm totally serious. Being sedentary is BAD!
 
Connection:
People who are part of a caring community - it could be a senior center, a religious organization, a volunteer group, work groups, or senior living place...ah hem, like Atria Marina Place! - live longer and have less stress than those who are isolated and lonely. Seems obvious but it's scientific now. Feeling like you're part of a caring group every day is the 3rd key to living better. It's been studied and proven factual by Dr. Lodge.
 
Goals:
Setting short and long term goals to challenge oneself provides healthy motivation and promotes a sense of purpose. Have you ever found yourself on a weekend with nothing to do? It's hard to get out of bed. You're not looking forward to anything....and then think of how lethargic that made you. How down...everyday life with no goals could get very depressing. It's key to have goals to work toward.
And when you accomplish them, the feeling can be exhilarating, ecstatic, euphoric even! It's fun to accomplish goals. When I need a little boost, I'll write something down on my long To Do list that I've already done...so can I immediately cross it off my list. Now that's probably considered cheating by some, but that's occasionally my quick way of getting a dopamine and serotonin boost on those days where I could use an extra "me". Know what I mean?! 
 
So what we at ATRIA offer are daily opportunities to eat better, exercise, have a sense of connection and set and attain goals without being pedantic about it. We simply offer it everyday; it's part of the lifestyle here. Our residents don't necessarily have to understand that what they're doing is part of the 4 key choices...but you readers at home can start practicing today and living better. And if you want to start by joining some of our activities here, just go to www.AtriaMarinaPlace.com and scroll down to our activities calendar. We look forward to meeting you! 
 
For more information you may wish to read one of Dr. Henry Lodge's books in the "Younger Next Year" series.
At Atria, we believe people belong together.  Learn the power of connection by downloading the ATRIA STORYWISE  app today.


Randy Veraguas
Sales DirectorAtria Marina Place
4 Seaport Drive
Quincy, MA 02171
Phone: 617-770-3264   
Fax: 617-770-3682   
Cell: 781-635-5414

 Facebook: Please give us a like at  www.facebook.com/AtriaMarinaPlace

 

SSWBN Members Corner
                                                                                              
       
Thank you, Lisa, for your fun and insightful Lunch 'N' Learn!

Lisa Dooley of Your Organized Life spoke about small steps we can take to feel less stressed and more productive in our everyday lives, both at home and at work. Using examples of how we latch on to "stuff" and habits, along with her humor, we had an insightful and fun session. Lisa educated us on document retention and showed us the difference between our "WORKING documents" and "FOREVER documents, with ideas on how long we need to retain certain ones. We also learned about ways to dispose of items we've been holding onto, whether for sentimental reasons or simply because we no long use them.

For more information and to
read Lisa's blogs, go to:

Lisa Dooley, Professional Organizer
Your Organized Life


Ladies in big hats gathered for a wonderful Kentucky Derby Business After Hours at the 1620 Wine Bar. All enjoyed the beautiful late April evening, with cocktails, conversation and some great networking. Thank you to Raquel Mullaney for graciously hosting our event!



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