NHBR

When something new comes along

/ Beth LaMontagne Hall / Leave a comment
Photo Mar 13, 6 23 59 PM

Opening night in the gallery at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth

 

Sometimes I’m inspired to write about a subject because I think editors will love  the idea, or that it will gain lots of reader interest. But sometimes I write about a subject because I am legitimately curious. Last winter, I toyed with the idea of starting a non-profit that would support creative freelancers like myself throughout the northern Boston-metro area. What better way to fund my research than to write a story about the risks and rewards of launching a non-profit?

I learned there are many dedicated people in this state giving their time and gallons of sweat equity to do things that no sane business owner would touch. That includes 3S Artspace, a newly opened gallery, performance space and restaurant in Portsmouth, which I used to open my article. I also learned I don’t have the patience, political capital or connections it takes to start my non-profit idea, which means I’ll be freelancing in my home office for a little while longer.

Here’s my latest piece, featured in New Hampshire Business Review’s March 5 issue.

Navigating a non-profit

The learning curve is daunting for those launching a nonprofit organization

“My mom would tell you that I’ve been talking about 3S – in one iteration or another – since I was about 15 years old,” says Chris Greiner, executive director of 3S Artspace, a performance space and gallery now under construction in Portsmouth. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of establishing a gathering space and cultural hub of some sort, whether it was an arts center for teens, a bookstore cafe, or the multidisciplinary arts space that I eventually landed on.”

The idea started in 2005, and by 2009 Greiner had organized a group of friends and mentors to serve as a fledging board of directors, including an architect, an attorney and a local business owner. Greiner left his job to pursue 3S Artspace full-time, and by March 2011 it was incorporated as a New Hampshire nonprofit with federal 501(c)(3) status. This spring, 3S Artspace will complete construction and open its performance space, art gallery and restaurant in the city’s rapidly changing Northern Tier.”

To read more, please go to the New Hampshire Business Review website.

 

Where do freelancers find ideas? Sometimes it’s a shot in the dark

/ Beth LaMontagne Hall / Leave a comment

I wasn’t covering the UNH Career Fair last October for anyone. There was no story due in the hours that followed and I certainly wasn’t getting paid. So why did I spend 3 hours out of my day and a couple bucks in parking to attend? I needed some business story ideas.

Finding story ideas is one of the hardest parts of being a freelance writer. I’ve been getting better at it, largely by focusing on publications I’ve worked with in the past. I ask them straight up — what are you looking for? Editors always have a wish list of stories they’d like to publish but don’t have the staff to do it. Simply asking them to share that wish list with you is a huge step toward landing a story with them.

Attending networking and trade events is a tool I’ve used lately in better meeting editor’s expectations. I’m not pitching the event as the story, but instead am contacting the editor before I go and asking him or her — if I were to go looking for story ideas, what should I keep an eye out for? This gives me a list of questions to ask people at the event and helps get me closer to finding a subject worth writing about.

I got the idea for this piece for New Hampshire Business Review after attending the UNH Career Fair last fall. I didn’t pitch the event as the piece, but instead called the editor beforehand letting him know I would be attending and talked about some potential stories that could come out of it — who’s hiring, who’s growing, what majors are in high demand? I got some suggestions from the editor and headed over.

As is often the case when walking into a room blind, what you expect to find and what you actually find when you get there don’t always line up. I spoke with plenty of representatives from out-of-state companies, but didn’t find many local, innovative companies. And then I came across On Call International, a swiftly growing company with a unique business model based in Salem, N.H. I pitched a story based on the editor’s recommendations and landed an assignment.

Attending these events can sometimes be a gamble and don’t always pay off, but I’ve more often than not, I can come up with something an editor is willing to bite on if I look hard enough. You can read a portion of the piece below.

Traveling? The last number you call may be in Salem

Keeping cool heads during a crisis has been On Call International’s mission since its inception nearly 20 years ago. It’s a trait that has served its customers well, helping them navigate their way out of foreign jams big and small. It’s also a trait that has helped the company through some rocky times, bringing On Call International from the brink to recognition as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.

The travel risk management firm provides a wide range of services for travelers both in the United States and abroad. Whether it’s a medical emergency, an arrest or a lost passport, On Call works with officials and medical staff on the ground wherever the client is located to resolve the situation, sometimes traveling to the customer to bring him home.

Last year, On Call International fielded 500,000 incoming and outbound client calls, and 300,000 emails to and from clients. The company brought home the remains of more than 300 people and sent 400 private jets and air ambulances – equipped with a rescue nurse and medical equipment – to locations around the world to bring clients home.

For the rest of the story, go to NHBR.com.

Venturing into the business world

/ Beth LaMontagne Hall / 1 Comment

Business journalism was never something that appealed to me, though I knew the job security was better in that field of expertise than say being an expert in education or environmental policy. Statistics, spreadsheets, tax law all seemed so, well, boring. But then I had a conversation with New Hampshire Business Review Editor Jeff Feingold.

“Our stories can be about anything really, as long as it has something to do with business,” he told me. Putting it that way, writing about business, which I know almost nothing about, didn’t seem so scary and not nearly as boring. My first piece for NHBR was published last week. You can read the full piece here.

Shortage of young people entering New Hampshire’s accounting industry is a worrisome trend

A high demand for qualified, entry-level accountants is driving up starting salaries and creating an environment of almost full employment for these young workers

“April is the cruellest month.” The line from T.S. Eliot is especially true for college seniors.

These near-graduates spend the month juggling senior projects and finals with polishing their resumes and visiting job fairs. College seniors not only want to start their careers, but also avoid another summer spent scooping ice cream, bagging groceries and waiting for their independent adult life to begin.

But there is one group of sought-after students that will spend this April worry-free, at least when it comes to finding a job.

According to professionals in New Hampshire’s accounting industry, a high demand for qualified, entry-level accountants is driving up starting salaries and creating an environment of almost full employment for these young workers.

“There are lots of good firms looking for good people,” said Robert Smalley, a CPA at the Manchester accounting firm BerryDunn, which hires between two and four accountants every year, often recruiting from the University of New Hampshire.

UNH offers a “very high-level program,” said Smalley, but it’s simply not producing enough graduates to meet the demand of the state’s accounting firms and corporations.

The demand is so great that Smalley and his colleague Jennifer Sanctuary, also a CPA, recently collaborated with UNH Manchester to create a new accounting “track” – essentially a minor – for business students beginning in the fall of 2014.

The track requires students to take seven accounting-based courses throughout their time at UNH Manchester, including managerial finance and federal taxation and auditing. These courses are designed to give students the skills and expertise needed for certification as a management accountant or as a certified public accountant.

The accounting track is modeled after UNH’s Durham program, but will also include curriculum Smalley and Sanctuary developed to reflect the kind of skills they use in their day-to-day work.