CONFERENCE REPORT:
Small-Business
Forum
by Paul Hanke
About 40 builders from around New
England gathered in early September
for the latest in the series of Small Business
Forums sponsored by the Quality
Building Council of the Northeast Solar
Energy Association (NESEA). The daylong
workshop, held in Sturbridge,
Mass., covered the general topics of hiring,
motivating, and keeping good help,
along with estimating and job management.
Ward Smyth, of Salmon Creek
Builders in Salisbury, Conn., and Kate
Mitchell, of Island Women Construction
on Nantucket, acted as moderators
for the workshop, which they quickly
organized into an informal give-andtake
session that drew upon the experience
of the participants as much as
upon the knowledge of Smyth and
Mitchell.
The two "leaders" started the day by
removing the