(NNPA)—The sayings “Now or never,” “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” and “Getting on with your life’s work” implies a career transition for an individual in which he exploits his achievements and experiences to date. This is often true of successful entrepreneurs. It is the rare entrepreneur who starts a business as his first job.

The forces driving such transitions come from many sources. In the case of the former athletes featured here, it was the inevitability of the end of their football careers. Others start businesses because they believe in the opportunity represented by a product or an idea. For others, still, unemployment may be a factor.

If small businesses are the harbinger of economic recovery, then western Pennsylvania shows clear signs of hope. That was the message African American Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Doris Carson Williams had for those attending the chamber’s May 19 annual meeting and luncheon.

BIG BUSINESS —Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg warns that attempts to tax large nonprofits like Pitt could cripple the only growing business sector in the region.

“For the chamber, the good news is that we grew our membership by 7 percent,” she told the 500 guests in the Omni William Penn ballroom. “The bad news is we lost 4 percent, and they were in the small capacity business category. But our new members are larger firms, and several existing members have increased their capacity and membership levels.”

Business series

JUNE 3—The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host their Business Program Series at 12:15-1 p.m. at the Downtown & Business branch, 612 Smithfield St. The topic is “Thinking About Starting Your Own Business? Realities and Advice for the New Entrepreneur.” Joyce Pearl of SCORE Counselors to America’s Small Businesses will discuss the forms needed to start a business in Pennsylvania, where to look for outside financing, the reasons for a written business plan and answers to frequently asked questions before beginning a new business venture. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 412-281-7141.

Though many objected to the Big Brother “we know where you live” tone of the first advertisements promoting Pennsylvania’s Tax Amnesty program, it got people’s attention—and that was the point.

The state is trying to recover as much as it can of the $2.1 billion in eligible delinquencies as possible to address a budget shortfall. Its goal is to collect $190 million by the June 18 program deadline. To do so, the amnesty program will waive 100 percent of any penalties, and will cut the interest owed by half.

“This is really a golden opportunity,” said De­part­ment of Revenue spokes­person Stephanie Weyant. “It’s a rarity. The last time the state offered tax am­nesty was 14 years ago. So this is quite an opportunity for taxpayers and for us. Hopefully we’ll be able to collect a large amount of money in a short time.”