Entrepreneurship Series Returns to Hudson Library

Small-business owners can take advantage of some free helpful advice by attending the 2010 Entrepreneurship and Small Business Series, hosted by the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship Research at the Hudson Library & Historical Society. Registration is required for any one or all of the 11 free workshops. Simply call 330.653.6658 or email askus@ hudson.lib.oh.us.

Jan. 12: How to Procure Government Contracts, with Rich Delisio of the Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at the Kent Regional Business Alliance. Selling to the Federal Government elisio will also be available for one-on-one counseling at the Hudson
Library.

(Note: Rich helped me with my company's capability statement and I helped him by presenting a "how-to" at his workshop last year. Here's a link if you missed the presentation: HOW TO CREATE YOUR COMPANY'S CAPABILITY STATEMENT TO MARKET YOUR COMPANY TO RECEIVE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS. Besides the slides, I also recorded the talk so there is sound as well.)

Feb. 3: Trends Affecting Small Businesses, with Anita Campbell of Anita Campbell Associates and founder of the Small Business Trends online publication and radio program. (Note: I consider Anita one of the top trend experts in small business in the country. This is a DON'T MISS EVENT!)

Feb. 17: Rebecca O. Bagley, president of NorTech, the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition. NorTech helps to create new technology industries and make the region’s economy more globally competitive.

Feb. 23: For National Entrepreneurship Week, The Power of Networking, an evening to share stories with other entrepreneurs. Additional networking resources: How to Brand Yourself on LinkedIn: Branding Diagram And Vail Brown's LinkedIn handout for his workshop on LinkedIn networking.

Feb. 25: Entrepreneurship Programs College Fair. High school students interested in pursuing entrepreneurship at the college level are invited to meet current college students, recent graduates who have opened their own businesses, and representatives of area university programs.

March 2: Richard T. Herman, a business and immigration attorney, and Robert Smith, a Plain Dealer reporter covering international cultures. They are the co-authors of Immigrant Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and How They Will Save the American Worker).

Herman is also co-founder of the Northeast Ohio chapter of TiE, a global network of entrepreneurs. TIE stands for: Talent, Ideas, Entrepreneurship.

March 16: Product Globalization: A 10-Point Checklist and One Bad Example, presented by Bob Chalfant of NEO Management.

March 31: Not-for-Profit Basics, a workshop with the Akron chapter of SCORE, a business counseling group.

April 7: Copyright and Intellectual Property Legal Issues for Small Businesses, by Stephen Cook of the University of Akron School of Law.

April 22: Communicating Your Company’s Value: A Marketing and Legal Perspective, with Jeff Bauer of Giraffe Inc., a marketing communications and design firm, and Fbusiness colleague and lawyer Jeff Jones.

May 5: Entrepreneur Success Stories. A panel of successful Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs will share stories.

The Hudson Library & Historical Society’s Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship Research has experienced phenomenal growth and attendance since its inception in the winter of 2008. Through the generosity of the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, the Center is able to offer print and online resources, DVDs and audiobooks, programming and services all designed to assist entrepreneurs get a business established or expand one that already exists.

Starting with the very first Entrepreneurship Series of workshops in October 2008 through the most recent Fall 2009 Entrepreneurship Series, attendance is nearing 2,000. Many of the events in the last few months exceeded 100 participants.

All workshops are free and are offered in a comfortable yet professional setting.
Counseling sessions are available free of charge (by appointment) in the library’s private study rooms from the following agencies: the Ohio Small Business Development Center’s (OSBDC) Certified Business Advisors; Akron SCORE, “Counselorsto America’s Small Businesses;” the Kent Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) for obtaining government contracts; and TiE Ohio – a global network of entrepreneurial mentors.

Subscriptions to periodicals such as The Harvard Business Review and Entrepreneur, and online databases such as Reference USA, Hoover’s and ProQuest Entrepreneurship augment the substantial, current collection of business materials that are available.