Entrepreneurship Educators Brown Bag, Friday, April 2 from 11:45-1:00 at the MAC office

Hello to the IFA/WIRED Entrepreneurship Track members: In the event that you’re interested in attending, this is a reminder that our monthly Entrepreneurship Educator’s Society brown bag is scheduled for the first Friday of every month – our next one is this coming Friday, April 2 from 11:45-1:00 at the MAC office (300 North Commerce Park Loop).

Topics for April’s informal conversation include the following:
• Introductions
• Updates on workshops/classes
• IFA/WIRED participant counting concerns
• Distance Learning initiatives

Again, this is informal, so bring a lunch and say hello to regional colleagues

Funding Your Innovation Through the SBIR/STTR Program

Register now at rsvp@azinnovation.com for session I, session II or both sessions “Funding Your Innovation Through the SBIR/STTR Programs”

The seminar series will focus on several business areas of significant interest to the southern Arizona high tech business community: Aerospace & Defense, BioTech and Clean Energy.

If you are interested in significantly increasing your ability to competitively win new Phase I & II SBIR/ STTR awards, this is a must attend event!

SBIR/ STTR funding represents just the "tip of the iceberg" of the development and subsequent transition-to-production funding available to small businesses. Learn how to obtain 'beyond Phase II' transition-to-production sources of funding and propose candidate SBIR/ STTR topics for future solicitations

Networking time will be provided during this two day event to enable the attendees to learn from each other and the speakers

Draft of Flier for Arizona Western Conference on Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship & Business Conference
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Schoening Conference Center
College Community Center (3C) AWC Main Campus
3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Arizona Western College Business and Workforce Development & Business and CIS present Placing the Key to Business Success in the Palm of Your Hand
Keynote Speaker: Norm Dominguez, CEO of Business Network Int’l
Norm Dominguez is the CEO of Business Network Int’l.,
which was founded in 1985. The organization has over 5,400
chapters in 41 countries throughout North America, South
America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Last year alone,
BNI generated over 5.6 million referrals resulting in over
$2.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of business for its members.

Cost of attendance is $39.00 per attendee.

Funding is currently available to attendees towards
cost of attendance, in partnership with Innovation
Frontier AZ and the Yuma Private Industry Council.

For pre-registration and /or how to learn about
attendance scholarships, please call (928) 317-7674
or email Mr. Carlos Figari, Professor of Entrepreneurship
at carlos.figari@azwestern.edu.

Innovation Frontier Arizona is funded by a $5 million WIRED grant and a $2 million
Community Based Job Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. This is an
Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon
request to individuals with disabilities.

Small Business Information Session with Congresswoman Giffords and Ana Ma, Chief of Staff for SBA

Small Business Information Session with Congresswoman Giffords and Ana Ma, Chief of Staff for SBA

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords invites you to join her and Ana Ma, Chief of Staff for the Small Business Administration in Washington DC, to hear about ways in which the Small Business Administration can help your business.

In addition to the information you will receive from Ana Ma about Small Business Administration programs, Debbie Chandler, MAC's Executive Director, will discuss the free or low cost training and consultation resources available in Tucson.
When:
Saturday, January 23, 2010
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Where:
Eller College, University of Arizona
Berger Auditorium, McClelland Hall
1130 E. Helen Street, Tucson
Free parking is available in the garage immediately west of McClelland Hall on the corner of Park and Speedway

Please RSVP by January 20 to 520-881-3588 or RSVP
via email at rsvpgiffords@mail.house.gov.

*This email address will now send you directly to Rep. Giffords' rsvp link.

November 13 Women in Business Seminar, presented by the Microbusiness Advancement Center

The Microbusiness Advancement Center is hosting a Women in Business Seminar, sponsored by State Farm Insurance and The Hispanic Women's Corporation.

Women in Business Seminar
Friday, November 13, 2009
8:00am – 12:00pm

Agenda:
7:30 am - 8:00 am Check-In & Continental Breakfast
8:10 am - 8:40 am Welcome & Opening Remarks
8:45 am - 10:00 am Business Tracks, choose between I or II
10:15 am - 11:15 am Entrepreneurs Panel
11:20 am - 11:50 am Keynote Closing & Evaluations

Cost:
$15 (in advance); limited to first 100 participants.
($20 after November 6, 2009)

To Register, please call
Microbusiness Advancement Center at 520-620-1241 by November 6, 2009

Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Zara Larsen
President, The Larsen Group: Architects of Change
Dr. Larsen is dedicated to helping others unleash their potential through identifying their abilities and gifts. She will share her inspirations on embracing and managing the transitions we face in career and life with enthusiasm and confidence.

Choose Your Track*:
Track I
• What You Need to Know to Start & Manage Your Business
Presenter: Jerone Davis, Microbusiness Advancement Center
• “Business Ownership 101” by State Farm Agency
Track II
• Using Social Media to Attract and Retain Customers
Presenter: Cristie Street, Managing Partner, Nextrio LLC
• “Innovation in Marketing” by State Farm Agency

* English/Spanish translation service will be available upon request.

KUAT piece on stimulus funding and Tucson

Schedule of no-cost workshops for entrepreneurs now available across Southern Arizona.

No cost workshops for entrepreneurs now available across Southern Arizona.

Studies demonstrate that the availability of technical training and education in new firm start-up issues--such as market research, business plan preparation, accessing funding, and so forth--is among three most critical factors of a vibrant entrepreneurial environment and economy.

We are pleased to announce the availability of more than 1,000, no-cost seats in entrepreneurship and idea generation workshops across the four Southern Arizona counties (Pima, Santa Cruz, Yuma, Cochise).

Workshops will be hosted by a variety of partners (listed below) and focusing on a range of entrepreneurial topics and populations. All workshops will be conducted in Southern Arizona between October 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010.

Whether you just have an idea for a business and don’t know where to go next—have a great idea and have formulated a high quality business plan, and need to know how to fund your start up—how to make your new start up green—or even how to apply for government SBIR/STTR grant to fund your start up, Tucson to Nogales and Yuma to Sells, there is a workshop for you. Workshop duration, frequency, and location varies, so please contact hosts directly, or McGuire Center for more information. Some restrictions may apply.

No-cost workshops are available through Innovation Frontier Arizona partnership and administered by the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, The University of Arizona. Future workshops subject to fee.


Business Development for New Hispanic Entrepreneurs: What are the most common and effective strategies for potential entrepreneurs?
Business training to empower the entrepreneurial spirit and develop competencies to create successful business. Serving new and new-non post secondary Hispanic entrepreneurs. Open to individuals from all counties.
Contact: Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation
www.tucsonhispanicchamber.org
520.620.0005

Community Entrepreneurs Program
Critical skills and knowledge to formulate, validate, build effective strategies, and organize resources to bring high quality ideas to market. Santa Cruz County based. Open to all communities.
Contact: Santa Cruz County Community Programs Office
520.375.7663

Entrepreneurial Leadership and Strategic Thinking through the Creation of Actionable Objectives
Targeting key entrepreneurial elements: Vision; External Assessment; Internal Assessment; Creating Goals and Overcoming Obstacles
Contact: Bellows Consulting
www.bellowsconsulting.com
520-299-9169

Entrepreneurial Development Program
Economic development and workforce development impact workshop series serving clients in Pima and Santa Cruz Counties:
• Orientation to Entrepreneurship
• Introduction to Business Ownership
• Technology Basics
• Technology Tools for Marketing Series
• Government Procurement Series
Based in and serving Pima and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact: MicroBusiness Advancement Center
www.mac-sa.org
520.620-1241

Funding Your Innovation through the SBIR/STTR Programs
Targeting three aspects of SBIR/STTR application process. Limited Webinar seats in addition to in person workshops. Pima County based. Open to all communities.
Contact: Arizona Center for Innovation
www.azinnovation.com
520.382.3260

Gateways to Entrepreneurship
Monthly new business and business management workshops offered in two hour segments by Pima Community College faculty targeting local business districts. Includes child care. Pima County based. Open to all communities.
Contact Gateway Business Alliance
www.gbatucson.com
520.509.3917

Growing Green Business
Webinar based series of three workshops focusing on idea generation, funding, and development of financial projects—all for green business. Open to all communities.
Contact: PPEP Microbusiness and Housing Development Corporation
www.azsmallbusinessloans.com
520.889.4203

Idea Generation and Entrepreneurship Workshops—Cochise County
Entrepreneurship workshops focusing on the business formation and advancement needs of Cochise County
Contact: Cochise College Small Business Development Center
www.cochise.edu/conteducation/sbdc
520.515.5478

New Business and Entrepreneurship Workshops—Yuma
Workshops and courses serving all Yuma County entrepreneurship education needs.
Contact: Arizona Western College Community and Educational Partnerships, Entrepreneurial Center
www.azwestern.edu/learning_services/degrees_and_certificates/business_and_liberal_arts/occupational_certificates/Entrepreneurship.html

928.317/6180

NXLevel Entrepreneur: Workshops for Existing Business Owners and Enterprising Start-ups
12 two hour sessions over three week period focusing on producing a business plan for expansion or start up. Offered in Nogales for ___________
Contact: Nogales Community Development Corporation
www.nogalescdc.com
520.397.9219

To T-nako: Building O’odham Strength through Product Development
Product development and entrepreneurial skills for tribal members—current or aspiring entrepreneurs. Pima County based. Open to TO tribal members.
Contact: Community Development Financial Institute of the Tohono O’odham Nation
www.cdfiton.com
520.383.0790

All participating partners are committed to high quality entrepreneurship education, resources, and network.

Additional entrepreneurship education resources are available at all County One Stop Centers, Pima Community College, Cochise Community College, Arizona Western College, The University of Arizona.

Microbusiness Advancement Center on KUAT!

Congratulations to our friends at MAC for the great recent piece by Tony Paniagua from KUAT's Arizona Illustrated. Click on the yellow title above or see http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2009/10/1/kuat-microbusiness-help/

summary of recent meetings about the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship’s distance learning initiative

Below is a summary of recent meetings about the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship’s distance learning initiative.

Two meetings were held in late September. Participants included Randy Accetta from the UA’s McGuire Center, Chuck Bolotin from OnTarget Consulting, Marie Wesselhoft from AZCI, Debbie Chandler and Lillian Perez from the Microbusiness Advancement Center, and Charlette Padilla from Pima Community College, as well as Tanya Hodges from the UA in Yuma and Matthew Anderson from Arizona Western College College. A host of others were invited but not able to attend.

McGuire’s general goals of meeting with these “steering committees,” if you will, were to learn what the regional educators community wants from distance learning, to seek any points of collaboration (and perhaps revenue sharing), and to get a sense of specific curriculum needs.

Key take-aways from the meetings include the following
1) Topics in entrepreneurship curriculum are remarkably consistent regardless of the educational level of the student; therefore, a module-based program would be well-suited to the region, so that clients, students, and others can insert themselves at the place on the wheel of information that best fits their particular needs (for example, a person can take one module for a single credit, then skip a module that covers material they know, and take the next module for credit);
2) Modular-self-paced courses are fine, but if there is room for interaction between faculty and students, all the better;
3) As McGuire develops full 16-week courses, it is best if they are for-credit, non-degree seeking undergraduate and graduate level courses (some have asked for junior-year 300-level courses, while others have asked for 500-level graduate courses);
4) A podcast library of free audio and video lectures on important entrepreneurship topics is needed for the region (allowing schools and organizations to recommend students/clients to view certain topics);
5) Teaching DL is a different process than teaching in a classroom, and requires specific training and specific skills.

McGuire’s next steps will be to design a host of short podcasts and full-length module-based courses, most likely using the UA’s Blackboard course management system. Some of these offerings will be available for free, some will be fee-based through the UA Outreach College, and some will have revenue-sharing opportunities. We hope to have this project well underway by January, and ready to implement in the Spring.

September meeting follow-up

Hello to the Entrepreneurship Educators Society!

Thanks to Charlette and Lynette from Pima, Dama from PPEP, Suzette from ASBA, Lea from the Hispanic Chamber, and Lillian and Debbie from MAC for coming to yesterday’s meeting.

To those who are on the list but couldn’t make it, we all know this is a busy time of year with classes starting and schools in full swing; indeed, I was at a concurrent distance learning workshop and was a bit tardy myself.

Interesting items were discussed yesterday, both at the meeting and afterwards amongst various parties. Here is a (non-inclusive) list of activities over the coming months:

Next week: MED week workshops, include SBDC workshop at Pima Community Campus, 401 N. Bonita, Wednesday, September 9, from 8:30 to 12:00 pm, room A109/112.
October 7, Wednesday: Next Brown Bag, at MAC offices, 11:45-1:00
October 16, Friday: Entrepreneurship Scholars Society Evening Social, location to be announced, 4:00-5:30 pm, hosted by the McGuire Center
November 5, Thursday: IdeaFunding conference, all day (www.ideafunding.org)
November 13, Friday: Women in Business conference, co-hosted by MAC
November 19, Thursday: ASBA hosted major event (400+ attendees) with Harvey Mackey, noted author, speaking at J W Marriott Starr Pass from 4:00- 6:00 pm to benefit new 501c3 Business Education Center, to fund education for emerging and struggling businesses in Arizona. Details to be announced. Contact Suzette Colley at scolley@asba.com.


Now, about this Entrepreneurship Educators Society: our group represents the full continuum of venture development from formulating an idea to implementing and growing a venture:
• academic educators (from Pima and the UA) who primarily teach traditional and non-traditional students how to think about entrepreneurship and venture development;
• community educators who primarily teach adults how to actually plan and implement their venture (SBDC, MAC, PPEP);
• community organizations that help grow existing businesses (ASBA, with some overlap from SBDC, MAC, and PPEP).

This is great – we’re creating a working community that can radically impact our region by sharing ideas and collaborating on resources.

To that end, Lillian Perez from MAC said something very interesting yesterday. To paraphrase, she said this is a powerful group of people and organizations, and she would like to see it organize around a regional project so that we can make a larger impact.

In a follow-up conversation, Bob Fick from the SBDC echoed Lillian’s point and said that we can create a greater footprint in the region. The WIRED mini-grants are a nice step in that direction (to mix metaphors), with plans for over 1,000 people to be impacted by 12 different organizations over the coming months.

Lillian and Bob’s point is a good one: continuing in our informal mode, we can still impact the region – perhaps banding together for shared workshops, collaborating on grant opportunities, or trying to impact policy at the City, County or State level.

To that end, please think of larger scale projects that you would like to develop. The October 7 brown-bag can focus on developing a group project.

And please save the date of Friday, October 16 in the late afternoon. The McGuire Center will host of mixer for the regional educators to gather in a social setting, with informal networking and a more formal 3-minutes allotted to each person or organization to introduce themselves. We can call it Shameless Self-Promotion so that you can share aspirations and successes. We will provide more details in coming weeks.