GROWING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT WORKSHOP
Silco Theater 311 N. Bullard St. Silver City, NM
Friday, January 20, 2012 9am to 5pm
Saturday, January 21, 2012 9am to 5pm
Workshop Sponsored by Freeport-McMoRan/Grant County Community Health Council's Community Enhancement Fund
Workshop Facilitator - The facilitator will lead and assist the group in identifying goals and objectives, projects, stumbling blocks that need to be removed, assets that need to be quilted together and developing action plans. The structure and agenda for each meeting will be built around these topics and will develop from one meeting to the next.
BrainBelt Consulting is a leader in developing communities and has worked in scores of communities ranging from Alaska to Georgia. BrainBelt Consulting Managing Partner
Burt Chojnowski has been the host of the FRED conference for the past 8 years. FRED stands for Focus on Rural Entrepreneurial Development and has helped identify and document the best economic gardening practices available for rural communities.
Burt Chojnowski is a successful high tech entrepreneur and is an author and award winning filmmaker. Over the past 30 years, Burt has been a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and investment banker. Burt has experience in the formation and development of successful companies in the telecommunications, computer software, media, alternative energy, government securities, fundraising and oil & gas brokerage industries. He was the founder of CoolCall, an international telecommunications company based in Iowa with venture capital provided by Samsung America, the Band of Angels and Garage.com.
Burt has been innovative leader of the Fairfield Entrepreneurs Association that is considered one of the leading entrepreneurial development organizations of its kind in the U.S. today. The National Council of Small Communities named Fairfield, Iowa the top entrepreneurial city in 2003. Fairfield was named Entrepreneurial Community of the Year in 2004 by the Community Vitality Center. Burt is a member of the following boards: Iowa Capital Investment Board, Community Vitality Center, National Network of Technology, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (N2TEC) and Fairfield First! He is a jurist and mentor for World's Best Technology Showcase.
Workshop Goal - To grow the entrepreneurial spirit and mindset in order to create new and existing businesses and jobs in and around Grant County.
• Concrete examples on what can be done to create a sustainable entrepreneurial community
• Formation of a strategic action team engaged in asset quilting and economic gardening
• Energize and strengthen the entrepreneurial class
Topics for Friday, January 20, 2012 from 9am to 5pm
I. Taking the Entrepreneurial Pulse
How to Turn Grant County into a Power Place using Economic Gardening and Asset Quilting
What are the characteristics of an entrepreneurial community?
· The importance of an entrepreneurial "class"
· How to create a purpose-driven community around entrepreneurship
· How to create an entrepreneurial culture to support and how to change the community conversation about entrepreneurship
· What are the attitudes you need to change about entrepreneurship
II. Asset Quilting - A grassroots strategy to create a greater whole using the sum of the parts from the people, resources and talents needed to create an entrepreneurial region.
· Focused brainstorming to solve common business start-up and operational challenges and methods for dealing with those challenges
III. Economic Gardening Strategies and Creating an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Economic Gardening refers to grassroots support strategies to support entrepreneurship, as opposed to legacy economic development that has been focused primarily on hunting for new jobs through company relocation. Economic gardening focuses on moving 2nd stage companies from "good to great." Second-stage companies are companies that are profitable and have revenues in excess of $250,000-$500,000, annually.
Economic gardening also recognizes the importance of supporting home-based businesses and sole proprietors in the new Internet economy and leveraging social media and e-commerce solutions for retail businesses to make them more sustainable.
Apply best practices of rural entrepreneurial development:
o Local Living Economy
o Creating the Entrepreneurial Class
o Competitive and Market Intelligence
o Moving 2nd Stage Companies from Good to Great
o Alternative Financing
o Community Branding
o Connecting Philanthropy with Entrepreneurship
Topics for Saturday, January 21, 2012 from 9 am to 5 pm
How To Turn Your Community Into an Incubator
Stages of Growth of Entrepreneurial Communities
Early: Lots of Trial and Error
- Innovation and Clusters Start to Emerge
- Sharing Wealth of Experience and Wisdom
- Re-Define Failure as a Step of Innovation
Second Stage: Companies Get Market Tractions
- Networking and Mentoring
- Support CEO's of 2nd Stage Companies
- Make the Transition to Extraordinary
Serial Stage: Exits Result in New Startups and Community Assets
- Next Generation of Startup Capital
- Experienced Senior Managers
- Even Failed Businesses Are a Stepping Stone for Future Success
Develop Entrepreneurial Action Plan for Grant County
Workshop Registration Form - Required for Workshop Participation
Return Registration Form To: Silver City MainStreet
PO Box 4012, Silver City, NM 88062
Name_______________________________ Business Name____________________________
Street____________________________ City________________________State___ZIP______
Telephone_____________________ Email__________________________________________
Indicate Participation Days
______ I will participate on both Friday, January 20, 2012 and Saturday January 21, 2012
______ I will participate on Friday, January 20, 2012
______ I will participate on Saturday, January 21, 2012
For additional information, contact Lucy Whitmarsh at 575-574-8394 or
