The Business Enterprise Center and Project Management Institute will be co-sponsoring a series of Brown Bags on Project Management and the importance in proposals, planning, milestones, and resource allocation. We will be discussing why it is so important for start-ups.
When: May 14, 2013 from 12-1 pm
Where: Corvallis Chamber of Commerce
420 NW 2nd St Corvallis, OR 97330
It may seem impossible to take an idea for a company from concept to launch in just 54 hours over a weekend, but it’s not. A simple 60-second pitch to a room of entrepreneurs may make your dreams come real. It may attract a team to help you build it and launch it at the Willamette Startup Weekend!
Come join us for an incredible experience. Help launch a company based on an idea pitch that appeals to you. Or if you have an idea of your own, pitch it on Friday night and perhaps a team will form around you to help you launch it!
Go for it! You have the entrepreneurial spark in you. Don’t sell yourself short. Live the dream!
Check it out http://w.w.w.willamette.startupweekend.org
Come join us at our upcoming brown bag session on social media!
Brad Attig will discuss some practical ideas and methods that small businesses can adapt to leverage the power of communication through social media and impact their bottom line.
Local SEO (how to be found), Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Yelp will be covered. In this hour, his objective will be to give you some simple tools to assess your current marketing strategy via the internet and explore some simple ways to increase visibility and engagement with current and future customers.
About Brad: Brad partners with small and mid-sized businesses and non-profits of all sizes to communicate their message better using new technology. Brad has both a fortune 500 background in business development and marketing with Macys, Target and Citibank and experience with small startup businesses including a successful pre-IPO internet business, IvyExec.com. Brad is a member of the Madison Avenue Collective, an unique group of freelancers, consultants and professional contractors who share an office and studio space in downtown Corvallis, Oregon. A hybrid creative agency, if you will.
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Date: Thursday February 21, 2013
Place: Corvallis Chamber of Commerce Small Conference Room (map)
420 NW 2nd St
Corvallis OR 97330
**RSVPs appreciated**
Come join us for a free Brown Bag session on social media, presented by Nicole Weather of ProWorks!
Do the words “social media” give you a migraine? They don’t have to. No, you don’t need to be on everything all time. Come learn about each of the major digital or social media platforms and which ones make sense for YOUR business… Even if you have never logged in to Facebook, you will find this introductory session helpful.
Nicole provides research, planning, and execution to assist businesses with marketing and public relations. She has worked in the marketing field for many years helping many different industries. She has a strong social networking background and familiarity with doing business on Facebook, Twitter, and other social sharing programs.
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Time: 12pm-1pm
Place: Corvallis Chamber of Commerce Large Conference Room
420 NW 2nd Street (see map here)
Willamette Startup Weekend Jan 25-27, OSU Campus – Kearney Hall / Co-sponsored by TAO/WIN Corvallis Chapter Startup Weekend is returning to Corvallis!
Startup Weekend is a global movement that has facilitated the launch over 5,000 startups, and has become the greatest engine on the planet for bringing together entrepreneurial talent to launch their dreams. Willamette Startup Weekend is a collaboration between organizers and sponsors in Corvallis and Eugene. We expect entrepreneurs and talent from around the region. It is rare opportunity, so don’t miss out! To learn more, and to register (space is limited), go to willamette.startupweekend.org
RSVP on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/133957940092328/
When: Friday November 16, 2012
Time: 7pm-9pm
Where: Dennis Hall at the First Presbyterian Church
The BEC is co-sponsoring Small Change, Big Change: Investing in Our Community, a forum on local economic development tools, taking place Friday, November 16, at the First Presbyterian Church (Dennis Hall), 114 SW 8th Street in Corvallis. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the program begins at 7 pm. The forum will feature presentations and discussion focused on community banking, local investing, developing cooperatives, and local currency.
This free public event will feature a combination of presentations and facilitated discussion, providing participants an opportunity to ask questions, offer ideas, and commit to action. Presenters include Christopher Legg of Occupy Corvallis, speaking about community banking; Amy Pearl of Springboard Innovation, exploring local investing; Cindee Lolik of First Alternative Co-op, discussing cooperatives; and Cheryl Good of HOUR Exchange, explaining how local currency works.
Both before and after the program, exhibitors will be on hand to share information about what their organizations are doing to help promote a strong local economy. Refreshments will be provided by First Alternative Co-op.
“Small Change, Big Change” is a collaborative effort of many organizations, including the Corvallis Independent Business Alliance (CIBA), the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, the Business Enterprise Center, Corvallis Chamber of Commerce, First Alternative Co-op, Occupy Corvallis, HOUR Exchange, Ten Rivers Food Web, the Main Street Alliance of Oregon, Friends of Family Farmers, and Oregon Banks Local.
“What does being effective at conversations have to do with being successful in business?”
Are you afraid to grow your business because you don’t want to be like other small business owners who are owned by their business? No more freedom! Author Michael Gerber suggests some recipes for avoiding this loss of freedom in his book, The EMyth: Why most small businesses don’t work and what to do about it. In it, he talks about how we can engage people in our products and services, by realizing that most of us want to feel apart of something larger, want to fulfill a sense of purpose. And you can only do that though engaging in conversations!
But how do you do those conversations? Susan Scott suggests practical ideas for learning the skill of conversation in her book, Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and In Life, One Conversation at a Time. She defines business as “fundamentally an ongoing conversation with customers, employees, vendors and even the emerging future.” Conversations with your community, such as your bankers or investors, are key to success! Fierce Conversations believes that conversation is a skill that anyone can learn if they want to.
Join Certified Fierce Conversations Facilitator, Cheryl R Good, in an overview of the core concepts in making these integral conversations successful. Learn the 4 objectives to a fierce conversation and the 7 principles of Fierce Conversations. Take up the challenge of viewing conversations differently by reviewing 3 Fierce Transformational Ideas.
Cheryl brings an insightful, fun approach to this content and uses her real world business experience as a Human Resources professional, meeting facilitator and business consultant to the table. For more information contact Cheryl at info [at] cherylrgood [dot] com or learn about Fierce Conversations© at www.fierceinc.com.
This free introduction to Fierce Conversations© is courtesy of Cheryl R Good. Have Cheryl come to your organization or non-profit for a similar event so that your entire team can learn these foundational principles. Contact Cheryl to make arrangements at 541.250.0471.
When: Wednesday October 17, 2012 12pm-1pm
Where: Corvallis Chamber of Commerce/420 NW 2nd St Corvallis, OR
Cost: Free
RSVPs are most appreciated.
Springboard Innovation is continuing its Re:Forum series with a panel discussion and workshop series September 13-15 in Portland. Local investing is gaining recognition as a promising new pathway to fund local innovation and build healthier communities. Learn more at one or more of the events listed below:
Thursday, September 13 | 5:30 – 8:00 pm
No matter your level of knowledge on local impact investing, we have built a forum and panel program for everyone who is interested and ready to invest in a strong local economy.
45 SW Naito Parkway Portland OR (Mercy Corps HQ)
$15 Pre-Registered | $20 at the door
REGISTER HERE
Workshops on September 14th & 15th
411 SW 6th Portland OR (EXPLANE’s office)
WORKSHOP #1: the Direct Public Offering – Part II of the Series
The national community finance expert Jenny Kassan of Cutting Edge Capital and others will be moving our DPO cohort from June to the next level in a special session on Friday. Bring your SCOR form and your team.
1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Workshop Fee: $149.00
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED– REGISTER HERE
WORKSHOP #2: Become a Smart Local Investor
We follow up the inspiration and possibilities from Thursday night’s panel with plans of action. We answer questions such as what are the legal parameters, how do I join a network of people doing similar things, where do I start in doing my due diligence et cetera. If you missed our first workshop in June, this is your chance to catch up.
9:00 am – 12pm
Workshop Fee: $25.00
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED– REGISTER HERE
WORKSHOP #3: Strategy Session for NW Ecosystem Builders
If you consult with entrepreneurs in your town, or are helping build local investing strategies, then this session is designed for you and your team. At our June Re:Forum we met ecosystem builders from six cities. Let’s continue the network for impact local investing. You will be the first to use the new local exchange. This workshop is designed for ecosystem builders who are transforming the way their towns and cities boost their local economies. Register here.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Workshop Fee: $25.00
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED– REGISTER HERE
A festival dedicated to startups is taking place in Portland this week, dubbed the Portland Digital eXperience. Activities include ”[...] speakers from Flipboard, Tumblr, Spotify, as well as more local names from outlets including Chirpify, Grove, and Cloudability, all on hand to cover both the intensely unique Portland spirit as well as larger industry trends. Events include a Startup Crawl through Portland’s Pearl District and Old Town neighborhoods, as well as a music hackathon to round out the festival.”
Read more here: http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/portland-digital-experience/
Event site here: http://musicfestnw.com/pdx/
Local attorney Kara Daley will be giving a brown bag on venture formation this coming Thursday June 7th at noon at the Business Enterprise Center conference room. The brown bag will explore the differences between different types of ventures, from Sole Proprietorships to Limited Liability Corporations, and the steps to creating each. This free session is aimed at anyone looking to start a business, change the status of their business, or who wants to learn more about venture formation.
Kara maintains a practice in Corvallis with the mission to provide clear explanations for complex issues making the law accessible to you. She has practiced law for 14 years and is currently a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and Director of Communications for the Linn Benton Bar Association.