Events and Resources

Are you considering franchising your business but don't know where to start? Then check out the new online course offered by the SBA and FranNet, called "Franchising Basics." It's a free online seminar that will help you better understand franchising and decide if it's the best small-business option for you.

To view the course, visit the SBA website and select the "Free Online Training" icon. Look under the "Starting a Business" section, where you'll find the link to "Franchising Basics." Once you've registered, you can review the course at your own pace, and you'll receive a certificate upon completion.

Creative thinking, drive and passion often come easily to entrepreneurs. However, technological savvy and the time needed to read Syndicating Web Sites With RSS Feeds For Dummies or Wikipedia's entry on "Web 2.0," often does not. That's where Lee and Sachi LeFever and The Common Craft Show step in. Since 2007, the duo has been making short, semi-animated videos translating tech-talk, like RSS, wikis, and podcasting, into laymen's terms.

The videos not only catch you up to the dizzying speed of technological advances, but also can be used as tools for business. They can create custom videos to train employees, explain a new product or campaign, or simply provide a fun addition to your business's website. The show is free for personal viewing, but better-quality, downloadable, licensed versions are available for purchase.

Marci Alboher's "Shifting Careers" blog of The New York Times makes a case for wikis and uses a video from Common Craft as one way to simplify technology and use it for your business endeavors. --Whitney Chen

Here's an SBA initiative that's sure to take the food crisis and economic slump head on. The SBA is launching their new initiative, the Emerging 200, geared toward inner-city businesses that show a high potential for success. By learning to sustain themselves, these 200 selected businesses can increase their outreach and impact, generating new jobs, and attracting more investors to bring up the local economy.

The SBA is also working to improve small businesses' credit access in rural areas. The program offers inner-city businesses the opportunity to be mentored by peers and experts and to attend workshops and develop expansion strategies, all in hopes of assisting areas challenged by low-income and high unemployment rates.

The SBA and its partners are currently selecting participants, and the program is expected to last from May to December. Cities that have been selected for this initiative include Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Philadelphia. For a list of the rest of the cities, and to read more on the initiative's goals, click here.--Jessica Chen

"Nearly $1 trillion in contracts are available to veterans nationwide that are entrepreneurs," said Angela Shinn, assistant deputy director, Arizona Department of Veterans' Services, Veterans Business Advocate Group. The problem, Shinn said, is that many vets aren't aware of them.

At the Arizona Veterans' Small Business Conference, taking place on June 11 and 12, 2008, veterans will learn how to maximize contract procurement for their businesses. The conference, which will be held at the Fort McDowell Resort and Casino in Scottsdale, Arizona, will include discussions, workshops and seminars on networking, partnering and marketing your business. More details and registration information can be found on their website.

Another great resource is the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE). Their website not only lists upcoming events and conferences like the one above, but also provides basic tips and resources for starting a business, in addition to business coaching and franchise opportunities.--Whitney Chen

Yes, according to research done by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). "Our research shows that small firms are twice as innovative per employee as larger firms, and the companies who entered demonstrate that fact," said NFIB president and CEO Todd Stottlemyer. The companies that Stottlemyer's referring to are the 10 finalists for the fifth annual Dell/NFIB Small Business Excellence Award. To find out who made the cut, go to the award website.

The finalists will now compete for the national award, to be announced June 9 at the National Small Business Summit in Washington, DC.

Business.gov has gone green. Check out the green release of the website. The green launch was planned in conjunction with Earth Day, and includes a host of tools for small-business owners wanting to help their business become more eco-friendly. The site now offers green tips for both small and home based businesses, in addition to a new search widget for environmental regulations and business practices. Business.gov also shares several new resources for green vendors, green product procurement, and making environmental claims.

The site will stay green through the end of May, but all green content will remain.

Think of it as making your own treasure map--with your store or business as the treasure. Wayfaring.com facilitates any person's wanderlust by allowing users to create personalized, shareable maps. Bolstered by Google Maps technology, the user can landmark various locations like favorite restaurants or knitting stores, and share them with others.

Not only can this tool locate the hottest restaurants, coffee shops and pubs, but it can also create custom, convenient routes to your store, saving clientele and employees the time and headache of getting lost. If you'd rather make the experience of finding your business--well, an experience--try partnering up with local businesses or organizations (like recycling locations or charity donation sites, for example) and mark them as key stops along the way.--Whitney Chen

In September, we mentioned an entrepreneurial competition to find some of the best new business ideas in America. It's called You Be the VC, and it's an open call to entrepreneurs with brilliant tech ideas. Bang Ventures, a New York-based investment firm, came up with the contest to allow people from all walks of life to compete for resources to start their own companies. 

The first few stages of the competition have concluded, and now, the fate of the19 finalists is in your hands. Cast your vote for the most deserving entrepreneur after viewing the video elevator pitch of each finalist. The top ideas range from paperless coupons to royalty-free media to advertising-subsidized wireless services.

Your vote must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, April 30. Winners will be announced on May 23. The winners will spend the summer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, working with a team of expert consultants, advisors and programmers to build their dream startup company.

The SBA lauded two business owners, a mayor, and a volunteer yesterday at National Small Business Week in Washington, DC who rose in the face of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. The Phoenix Awards for Small Business Disaster Recovery and Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery went to Henry L. Coaxum Jr., owner of Coaxam Enterprises, Inc., Scott Smith, president and CEO of Cellect, LLC, Mayor Kenneth Boswell of Enterprise, Ala., and Melinda Bygate of Summerfield, FL. for displaying exceptional courage, resourcefulness, and tenacity.

From managing employees to taking millions of dollars worth of loans for relief efforts, they truly embodied the entrepreneurial spirit of hard work and creating solutions to aid their businesses and communities.

President Bush, in his speech at National Small Business Week, put it simply: "Do you have the perseverance to endure the bad times, and the humility to handle the good times?" Bush acknowledged that our economy is, indeed, in a bad time. Though he says thanks to many small businesses continuing to be innovative and resilient, we will come out of these times stronger.

A lawyer-turned-entrepreneur was the recipient of the title National Small Business of the Year at the U.S. Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week 2008. Shawn Boyer, the award recipient, started SnagAJob.com in 2000 after a friend asked for help finding a summer internship online. When Boyer noticed the absence of websites geared toward internships or hourly jobs, he researched the business, left his job as a lawyer, found venture capital and started the company.

Eight years later, Boyer's business has grown from just two employees to 110 full-time employees.  The company grossed sales of $11 million in 2007.

To read about the runners-up and to follow the events of National Small Business Week, check out the National Small Business Week website.

The SBA's National Small Business Week kicks off today in Washington, D.C. and runs through Friday, April 25. If you can't attend in person, the SBA is offering live webcasts for all award events (excluding the opening reception) and forums. Simply go to the National Small Business Week website on the day and time of the event. Speakers and forums will focus on healthcare, procurement, trade and energy.

You can also view a free web seminar on leadership communications hosted by Liminal Group on Thursday, April 24 from 11:00 a.m. to noon (EST). Granville Toogood, a well-respected executive communications consultant, will share insight on how to speak effectively and confidently before a large audience, with employees and with customers.---Whitney Chen

The Women Presidents' Organization is taking over Boston next week for the 11th annual WPO conference. From April 24 to 26, women business leaders will be listening to speakers and attending interactive seminars at The Westin Copley Place--and Entrepreneur will be on the scene. I will be there to speak with and learn from some of the most powerful and influential women in the U.S.

The WPO is a nonprofit membership organization for women presidents' of multimillion dollar companies. On average, members have annual sales of $12 million, 89 employees and 21 years in business.

The conference kicks off on Thursday, April 24 with a keynote speech by Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Blink. The theme of the conference is Innovation: Maintaining the Competitive Edge. For more information about the schedule and registration, click here.

Last October, we told you about the microlending site, Kiva.org. Now, the site--which helps developing-world entrepreneurs achieve their business dreams--has partnered up with Advanta to up the ante. It's called KivaB4B, and through it, customers can make small loans to Kiva entrepreneurs using Advanta business credit cards. Once a grant has been issued by an Advanta small-business customer, Advanta will match each grant dollar for dollar, capping at $200 per month, per account.

Advanta currently has 1.3 million billion small-business customers. The program estimates that if only 1 percent of those customers made a one-time grant for $50 through Kiva, developing-world entrepreneurs would receive $1.3 million.

The entrepreneur has a lot to do in a day: finance the business, develop the product and plans, hire talented and motivated employees and--occasionally--sleep. Sitting down and enjoying news or articles in print or online isn't always an option.

Enter Brijit.com. Editors read The New York Times, The Economist, ESPN Magazine, and even some episodes of "This American Life," (to name a few) and summarize articles in a bite-sized 100 words or fewer. This is great for the person (or entrepreneur) who, instead of a newspaper or magazine, carries a PDA or laptop and doesn't have time to search bookmarked sites. A rating system also saves time by letting you know which full articles (linked to the abstracts) are worth the time to read.

There's certainly nothing wrong with staying current, tucking a few "hey, did you know that's" under your belt for a casual conversation and being entertained--especially if it only takes a couple minutes.--Whitney Chen

Last week, Microsoft Office Live Small Business held its first Vision to Venture event, an entrepreneurial conference for new and veteran women entrepreneurs.  The event featured discussions and presentations by experts including Rich Sloan, author and co-founder of StartupNation , Susan Wilson Solovic, author and co-founder of Small Business Television , and John Jantsch, author and founder of Duct Tape Marketing . The day-long conference, which debuted in St. Louis, will travel to four more sites over the next month. After May 15, the conference will be available as an on-demand webcast and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Dress for Success, a nonprofit that provides interview suits, confidence boosts and career development to low-income women in more than 75 cities worldwide. --Lindsay Holloway