Meetup Ratings and Featured Comments
Number: 18 recent ratings
Average:
"I think people should think about joining this group because of all the resources and assistance that is being offerred."
"Knowledge is key to the business professional. This is a great way to learn new ways of doing things and for ideas to enhance business skills. The Group is also a whole lot of fun!"
"Kent, This is an opportunity for me to step outside my area of expertise & after 30 years in real estate to continue to maintain & rejuvenate myself with Zig Zigler's high of "when I help enough people get what they want, I get what I want", by enjoying the folks in the group who have that initial thrust of high energy & enthusiasm as they pursue their passion & begin their new business ventures & adventures. I believe it is a great support group to be used as a resource to find those who have been through the process ahead of you, who can offer solutions or words of encouragement."
"My impression at this first meeting is that the group is very diverse. I enjoyed meeting the other members and look forward to the next event."
"So far so good! Been enjoying it tremendously, although it is my only social outlet which might warp my view a bit! Great job Kent!"
"It's inspiring to hear about other enterpreneurs, and you get plenty of chances to network."
"I think the meetup group will be great and I will attend again, perhaps a better topic will be presented."
"It was my first event and I plan on being a regular attendee!"
"Good opportunity to gather useful information about entrepreneurship."
"I enjoyed listening to the representatives. THanks,"
"Valuable group. Kent is doing an excellent job organizing it and growing it."
"Interesting mix of people; more time to network is critical to making these gatherings valuable."
"This was a great experience with a lot of interesting people:)"
"We will be attending more meetings. Thanks."
"i think the group can be good depending on the topics/progam which is put together around the meetings. "
NEW IOWA ENTREPRENEURIAL CENTER
Most small business owners start their own companies to gain a more balanced life, with more money and freedom. So why do many of them find themselves too busy running the company to truly enjoy the fruits of their labors, let alone effectively lead? Does this sound like you?
Are you ready to start working on your business - not just in it? The New Iowa Entrepreneurial Center, in partnership with the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers and small business service providers, is pleased to provide you with access to educational, consulting, and training opportunities designed to help you better manage growth, achieve higher productivity, increase revenues, gain a competitive advantage, AND get more out of life. The result? A positive, predictable experience for your customers, a dynamic environment for your employees, and greater owner's equity and ROI for you and your business.
What will you gain? The first phase of the New Iowa Entrepreneurial Center program will commence with regular meetings of the meetup group and will evolve to become the primary location for small business owners from Central Iowa to engage in Education, Netwoprking and Advocac
Networking
During the winter and early spring of 2006, the Collaborative and its partner organizations (listed in the approved grant scope of work) developed and organized an outline for a blended course focused on entrepreneurial education. The course curriculum and learning outcomes are based on foundational elements gleaned from dozens of sources including entrepreneurship research, traditional higher education curriculum, state and federal government resources, private sector providers and on-line entrepreneurial curriculums. The Collaborative staff accomplished most of this work through the ?in-kind? efforts of the Collaborative staff along with resources and expertise from our partner organizations.
In March of 2006, the Collaborative and its partners unveiled the "New Iowa" Entrepreneurial Center. The New Iowa Entrepreneurial Center is located in the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center in Des Moines and is charged with providing education, networking and advocacy experiences for entrepreneurs and new business owners. The New Iowa Center is also charged with promoting entrepreneur-friendly public policies, and (through education) facilitating the sustainability of new businesses by entrepreneurs and others which have great promise for improving the economic welfare of Iowa.
The staff began recruiting eligible business owners and small business managers to join the first of three cohorts that would field test an experimental blended curriculum and course experience along with testing an on-line means of course content delivery. We planned to have the first cohort in place during May of 2006. Unfortunately, the market failed to respond at the level our focus groups and research have anticipated.
During the summer of 2006 the Collaborative staff reorganized the New Iowa Entrepreneurial Program at the Pappajohn Center and formed a partnership with the Iowa Entrepreneurs? Coalition. In September 2006 we began to recruit small business owners and entrepreneurs to join the new effort through http://entrepreneur.m.... Beginning with only seven small business members in September 2007 the New Iowa group now boasts 177 members. This exciting group is a strategic collaboration between the Iowa Entrepreneurs' Coalition (Advocacy) and the New Iowa Entrepreneurial Center (Education and Networking). Each meeting includes a specific educational opportunity as well as the networking component.
The monthly meetings are usually hosted at the Pappajohn Center where this group is linked to several business and professional development opportunities each month and introduced to dozens of public and private sector resources designed to assist small business growth. The members also use the meetings to establish their personal network of local entrepreneurs and share tips and problem solving techniques, get advice on profitability and career and discuss mentoring and business models.
Education
New Iowa Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative
Several members of the New Iowa Entrepreneurial Group along with representatives of partnering organizations, serve on the curriculum development and review task force for the ?New Iowa? Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative. The Initiative is a dynamic new approach to entrepreneurship education and was created to support new business ventures in Iowa and to assist in the development of the knowledge and skills necessary to create such endeavors.
The course is designed to provide participants exposure to essential business skills, including the ability to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, create a sound business plan, launch their own small businesses, and improve their local communities. During the ten sessions of the New Iowa Entrepreneurial Leadership training course, participants are provided the nuts-and-bolts lessons that are essential for taking a business at any stage to the next level. At the end of the foundation experience, the participants will be better able to access support and referral networks that direct entrepreneurs to the right local resource (public or private) at the right time.
Each of the first eight course sessions is designed as stand alone units. At the same time, the course as a whole is designed and structured around the National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Education www.entre-ed.org which includes detail instructional objectives with individual performance indicators for the participants. There are 403 performance indicators in the National Content Standards which allow the ?New Iowa? Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative facilitators and instructors to connect with the broad scope of essentials that practicing entrepreneurs indicate individuals must know and be able to do in order to have success as an entrepreneur.
Session 1 - What Is Entrepreneurship?
Introducing participants to the course and foundational indicators of entrepreneurial behavior
Session 2 - What It Takes To Be an Entrepreneur
Introducing participants to the personal and work skill characteristics of entrepreneurs
Session 3 - The ABCs of Business Organization
Introducing participants to the advantages and disadvantages of the various legal structures for business organization and operations
Session 4 - Ideas and Opportunities
Introducing participants to the process of generating ideas, evaluating the opportunities stemming from those ideas and translating that knowledge into a business proposition/business case
Session 5 - Challenges For New Business Owners
Introducing participants to business organization based on the E-Myth Seven Centers of Business Excellence? model for business organization and analysis
Session 6 - Planning Your Business Venture
The participants utilize the knowledge and concepts from Sessions 1-5 to organize all the necessary research surrounding their business concept and begin building the Business Case for their proposal
Session 7 - Building a Business Plan ? Answering the Key Questions
Introducing the participants to the structure and essential elements of the business plan and begin the intensive tutoring and mentoring needed to fully develop the business proposition into a comprehensive business plan
Session 8 - Building a Business Plan ? Getting Money to Start Your Business
Introducing participants to the variety of business financing mechanisms and financial services (private and public) available to entrepreneurs and small business owners
Session 9 - Guided Work Session ? Fine Tuning Your Business Plan
Intensive session with participant mentors and advisors completing the detailed business plan
Session 10 - Presentation of Business Plan and Award of Certificate
Each participant or team will present their business plan to a panel of judges and awards are presented
Advocacy
The New Iowa Entrepreneurial Center helps small business get involved in public policy discussions at the local, state and federal; levels of government.
As part of the effort to encourage political activism in the small-business community, The Iowa Entrepreneur's Coalition joined the efforts of the New Iowa Entrepreneurial Center. From time to time the members will be asked to participate in a grassroots advocacy that utilizes the latest online technologies and other tools helpful in promoting a progressive small-business agenda in Iowa.
New Iowa Entrepreneurial Center puts you--the small-business owner--in the spotlight by featuring your stories of entrepreneurship and political action. Real-life experiences of small-business owners are key to this effort, where you are encouraged to upload information about your activism for small-business issues and learn from others as well.
As the political season intensifies, standing up for small business becomes even more critical.
DMHEC - New Iowa Center