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Greetings!
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Kelly Manning
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2012 continues with more exciting happenings in the SBDC Network and in Colorado's economic development. On January 27th the SBDC celebrated the achievement of last year's Leading Edge graduates. Congratulations again to all our graduates for your outstanding achievement! Be sure and read more about the graduation and about the winners of our annual business plan completion and special award recipients.
Colorado continues to be on the world stage. Governor Hickenlooper along with Ken Lund, Executive Director of the Office of Economic Development and Int. Trade, recently attended the World Economic Forum. There they met with other business, political, and academic leaders from around the world to discuss global, regional, and industry agendas. If you too are involved in international business, be sure and consider applying for the 2012 Governor's Award for Excellence in Exporting.
Other great news and exciting opportunities below. Check in with your local SBDC center for workshops and events in your area.
Sincerely,
Kelly Manning
State Director
Colorado Small Business Development Centers
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Leading Edge Graduation & Awards Ceremony  | | |
On January 27th the Colorado SBDC held its Annual Leading Edge Graduation and Awards Ceremony. Graduates of the Leading Edge program were honored for their achievement, and awards were presented to the winners of the annual business plan competition. Additionally, Counselor of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, and Sponsor of the Year were also recognized.
This event was made possible by our wonderful sponsors: Accion, Colorado Lending Source, Great Divide Brewing, Left Hand Brewing Co., D'Vine Wine and Ceylon Pearl. We thank you for your support of the Colorado SBDC and small business entrepreneurs!
Business Plan Winners
1st Place honors went to Kurt Fulwider and his plan for St. Bon's Café, a gluten free deli and bakery. Kurt's concise yet thorough plan showed a very clear vision of where his business is and what actions are necessary to drive it forward. Kurt attended Leading Edge through the South Metro Denver SBDC.
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Kurt Fulwider is awarded 1st place in the business plan competition. (L-R Kelly Manning - SBDC State Director, Kurt Fulwider, Marie Peters - SBDC Associate State Director, Nicole Christianson - Colorado Lending Source) Photo courtesy of Chuck Hahn.
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2nd Place was awarded to Lynne Vickerstaff and her plan for Little Weedz, LLC, a clothing company that designs dresses and skirts for little girls. In addition to such quality sections as Market Analysis, Researching the Customer, and Sales Distribution & Strategy, the plan also contained thorough financials examining key elements of Break-Even Analysis and Profit and Loss. Lynne attended Leading Edge through the Southwest Colorado SBDC.
3rd Place honors went to Midian Crosby and her plan for Monster Midian Makeup & Effects, LLC. Midian provides special effects makeup and props for the film, television, print, performance and Halloween industries. This visually stunning and unique plan instantly grabs the attention of readers and not only informs them about the business but entertains as well.
Counselor, Volunteer, and Sponsor of the Year
These winners were nominated by Center Directors. Here are some excerpts from the explanations behind their nominations.
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Volunteer of the Year Diana Royce Smith(right) with SBDC Associate State Director Marie Peters(middle) and SBDC State Director Kelly Manning(left). Photo courtesy of Chuck Hahn.
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Volunteer of the Year - Diana Royce Smith (Boulder SBDC)
"The many contributions that Diana Royce Smith has made to the Boulder SBDC over the past 10+ years have included providing expert SBDC consulting to our clients, presenting specialized workshops and developing and launching entirely new program formats. In addition, Diana took on the challenge to redevelop the Center's Business Plan Essentials workshop and she has done a stellar job."
Counselor of the Year - Helen Roe (Grand Junction SBDC)
"Helen works 'on call' for the SBDC, is a loan officer with the Mesa County Revolving Loan Fund, a board member of the Mesa County Fair Grounds as well as serving other nonprofits within our community. Leading Edge students and other SBDC clients have described Helen's services as that of "doing the heavy lifting" or rolling the sleeves up and helping clients understand higher level financials. In addition to all of this, Helen teaches "Bookkeeping Bootcamp" for the SBDC and gets consistently high reviews."
Sponsor of the Year - Metro State College of Denver, School of Business (Denver Metro SBDC)
"Metro State has been a great supporter of the Denver Metro SBDC, for the last 5 years they have invested $75k into our program and we have partnered to offer services to our clients through the Strategic Business Analysis program. This program which the College sees as an important part of their students experiential learning, has engaged approximately 200 students and has helped approximately 35 small businesses."
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Angel Capital Summit 2012
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Angel Capital Summit 2012
March 21-22 Daniels College of Business, University of Denver Campus
The Rockies Venture Club will be hosting its fifth Angel Capital Summit focused on connecting investors and entrepreneurs with a "learn - see - do" schedule, beginning with a full day of Investor and Entrepreneur Boot Camps, followed by interactive "pitches" by up to forty entrepreneurs seeking funding for their companies and an Investor Forum for angel investors to collaborate. The Summit is a highly interactive event in which attendees will each receive $100,000 in "Venture Bucks" that they can "invest" in their favorite companies. The winning companies will receive valuable prizes and services as well as great visibility leading up to the Investor Forum where the real investments are made.
This year the Angel Capital Summit will host a new "Investor Forum" following the entrepreneur "pitches" where angels and accredited investors will review and discuss the investment opportunities and collaborate on due diligence and negotiation. The Summit will be hosted at the DU Daniels School of business and will be supported by an on-line selection process based on The Business Catapult system. (www.businesscatapult.com) Entrepreneurs are invited to submit an application to participate by visiting www.angelcapitalsummit.org . Submission are due by February 20th.
When: March 21- 22
Where: Daniels College of Business DU Campus
Submit: Business Plans-www.AngelCapitalSummit.org
Due: February 20
Email - info@rockiesventureclub.org
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5th Annual Southern Colorado Small Business Expo
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SBDC Director Donna Wehe Presents Incentive Recommendations
| |  Donna Wehe, Center Director for San Luis Valley SBDC, recently presented incentive recommendations to the Alamosa City Council. Donna analyzed the cities current case-by-case policy towards incentives and gave suggestions on developing a new policy. Read more about her presentation here. |
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Re-organization of Northwest Colorado SBDC
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Due to high consumer demand and a need to assist entrepreneurs in the mountain region, Colorado Mountain College (CMC) and the Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) are excited to announce the re-organization of the Northwest Colorado SBDC.
The SBDC will focus on bringing numerous consultants and volunteers to provide much needed free and confidential counseling with low-cost training.
The renewed partnership between SBDC and CMC will represent a change in structure. The SBDC coordinator will manage a team of consultants and instructors who will provide small business services to the Northwest Colorado region from Frisco to Aspen. Training programs will be created throughout the region on topics such as start up, marketing, social networking, human resource requirements, and business planning to obtain financial capital.
SBDC consulting is still available in the Northwest Colorado SBDC region by contacting Alex Markovich, SBDC Special Projects Manager at alex.markovich@state.co.us or 303-892-3809.
To become a volunteer, consultant or the new Northwest Colorado SBDC Coordinator, please contact Kelly Manning, SBDC State Director at kelly.manning@state.co.us.
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Subcontractor Outreach Event
| |  CLARK CONSTRUCTION GROUP (An Equal Opportunity Employer) invites the area Subcontractors and Suppliers, Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women Owned Small Business, HUBZone Business, Veteran Owned and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business Enterprise to an informational meeting for:
MOUNTAINVIEW-OPERATIONS FACILITY CHILLER PLANT AND POWER PLANT PROJECT
Located at Buckley AFB, Aurora, Colorado
February 16, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
DoubleTree by Hilton, 13696 E. Iliff Place, Aurora, CO
303-337-2800
SF328 Forms are required by USACE to bid the project. Submit the completed forms by Feb. 17 to molly.huddleston@clarkconstruction.com. Forms and instructions are available at:
Bid Date: On or about April 17, 2012
https://order.e-arc.com/arcEOC/x_project.asp?de=974d1416-cb96-45ce-8671-954348d2ccb3
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2012 Governor's Award for Excellence in Exporting
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The 2012 Governor's Award for Excellence in Exporting symbolizing the governor's recognition of Colorado's leaders in international business.
 Awards will be presented at the World Trade Center Denver's World Trade Day 2012 on May 17, 2012. Award recipients receive: two complimentary registrations to World Trade Day, opportunity for brief remarks at World Trade Day and a news release
To apply  online, click here. Deadline for applications is 3/9/2012
2011 Recipients StoneAge Inc. Abound Solar Magnolia Trading, LLC RNL Design
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Colorado Creative Industries Summit: April 12-13, 2012
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The Colorado Creative Industries Summit will provide inspiration, networking and learning opportunities for Colorado creatives. Artist-entrepreneurs, owners of creative sector businesses, nonprofit cultural workers, and emerging creatives will come together for this inaugural event.
The theme of the summit will be Cultivating Common Ground and will feature keynotes and
 workshops featuring Colorado creatives who are talented, inspiring, and motivational. The Governor's Arts Award event will be the culminating luncheon on the second day of the Summit, celebrating a Colorado town or city that has effectively employed the arts and creative activity as a strategy for community and economic development.
Registration available in mid February. |
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Governor Hickenlooper promotes CO on world stage
| |  Governor Hickenlooper recently attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He was joined by Ken Lund, Executive Director of the Office of Economic Development & International Trade. Read Gov. Hickenlooper's article in the Denver Post about his experience at the forum. |
Upcoming Events
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Colorado Springs
Wednesday, February 22nd Funding Your Business SBDC (UCCS Campus: 1420 Austin Bluffs) 2:00pm - 4:00pm Cost: $20 Tuesday, February 28th Social Media for Business SBDC (UCCS Campus: 1420 Austin Bluffs) 2:30pm - 5:00pm Cost: $30 Register here. San Luis Valley Thursday, March 8th Quickbooks for Beginners At the Hub, 3330 Clark Street Alamosa, CO 81101 5:30pm - 7:30pm Cost: $25/person Register with Donna Wehe at 719-589-3682 South Metro Denver Thursday, February 23rd Business Plan Basics South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce 2154 E. Commons Ave., Suite 342 Centennial, CO 80122 6:30pm - 8:30pm Cost: No charge Register here. Tuesday, March 6th Legal Series: Value Drivers Diagnostic (Driving Value for Your Business) South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce 2154 E. Commons Ave., Suite 342 Centennial, CO 80122 8:00am - 10:00am
Cost: $25 (Breakfast included)
Register here. North Metro Wednesday, February 22nd The Employee Life Cycle 6:30pm - 8:30pm Cost: Free Southern Colorado Tuesday, February 28th Get a "Y.O.B" (Your Own Business) Panel Presentation Pueblo Community College - Occhiato Theater 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Cost: Free
Boulder
March 9th - May 25th Leading Edge Growth Series Boulder Chamber 2440 Pearl Street Boulder, CO 80302 8:30am - 11:30am Cost: $495Register Here March 6th - May 18th Leading Edge for Start-Up Businesses Boulder Chamber 2440 Pearl Street Boulder, CO 80302 6:00pm - 9:00pm Cost: $495 Register Here |
 Colorado Small Business Development Center a division of
Colorado Office of Economic Development
& International Trade
1625 Broadway, Suite 2700
Denver, CO 80202 |
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