Platinum & Gold Partners |
Charleston Area Charitable Foundation
|
Silver Partners |
Agracel
Bob and Karen Wolters
Citizens National Bank
City of Charleston
City of Paris
The Cromwell Group, Inc.
East Central Illinois Development Corporation
Edgar County Bank
Effingham County Board
First Neighbor Bank
Forysthe Family Farms
In Memory of Jack Clifford
Journal Gazette/Times Courier
Karen Wolters, Ignite, USA
Moultrie County Board
Paris Community Foundation
Paris First
U.S. Bank |
Other Partners |
Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce
Eastern Illinois Education for Employment Systems
Flesor Family Confectionary, Inc.
Fifth Third Bank
Frank and Cathy Brummer
Greater Effingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Lake Land College Tech Prep
Lorenz Supply Company
PEDCO
Schultz Investment Company
State Bank of Arthur
Terwilliger Agency
| |
|
Entrepreneurial Endeavors |
Greetings!
"The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old ones out." - Dee Hook
Fall is the time to clean closets and move all of the summer sports equipment and shorts to the attic to make room for the sweaters, boots and mittens needed for the cold weather ahead. Any good organizer would tell you that the time of transition is the time to get rid of the frayed, worn and outdated items to make room for the new. Let's also heed this advice with our minds and our organizations, so room can be made for creative innovative problem-solving solutions.
Fall also means back to school with the All Terrain Brain and Junior Achievement at the Mattoon and Charleston schools. We had a good crowd for the Prairie Spark Investment Forum, complete with the Effingham County CEO class in attendance.
Please note our new feature called "Nonprofit News" that focuses on the web-based goodWORKSconnect initiative sponsored by the Lumpkin Family Foundation. Also read about our efforts to highlight entrepreneurship on campus with the "Dorm Room Start-ups Panel Discussion".
As always, thank you to our sponsors listed in the left column. Without their support, these e-initiatives would not be possible.
Jeanne
Jeanne Dau Director
Business Solutions Center |
Consider EIU Student Interns for your Organization
Are you interested in having an EIU intern work in your office but didn't know where to call? The BSC has compiled a brochure with the various college internship contacts so you can easily find the student that will be the best match for your organization. Call now for the spring term.
|
New Teacher Resource CD Available
Check out this new resource available for integrating entrepreneurial activities into your classroom! Just email the Business Solutions Center at [email protected] and we will send you a free Youth Entrepreneurship Program Resource Guide that was compiled by Dr. Karen Drage and EIU students Max Estes and Danny Kolcz. It includes fun, free websites for all k-12 students.
|
Dorm Room Start-ups
Panel Discussion Tuesday, Nov. 17th
5-6:30 pm
Lumpkin Hall Auditorium
Eastern Illinois University Charleston, Illinois
Free Admission
What does being an entrepreneur really mean? Hear EIU's own student body discuss what it really means to be a student entrepreneur, how to overcome the adverse business environment and the steps they took to get their endeavors started. There will also be an opportunity to win prizes by identifying faculty entrepreneurs. Celebrate Entrepreneurship week by attending this event!
To register online, go to: http://cats.eiu.edu/bscRegistration/workshops.asp
|
New Junior Achievment Curriculum "It's My Business" is Well Received
Eighth graders at Charleston Middle School are enjoying new Junior Achievement (JA) curriculum "It's My Business" taught by business owners and EIU student business teachers. Students begin to identify entrepreneurial characteristics, learn to fill a need and recognize customer needs through E-Quiz Game Shows and experiential learning group projects.
Doug Bock, JA coordinator and BSC Volunteer of the Year, says, "The curriculum is very student friendly and provides hands-on experiences. The students also have a lot of fun learning about business."
We need one additional volunteer to teach a class for the fourth quarter. If you are interested, please contact the BSC at 581-2913. | |
Investment Forum
A new invention, a service rehab project and a retail expansion project pitched their plans in hopes of attracting investors at the first Prairie Spark Investment Forum held Sept. 3rd at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Systems Education Center. Representatives from Autonomic Materials, Red Barn Fun Center and Flesor's Candy Kitchen did a wonderful job presenting their ideas to the audience. The Effingham County CEO class were also in attendance to learn about how to give a business pitch. BSC Advisory Board member Bob Schultz served as the moderator for this event.
Plans are being made for a February Prairie Spark Investment Forum. If you are interested in participating, please contact Jeanne Dau at [email protected] or at 581-2913.
|
click logo to go to website
New Nonprofit Source
goodWORKSconnect is a web-based initiative to help nonprofit leaders, staff, and board members from all callings develop new professional relationships, share knowledge, and learn from each other. We hope goodWORKSconnect.org will help you:
Expand your network of relationships
Share success stories
Ask questions and get answers
Discuss ideas, and learn about opportunities
Share templates and forms to avoid "re-inventing the wheel"
Discover new websites, articles, books, videos, resources, etc.
|
SBA recently launched a new online training course: Winning Federal Contracts
This free online tutorial is a practical and easy to use guide that walks a woman-owned small business through the contracting process. SBA is committed to ensuring that women-owned businesses receive at least 5 percent of federal contracts and believes better training opportunities are central to meeting this government-wide goal. The self-paced guide uses audio and script to provide information about contract rules, how to sell to the government and where to find contracts. The Winning Federal Contracts course is available on SBA's Web site at www.sba.gov/fedcontractingtraining |
Disabilityworks Summit
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
8-11:30 am
Keller Convention Center
1202 N. Keller Drive, Effingham
Admission is Free
One out of every five people in the U.S. is a person with disabilities under the new 2008 amendments of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This free summit, sponsored by Disbilityworks and the Greater Effingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will offer employers an opportunity to learn the economic benefits of employing people with disabilities as well as how the ADA definition of disability has expanded to the current aging workforce. Learn how to hire, retain and accommodate people with disabilities successfully. | |
Stan Thurman, BSC Counselor, "Hot Links"
www.buzgate.org (Through this site, you can discover and connect with free small business help and entrepreneurship education in areas of small business funding, small business counseling, small business marketing, international business, small business technology, small business insurance and more. You can also access free small business help programs by state that are tailored to the interests and needs of women in business, veterans in business, minorities in business, self-employed individuals, business students and all entrepreneurs.) http://www.thesitewizard.com/ (website maintenance, coaching, training & tech advice) http://www.ftc.gov/freereports (The Federal Trade Commission site to ensure that you receive your FREE credit report from all three agencies listed below once every 12-months). |
Congratulations to the Newest SCORE Chapter in Illinois
Thank you to the 90 folks who attended the BSC/SCORE breakfast October 15th. Cindy Titus, Chapter President, accepted the charter from District SCORE officers Richard Rook(front), Dan Eaton and Gail Weinrich (back). |
As always, if you have any questions or suggestions on how the BSC can assist entrepreneurs, please don't hesitate to call us at 581-2913.
|
|
|