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CheerleaderandchampionResource Brokerearly developer SEMO Road TripCapacity Builder
October 2009
In This Issue
Internship Opportunities
Teacher Resource CD
Dorm Room Start-ups
Junior Achievement Class
Prairie Spark Investment Forum
goodWORKSconnect
Winning Federal Contracts Training
Disabilityworks Summit
Stan's Links

Quick Links

Platinum & Gold Partners
Charleston Area Charitable Foundation
 
 
 
EIU
 
Lumpkin Family Foundation
 
MIdland States Bank
 
Consolidated Comm.
 
First Mid
 
First Neighbor Bank
 
Singleton Law Firm logo 
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

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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 Any good organizer would tell you that the time of transition is the time to get rid of the frayed, worn and outdated items to make room for the new.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
Brian Richards InternConsider 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
                                
                                                                      
 ATB girl
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
 
SEMO Road TripWhat 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

Or call the BSC at 217-581-2913 - email [email protected] 
JA2009New 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.  
 
Bock and GarretDoug 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.
Prairie Spark Logo
        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.
 
SEMO Road Trip  SEMO Road Trip
 
goodWORKSconnect  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.

Check out this thread submitted by Toq Lawrence on succession planning: http://www.goodworksconnect.org/organizational-development/132-succession-planning-information
 

SBA recently launched a new online training course: SBA LogoWinning 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 
RSVP at 217-342-4147, or [email protected]
 
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).
 
SCORE logoSEMO Road Trip
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.
 
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