BSI

Becoming Bankable


Tuesday, May 5th, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Parkway Central Library, Room 108

1901 Vine Street, 19103

Do you need money to start or grow your business?  Find out how to get funders to the table!  Presenters from the Enterprise Center Capital Corporation will provide insight on what you need to know about getting a small business loan and tips and tools for creating a strong application.

 

The Enterprise Center Capital Corporation (TEC-CC) helps finance businesses that have difficulty obtaining loans from traditional sources. With a focus on women- and minority-owned businesses, TEC-CC originates loans from $2,500 to $200,000.  TEC-CC also provides technical assistance to businesses with the help of its parent organization, The Enterprise Center

 

Click here to register or call 215-686-5394 for more information. 

Energizing Entrepreneurial Excellence: 

How Small Business Owners Participate in Philadelphia's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Wednesday, May 13th, 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Parkway Central Library, Montgomery Auditorium

 

Do you want to think more strategically about your business?  Need to increase your awareness of the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem in Philadelphia? Do you want to expand your network of resources? If you answered yes to these questions, this event is for you. 

 

Panel Discussion and Q & A featuring:

 

Moderator: Wayne Wormley

Management and Organizational Consultant, The Wormley Company

 

George Slook, Small Business Consultant, MetaFocus

"Business Planning"

 

Julie Smith, President Elect, Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners

"Marketing & Technology"

 

Stephen Allan McCollister, Private Financial Consultant, Licensee, WEICHERT Referral Associates Co., Inc.

"Insider Tips on Business Loans"

 

Michael Pearson, President & CEO of Union Packaging

"Putting It All Together"

 

Please join us to meet the panelists in the Skyline Room immediately following the panel discussion. Breakout sessions will be held nearby in the 4th Floor Conference Rooms.

 

Click here to register or call 215-686-5394.  

Business Plan Toolkit: Using Library Resources to Create a Winning Business Plan 

Tuesdays, May 12th, 19th, & 26th, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Parkway Central Library, Ground Floor Tech Lab

1901 Vine Street, 19103

 

Are you a committed entrepreneur who is ready to take the next step?

 

Please join us for this three-part series. Learn to use the library resources to research your business plan professionally.

 

This class is designed as a series. You are encouraged to attend all three sessions.

 

Tuesday, May 12th at 6:30 PM

Part I: Get an introduction to business plans and start researching the competition.

 

Tuesday, May 19th at 6:30 PM

Part II: Target your audience by learning to find and use demographic information.

 

Tuesday, May 26th at 6:30 AM

Part III: Gain executive perspective by learning to research your industry; then work on developing your financial plan.

 

A Free Library card and basic computer skills are a prerequisite. 

 

Space is limited to 12 people per class. Tickets are available 30 minutes before class begins in the lobby of the library.You must show your Free Library card in order to receive a ticket.

 

Call 215-686-5394 for more information. 

Next month!

 

Maximizing Your American Experience: Life Stories of Succeeding in a Foreign Environment

Wednesday, June 3rd, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Parkway Central Library, Room 108

 

James Chan, an independent business consultant who came to study in America in 1971, will give an inspirational talk on how he transformed himself from a shy, clueless foreign student and immigrant into becoming a management consultant advising Fortune 500 companies.

He will recount personal stories of hardships, self-discovery and psychological transformations that enabled him to succeed against daunting odds. He will offer insights on his S.P.A.R.E approach toward self-invention to help you maximize your American experience and learn to succeed in a foreign environment.

 

James will bring copies of his book, Spare Room Tycoon: Succeeding Independently, the 70 Lessons of Sane Self-Employment. This talk will benefit small business owners, new immigrants and people who feel that their lives are in limbo.

 

Click here to register or call 215-686-5394 for more information.  

Of interest!

 

Leading Voices: George Bodenheimer | Every Town is a Sports Town: Business Leadership at ESPN, from the Mailroom to the Boardroom 

Wednesday, May 13th, 8:00 AM 

Parkway Central Library

 

Continental breakfast served at 7:30.
 

Cable industry pioneer George Bodenheimer was ESPN's longest-tenured president, from 1998 to 2011, during which time he shepherded the sports network into becoming a ubiquitous daily presence in broadcasting, as well as overseeing all the multimedia sports assets of the Walt Disney Company. Not bad for a guy who started in the fledgling network's mailroom.  One of the Sports Business Journal's 50 most influential people, Bodenheimer was ESPN's executive chairman from 2012 - 2014. Every Town Is a Sports Town is a memoir of his remarkable tenure at one of cable's most popular channels and hard-wrought lessons about crisis, success, business, and life.

 

In conversation with Tracey Matisak.

 

Book included with regular ticket. Student ticket does not include a book.

 

Cost: $35 General Admission

*Receive a $20 discount when you enter the code Ravenbiz. 

That includes a book!


Registration required 
 

 

For more information, call the Author Events Office at 215-567-4341 or email authorevents@freelibrary.org.

Three Free Online Courses for Entrepreneurs

 

Whether you are launching your business or you're a seasoned entrepreneur these highly rated free online courses offer general lessons in entrepreneurship education from which anyone can benefit. Learn at your own pace on your own time.

 

"Success in business can be greatly enhanced with an understanding of key entrepreneurial characteristics and competencies solutions. This interactive course provides potential entrepreneurs with the knowledge of succeeding in an entrepreneurial opportunity. Topics include: how creativity, opportunity and feasibility are best evaluated; business strategies for new businesses; importance of a business plan; achieving success in a new business. At the end of the course students will have the skills and confidence to evaluate starting a business, in addition to becoming more enterprising in how they approach their roles should they decide to work in organizations."

 

"Many seemingly great ideas and technologies come to a sudden halt in the face of one simple, inescapable question: 'Who is your customer?' Join MIT in your entrepreneurial journey as you discover your startups most essential resource - the customer. This is entrepreneurship - so don't expect a lecture. Every class session will be an in-depth and focused case study of MIT entrepreneurs from areas as diverse as mobile applications, 3D printing, power electronics, international development, and watchmaking. You will learn, through the stories of MIT entrepreneurs, how to go from idea or technology to the necessary understanding of who and why will want to buy your product. Course assignments will be real-life exercises that will guide you through a series of concrete, practical, and effective steps that will help you make your idea very real."

 

"In an introduction to the basics of the famous Customer Development Process, Steve Blank provides insight into the key steps needed to build a successful startup. The main idea in this course is learning how to rapidly develop and test ideas by gathering massive amounts of customer and marketplace feedback. Many startups fail by not validating their ideas early on with real-life customers. In order to mitigate that, students will learn how to get out of the building and search for the real pain points and unmet needs of customers. Only with these can the entrepreneur find a proper solution and establish a suitable business model. Building a startup is not simply building an execution plan for a business model that the entrepreneur thinks will work, but rather, a search for the actual business model itself."

 

Get started today! 


For more information contact the Business, Science and Industry Department!

 

215-686-5394

erefbsi@freelibrary.org

Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC)

 

Did you know that Pennsylvania offers businesses the incredible opportunity to direct a portion of their state tax dollars to Educational Improvement Organizations like the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation? These funds are used to support innovative educational programs that directly benefit students in Pennsylvania schools. Corporations that make a donation are eligible to receive 75% of their contribution in tax credit! The renewal deadline for current Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) corporate participants is May 15. LEARN MORE  or APPLY NOW !

 

Eligibility: Businesses authorized to do business in Pennsylvania that are subject to the following taxes: Corporate Net Income Tax; Capital Stock Franchise Tax; Bank and Trust Company Shares Tax; Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax; Insurance Premiums Tax; or Mutual Thrift Institution Tax. To receive tax credits, businesses must be approved to make contributions to Educational Improvement Organizations that are on a list of organizations published by the Department of Community and Economic Development; the Free Library of Philadelphia is on that approved list.

 

Uses: Tax credits may be applied against the tax liability of a business for the tax year in which the contribution was made.

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