Forum Centralizes Community Resources for Entrepreneurs,
Business Owners
ROCHESTER,
N.Y. –Oct. 21, 2009-
Aspiring entrepreneurs and current business owners are invited to explore
programs and services to help grow their businesses at Pathways to
Entrepreneurial Success 2009, a community resource forum hosted by Monroe Community
College. The forum is slated for 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, at MCC’s
R. Thomas Flynn Campus Center, 1000 East Henrietta Road, Rochester.
MCC
President Anne M. Kress will open the forum at 8 a.m. Dixon Schwabl CEO Lauren
Dixon will serve as mistress of ceremonies. Plenary sessions will cover the
journeys and challenges faced by entrepreneurs and key community resources
offered by government agencies, business development organizations and local
colleges. Presenters include representatives of the United States Small
Business Administration, Monroe County, the City of Rochester and Greater
Rochester Enterprise. Richard Kaplan, president and CEO of Pictometry
International Corporation, will be the luncheon keynote speaker.
“Monroe Community College is in a unique position to bring
together representatives of government, business development agencies and educational
institutions to best support the needs of aspiring business owners,” said MCC
President Anne M. Kress.“We
are pleased to host this innovative forum and encourage our region’s
entrepreneurs to stay in Rochester to grow their business and positively impact
the western New York economy.”
“Monroe
County is focused on nurturing our community’s rich innovative culture,
supporting our region’s entrepreneurs, and the small to midsize companies that
are currently driving our economy,” said Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks.
“Through The Entrepreneurs Network, various incentive programs, and small
business services, Monroe County offers a wide variety of programs and services
to assist local entrepreneurs in their business endeavors.”
In addition
to scheduled networking opportunities throughout the day, attendees will gain
information through panel discussions, college and university presentations,
breakout sessions, and information tables. Breakout sessions will explore
resources available to start a business, franchising, understanding the legal
issues and attracting customers through social networking and new media.
About the Forum Founders
Pathways
to Entrepreneurial Success was the brainchild of Jeffrey Shepard (St. John Fisher
College), Bob Spinelli (Rochester Institute of Technology), and Sherry
Tshibangu (Monroe Community College) – experienced entrepreneurs and college educators.
Shepard, Spinelli and Tshibangu observed how Rochester’s displaced workers and
many of their students were curious about starting a business, concerned about
the continued success of their parents’ businesses and considering new business
opportunities outside of the region. Conversations with students and displaced workers in the
community shed light on the fact that people wanted to start businesses in
Rochester, but did not know where or how to start. Through the Pathways to
Entrepreneurial Success 2009 forum, these professors decided to bring the
region’s diverse resource agencies together in order to build communication and
strengthen entrepreneurship in the community.
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