Small Business Workshop: Giving Shape To Your Small Business Goals
DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) - The city of Detroit is turning into a hot spot for small, minority-owned businesses.
May has been deemed National Small Business Month, and Michigan has several hundred thousand small businesses with more growing every day.
Mark S. Lee, president and CEO of the LEE Group, will present a Small Business Workshop – A Framework for Growth, Thursday, May 14, at TechTown.
"Detroit is a unique market and what happened in 2008, quite candidly, a lot of people transition from the corporate space into entrepreneurship - and that's where we noticed a significant growth in those types of businesses," said Lee.
According to 2010 U.S. Census data, Detroit is the fourth largest city for minority-owned entrepreneurs with over 32,000 and approximately 75,000 across the State of Michigan. The Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy reported in 2014, there were 856,682 small businesses in Michigan with more than 1.7 million employees.
Lee says the focus of the workshop is to provide resources to start a business and also provide ideas on how to grow your small business.
He says a lot of minority and women-owned businesses that started in 2008, out of the downturn in the economy, faced particular challenges because not everyone had the best plan or the cash behind the idea.
"A strategic plan may have been lacking (or) having access to capital - they didn't have the resources to really launch a business the right way - so there was a lot of enthusiasm - a lot of excitement - but the proper level of planning wasn't conducted," said Lee.
Regarding women-owned businesses, Michigan is in the top ten in the nation with 261,400 according to the 2014 American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses Report. The report estimates that 1,200 new businesses a day were started by women in 2013, up from an average of 740 a day in 2012. Four out of 10 new firms are now started by women.
In a recent interview with DBusiness magazine, Lee said, "Small businesses really struggle to grapple with how to grow their business, how to focus on developing a strategic plan, and how to get access to capital or funding." The workshop will provide resources, tools, and expert help for businesses struggling with these critical issues for success.
The workshop will be in TechTown, 440 Burroughs, Midtown, from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
The workshop will feature presentation keynote speakers, panelists and break-out workshops with business leaders focused on small business financing, including, access to capital – traditional and non-traditional; strategic planning; marketing and how to leverage social media.
Speakers include:
- Carolyn Cassin, President & CEO, Michigan Women's Foundation
- Dan Fuoco, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Interactive Marketing Manager
- David Farbman, HealthRise Solutions Founder/CEO & Author
- RJ King, DBusiness Editor
- Juliana Perry, Vice President, Retail Business Banking Relationship Manager, Fifth Third Bank
- Warren Morgan, Assistant Vice President, Financial Center Manager, Fifth Third Bank
- Nicole Farmer, Ph.D., President & Founder, LifeLine Business Consulting Service; Owner/Operator
- Priscilla Archangel. Priscilla Archangel, Ph.D., President, Archangel and Associates, LLC; Leadership and Organizational Development Consultant.
The workshop is designed for individuals aspiring to start a business, businesses seeking new direction with particular emphasis on women and minority-owned business from across the region. The workshop fee is $40 -- to register, log on [HERE].
Participants will receive a complimentary continental breakfast and free parking is available.
