Conference Highlights

Preconference Training Seminars
Welcome Reception/Resource Fair
Featured Speakers
Memphis

Preconference training seminars

Monday, April 18

Developing Entrepreneurial Communities—Planning for Success

Presented by Tina Sterling and Sally Smith of T C Strategies, Inc.

This interactive workshop for community stakeholders guides participants through an evaluation and action process designed to enhance their community's entrepreneurial performance.

Participants will:

• determine a 3-year vision: evaluate where they are today and where they want to be three years from now;
• evaluate where they are in the planning process by assessing what plans are not in place, how they can be created and how to adjust existing plans to maximize success;
• translate goals into action: nail down the actions and resources the community needs to reach its three-year vision.

Small Business Finance in the 21st Century

This workshop will feature three sections:

• trends that may affect small business debt;
• a regulatory update by Federal Reserve safety and soundness examiners and consumer affairs staff;
• a banker’s perspective from the field presented by Bruce Morgan, president and CEO of Valley State Bank in Roeland Park, Kansas and a member of the Federal Reserve Consumer Advisory Council.

These seminars are included in the conference registration fee. Participants will choose one.

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Welcome Reception/Resource Fair

April 18 | Mezzanine, 2nd Floor

Barbecue, Blues & You!

Spend some time dining on barbecue and other food in the tradition of the river city while enjoying the mellow sounds that put Memphis on the map as a world-class music destination. Network with fellow conference attendees and browse the display booths of organizations offering resources important to the advancement of entrepreneurship.

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Featured Speakers

Debbi Fields epitomizes the American entrepreneur. At the age of 20, she was a young housewife with no business experience, but she had a dream, a recipe and a passion for sharing her chocolate chip cookies. Determined to follow her dream, she managed to do what most people considered impossible. She convinced a bank to finance an unproven business concept: a chocolate chip cookie bakeshop and store. On Aug. 16, 1977, Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery opened its doors in Palo Alto, Calif. Twenty-plus years later, Fields had moved from managing one shop to supervising operations of Mrs. Fields Cookies, a $450 million company with 600-plus company-owned and franchise stores in the United States and 10 foreign nations. Fields has since sold her company, which is a market leader among fresh-baked cookie stores.

William Poole is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, one of 12 regional Reserve Banks. Poole directs the activities of the Bank’s head office in St. Louis, as well as its three branches in Little Rock, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; and Memphis, Tenn. In addition, he represents the Bank on the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve’s chief monetary policymaking body.

Richard Florida, professor of economic development at George Mason University, sees human creativity as “the ultimate economic resource.” In his 2002 award-winning best-seller, The Rise of the Creative Class, Florida proposes that human creativity offers “unparalleled opportunity to raise our living standards, build a more humane and sustainable economy, and make our lives more complete.” In addition to his teaching responsibilities at George Mason, he is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Florida also is the founder and principal of two companies: the Creativity Group, an innovative communications and strategies team; and Catalytix, a strategy-consulting firm.

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Memphis

There's something special about Memphis! The city lingers on the mind with the sweet smell of barbecue, the beauty of the Mississippi River and the sounds of the best music you’ve ever heard. So, have some fun, Memphis style.

In your free time, check out the activities on legendary Beale Street, the exclusive music artifacts at the Rock-n-Soul Museum and the Stax Museum of American Soul. Graceland, home of Elvis, is a must-see and a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum is a moving experience. Giant pandas can be found at the Memphis Zoo and you can shop for unique items at Peabody Place Retail Center. No matter what your taste, fun in the downtown area is only a walk or trolley ride away.

With a city this great, you’re bound to “strike the right notes” in Memphis!

For more information, visit www.memphistravel.com.

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