By Karen Axelton
How is your small business tackling the ongoing recession? Are you hoping for a government bailout, taking a wait-and-see approach, or taking matters into your own hands? Lynn Sarkany (shown here), a professor of Marketing and Public Relations and the founder of Market Finders, a full-service marketing consulting firm in the Los Angeles area, decided to take charge and not only help her business, but other businesses and communities as well. Sarkany founded Entrepreneurs Professionals, an organization dedicated to helping small business owners survive in a tough economy.
Sarkany saw firsthand how the economic downturn devastated small business communities and decided she wanted to help. Through Entrepreneurs Professionals, she works to create synergy between local chambers of commerce, city business development program, educational organizations and the business community to provide an ongoing support venue that helps the community thrive.
Entrepreneurs Professionals chapters are groups of like-minded business professionals who:
- Want to be the strongest business professionals that they can be
- Want to get to know and contribute to their fellow group members
- Have a sense of community service
Each local chapter allows only one member of each business type. Members can be business owners or decision-makers in a business, practice or nonprofit organization. Each chapter chooses a charity benefactor for community service. Members participate in networking, Business Development™ Meetings, friend-building and community service opportunities where they get a chance to meet new business contacts, grow their businesses, make new friends and participate in community service.
- Weekly meetings at a location and time of the chapter’s choosing
- Bi-weekly Business Development Meetings, at a location and time of the chapter’s choosing, where members can discuss issues and best practices that will help them to grow their business and become more savvy business managers
- Social events where members will get to know one another and form friendships.
- Community Service/Fundraiser events where members will not only get to know one another and form friendships, but also have an opportunity to support their chapter benefactor.
“If Main Street is to survive, we must create our own safety net,” Sarkany explains about her inspiration for creating Entrepreneur Professionals. “Joining together to share best business practices and ideas will enable us to create jobs and to get back on our feet again. America is a country of innovation, and we need a new and vibrant generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to make this happen. We also need to strengthen our communities.”
To learn more about Entrepreneurs Professionals or about starting a chapter in your area, visit the Entrepreneurs Professionals website. It might just inspire you to start your own job stimulus program.
Image courtesy Lynn Sarkany
Google+Web.com is now offering forums designed to support small businesses in cities throughout the US. Learn more about these forums here: http://Businessforum.web.com/
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