The Northeast Entrepreneur Fund proudly celebrates
National Entrepreneurship Week - February 21-28, 2009!

The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education sponsors the third annual National Entrepreneurship Week from February 21-18.  National Entrepreneurship Week encourages the growth of entrepreneurship education in our schools and communities and is a time for entrepreneurs, business owners, and those who support small business to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in America!

Visit the official National Entrepreneurship Week website at www.nationaleweek.org.  For a list of entrepreneurship activities here in our area, view our February calendar of workshops and events (at left). 
 

Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Awards
call for nominations

Growing Neighborhood Businesses Dinner Series, Duluth

If you’re like many business owners, you probably find yourself caught up in the day-to-day workings of your business - especially in today’s difficult economy. Here’s a way to break out and focus on strategies that can take your business to the next level in 2009.

The Northeast Entrepreneur Fund is pleased to sponsor a four-part Business Dinner Series exclusively for business owners in our “Growing Neighborhood Businesses” areas of Duluth (East Hillside, Central Hillside, Lincoln Park, Morgan Park, and West Duluth). This is a great opportunity to learn from the experts while networking with other business owners.

Visit http://www.entrepreneurfund.org/GNB.htm for a complete schedule and registration information.
 

Read All About It!

Separating myth from fact:
the truth about free money and grants for starting your business

The Kentucky Small Business Development Center has created a very useful guide in debunking the myths about small business grants.  The guide also provides information on how to protect yourself and find secure, legitimate sources of financing to start your business.

http://www.ksbdc.org/wp-content/uploads/file/grants.pdf

Small-business freebies from the government

The federal government has a number of organizations that help small business and, better yet, much of it is free. You have easy access to most of it through the Internet. This article from Microsoft Small Business Center lists six government agency freebies designed to help your business.

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/startups/small-business-startups.aspx#Smallbusinessfreebiesfromthegovernment

Microloans

When you need only a little cash to grow, it's time to check into microloans. The Microloan program is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and microloans are available to small business owners from private, nonprofit intermediaries such as the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund. The following article from Entrepreneur.com provides some details about obtaining microloans and how these funds can be applied.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/money/howtoguide/article52724.html
 

Winter 2009 "Entrepreneurial Spirit" newsletter

View our Winter 2009 edition of the "Entrepreneurial Spirit" newsletter!

 

This Month's Featured Entrepreneurial Resources… 

Small business and self-employed "Filing Season Central"
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=134947,00.html

The IRS provides you with a one-stop assistance center for filing your business returns.

Ask SCORE
http://www.score.org/index.html

Need an answer now?  SCORE offers free and confidential advice for entrepreneurs through their online business mentoring tool.