Governor Craig Benson journeyed north of the notches yesterday to hold an entrepreneurial workshop in Berlin.
The Governor and a business professor exhorted would-be business owners to plan well, but also not to be afraid to take risks.
NHPR?s Trish Anderton reports.
About a hundred people turned out for the free Entrepreneurs Workshop.
The meeting was all business, but the tone was inspirational.
Governor Benson started off by exhorting the crowd to take action if they had a good idea.
Drawing on his own experience starting a hi-tech company, the governor said it?s important to make choices, even if some of the choices turn out to be wrong.
lets not kid each other. I didn?t know what I was doing most of the time and I gotta be honest with you, sometiems as governor I don?t know what I?m doing. but at least if you make a decision people are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that you?re moving things forward
That theme was echoed by Professor Julian Lange of Babson College.
Lange is a professor of entrepreneurship and has founded more than one company himself.
He talked about how to evaluate an idea based on the opportunity, the resources available, and the leadership team.
He cautioned students to be realistic.
But he said, don?t be discouraged by a few shortcomings.
14 100 its very easy to step back and see all the flaws in an oppty. if it didn?t have flaws, one it wouldn?t be real, and two, everybody would have done it before.
Lange told the businesspeople and would-be businesspeople how to make a pitch ? that is, how to boil down their idea into a short description that would get a potential investor or customer interested.
then he gave them an assignment.
19 105 think of a 90-second pitch. then practice it with the people near you. and what I?m going to ask for is volunteers
After a short break, several participants did muster up the courage to volunteer.
They pitched everything from from internet services to custom quilts.
Elizabeth Foy made a polished appeal for her fledgling organization in Concord, which brings teachers and businesspeople together.
Leadership Teacher is about creating systemic change nationally by empowering teachers
to deliver real world information to their schools and ultimately their students.
Others struck a folksier note.
Paul Kimball of Berlin hopes to use his existing manufacturing business to make quilted pads for use in moving trucks.
He admits he?d face competition from overseas suppliers.
but ? we have the short term delivery. we can deliver to anywhere in new england in a day. either ross express or ups. if we get more than than, we?ll hire a big truck (laughter). but we believe its an item we can compete with and keep people working.
The workshop closed with an explanation of how to craft a business plan, and a discussion of how to tap into local development agencies for help.
In a class of only three and a half hours you can?t learn everything you need to start a business.
But Candida Brush of Boston University says even a half day session can be helpful.
Brush heads a women?s entrepreurial council.
She agrees with the workshop?s focus on action.
the number one thing that determines whether an entrepreneur will be successful is action. people that talk about, think about, wonder about entrepreneurship don?t really start anything
At least one participant walked away satisfied.
Elizabeth Foy is with Leadership Teacher.
I thought it was a very useful seminar, a lot of great info presented in an organized format and I thought one of the highlights was the oppty to network with large and small businesses, people who have ideas.
The governor has held about a half-dozen of these meetings around the state so far.
Benson?s spokesman says Professor Lange donates his services, so the workshops don?t cost taxpayers anything.
There are more Entrepreneur?s workshops in the offing, but the governor?s office hasn?t announced dates or locations yet.
For NHPR News I?m trish anderton.
