UIS Entrepreneurship Club

Networked knowledge

2008-11-28T20:15:00.001-06:00

As we move from the dimension of managing simple organizations to complex systems, there is a need for well trained leaders: One that can envision a future beyond today's idiosyncrasies. Tomorrow belongs to people who are courageous enough to move to the unknown. Just as people in the agrarian times used their tools to explore their environment, today's leaders must use their vision to explore the unknown.

There are always going to be three types of people in the world:

Those who are totally clueless of what is happening
Those who catch the happenings after the fact
And those who are leading the happenings

Which one do you want to be? To fall in the 3^rd category takes acquisition of knowledge of the modern world: An attitude that never ceases to learn. I will like to step this up by saying we are entering a time where knowledge by itself is irrelevant but networked knowledge is gaining power. Not only is it important for you to know, one must also know how to communicate that knowledge in other facets of the organization thereby making it relevant.

Social Network Website

2008-11-21T13:29:00.001-06:00

Listing Service that works best for you

Listing Service that works best for you

Ever tried to use a poster board to list your event, product, text book or any other message you may be trying to convey?

If you tried this service, you have learned first hand the probability of someone seeing your flier is very slim because they are fliers all over the board

With urlistings.ning.com, you can use the power of social network to convey your message more effectively.

Why don't you give us a try and come create your profile.

See what a great difference, technology can make.

List your:

Text books for sale
Ideas you may want to discuss or develop
Share your term paper
Share discussions on your class
List apartment for rent
Room mate search

Or Make your own group

Entrepreneurship & a Vision for the 21st Century

2008-11-07T16:13:00.001-06:00

Need a little inspiration ….

Then come join us for an inspiring, exciting event with lots of food and networking.

Date: November 17, 2008

Time: 4:30 PM TO 7:30 PM

Place: UIS LRH great Room (4:30-6pm)
3 course dinner and networking at UIS PAC Restaurant (6pm – 7:30pm)

Each speaker will provide attendees inspiration on a different facet of Entrepreneurship.

Topics discussed will include:

 An Entrepreneurial vision for the 21st Century

 Creating new wealth

 Transforming ideas into action

 Student Entrepreneurship

 Entrepreneurship in Springfield

 And much more …

Panel of speakers

Andrew Paoni : Vice President

Sikich Cozad Asset Management, LLC

Robert E. Paoni

Business Development Officer

U. S. Small Business Administration

Rev. Frederick D. Nettles, Jr., MPA

Illinois Department of Human Services

Director of Partner For Hope Program &

Team Illinois Liaison

Gary Plummer

President & CEO

Springfield Chamber of Commerce

Mr. James Cockrell

President & CEO : Riteway Logistics Inc.

Young Entrepreneur: Nathan Kreoger

Vice President: Entrepreneurship Club

President & CEO: Turner Investments, LLC

So join us for a memorable evening of fun, networking, delicious dining, and inspiration

Contact Evelyn Ivy eivy001s@uis.edu to RSVP (required for dinner) Business attire recommended

Golf Outing

2008-04-29T15:58:00.001-05:00

Friday, May 9

Golf Instruction with Joe Pro

Sponsored by The Entrepreneurship Club

12noon

Come tackle this indispensable business sport at:

Long Bridge Golf Course

Lunch and Transportation from campus will be provided.

Contact: Evelyn Ivy @ eivy001s@uis.edu

Space is Limited

RSVP required

Last Meeting

2008-04-14T16:42:00.001-05:00

Monday, April 28

Last Meeting of the Semester

Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Club

5:00pm

Contact: Evelyn Ivy eivy001s@uis.edu

Design Ideas

2008-04-14T16:40:00.001-05:00

The club had a wonderful time Friday, the 11^th of April at Design Ideas. There we met Andy the founder and sat and talked with Joe Kim. We were also given a tour of the warehouse.

Design Ideas was founded in 1983 by Andy and his sister in 1983 when they were both in college. They had a million-dollar idea: a wire basket for toting toiletries from the bedroom to the bathroom in college dorms. From there, Design Ideas has grown into a company with approximately $100 million in sales. Design Ideas creates, manufactures and globally markets more than 1,500 innovative and affordable accessories for the home and office under the slogan, "We make things interesting." More information on their history can be found on www.designideas.net

Discussion topics with Joe Kim included:

· The state of the economy

· Branding

· Marketing Mix Strategy

· Entrepreneurial dream

· Complexities of doing business internationally

· And much more …

Design Ideas reminds me of the classic American tale of how dreams do come true. We had a lovely time and hopefully next time more people will be able to join us.

Golf outing

2008-04-05T09:05:00.002-05:00

Friday, May 9

Golf outing
Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Club
3:30pm
Contact: Evelyn Ivy eivy001s@uis.edu

Design Ideas

2008-04-05T09:04:00.002-05:00

Friday, April 11

Field trip to Design Ideas
Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Club
5:30pm
Design Ideas
http://www.designideas.net/About/About.aspx

Contact: Evelyn Ivy eivy001s@uis.edu

Investment Strategies

2008-04-05T09:03:00.002-05:00

Monday, March 31

Investment Strategies
Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Club
4:30 - 6pm
LRH Great Room
Andrew Paoni, Vice President of Sikich Cozad Asset Management, LLC will be talking about the stock market, planning and setting your goals, developing a long-term strategy and much more. Get your investment questions answered. Andrew has helped lots of people reach their financial goals and would love to share his vast knowledge with you. Food will be served. For more information, contact Evelyn Ivy at eivy001s@uis.edu

Next Meeting

2008-02-16T23:40:00.001-06:00

Monday, February 25^th

UIS Entrepreneurship Club Kick off Meeting

5 pm

Cafeteria – PAC Building

Food will be served

For more information about this club or to RSVP,

contact Evelyn Ivy by e-mail at eivy001s@uis.edu.

January 20, 2008 Meeting Summary

2008-01-21T12:00:00.001-06:00

E-Club serves primarily as a "think-tank" where students interested in entrepreneurship could congregate to share cool and creative ideas. The first meeting of officers took place Sunday, January 20, 2008. Present were:

Evelyn Ivy: President

Ana Morales: Vice President of Marketing and Membership

Josh Wagner: Vice President of Programs and Promotions

Suresh Radhakrishnan: Vice President of Finance
Mae Noll: advisory role

Mae provided us insight on how we could set up the investment component of the club. She recommended Steven Koch a senior financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial as our professional advisor.

We talked about designing a logo for the club and establishing our own identity. We could have a logo contests and have companies donate things they do not really need for prices. Suresh talked of talking to Bunn-O-Matic for donations.

Our next meeting is tentatively scheduled for 5:30pm Feb 7^th.

Spring 2008 events are tentatively as follows:

Feb event: Kick off meeting, welcome new members and lay out club philosophy. Suresh would be giving a presentation on a book "What got you here won't get you there" by Marshall Goldsmith.

March event: focus on investment. Invite guest speakers to talk about successful investment strategies

April event: focus on entrepreneurship. Invite guest speakers to speak on entrepreneurship and guest speakers in April.

Late April/May: golf fundraising activity. Not much will be done in May because of people busy with finals

During this semester: we would be planning a field trip to a entrepreneurial business

In the fall we would be planning to attend conferences and also planning for our Entrepreneurship week. Also, we plan to attend networking seminars featuring top national entrepreneurs. We would also be inviting industry professionals.

We decided to join the Collegiate Entrepreneur's Organization (ttp://www.c-e-o.org). The cost to join as a club is $95 which will be covered by the University. Each student that wants to become a member of this organization would have to pay $10.

Future accomplishments

the launch of numerous student-run businesses
Incorporation as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization: serve as an incubator for future student agencies through support from corporate donations.

Fundraisers:

contests
used text book sales: creating a website where we act as the middle man for used book sales
Golf outing: organizing a golf tournament
Investment opportunities
Call UIS alumni board and ask for support for this club.
Sell greeting cards in UIS bookstore with details about the UIS entrepreneurship club and how to join the club.
Get funds from UIS for starting up club activities.
Business improvement analysis
Generating funds thru ad revenue on our website
Grant writing
Collecting industrial leftovers and reselling

Growth tactics:

Word of mouth. core members have to be dedicated to promoting the club so that people on campus will start talking about our group.

Professionalism counts. Getting business cards to appear more professional.

Campus resources:

Stay active in other student organizations.

Happy New Year

2007-12-31T14:52:00.001-06:00

I wish you all and your family a very prosperous New Year.

Evelyn Ivy

Never Let Schooling Interfere With My Education

2007-12-01T21:37:00.001-06:00

Never Let Schooling Interfere With My Education

Mark Twain

Does the formula passed down to us by our parents really work: We were told go to school, go to more school, and then if you want to be really successful, go to school some more. If the system was perfect, then we can be guaranteed a really successful future following this formula.

Mark Twain was right when he said, "I never let schooling interfere with my education". Remember true education is more than just knowledge acquisition but also leads to growth.

Taking bold steps leads to growth. Learn to take new steps: do something different daily. With each new step you take, you would be one step closer to discovering the real you.

Learn to think differently … join the UIS E-Club.

Book Summaries

2007-12-01T20:48:00.001-06:00

If you want to maximize your time in reading more books, here is the website that provides executive summaries of top selling management books.
www.summary.com

Congratulations to our Newly elected officers

2007-12-01T20:44:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to:

President: Evelyn Ivy

Executive Vice - President: Colin Hawkinson

Vice President of Finance: Suresh Radhakrishan

Vice President of Programs and Promotion: Josh Wagner

Vice President of Marketing and Membership: Ana Morales

Head of Information Technology: Gerti Haxhinasto

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T17:55:00.001-06:00

Have a happy thanksgiving everyone. See you when you get back. The Kick off meeting was amazing and a stepping stone of great things to come.

Website

2007-11-21T17:41:00.003-06:00

Visit our website at http://uiseclub.googlepages.com

ESCAPE

2007-11-21T17:41:00.001-06:00

ESCAPE is a student organization committed to providing UIS students with real world experience in developing business skills. We will be researching entrepreneurial opportunities, developing viable business plans and presenting them to possible investors including professionals during the second annual Lunar Ventures Business Competition. ESCAPE will serve as an outlet for UIS students to network with peers, students at other universities and professionals in industry while bringing positive exposure and recognition to UIS.

Contact Ana Morales via email

Website: http://www.8clunarventures.com/index.shtml

Awesome Meeting

2007-11-21T17:39:00.001-06:00

We had a very exciting meeting on Saturday, Nov 17th. We discussed various topics and also elected officers.

Officers were elected as follows:

President: Evelyn Ivy
Executive Vice - President: Colin Hawkinson
Vice President of Finance: Suresh Radhakrishan
Vice President of Programs and Promotion: Josh Wagner
Vice President of Marketing and Membership = Ana Morales
Head of Information Technology: Gerti Haxhinasto

The list above is tentative and will be final by 2pm December 1^st if no new nominations are received.

Email me if you are interested in running for office and were not present in the meeting (see previous post for offices and agenda).

Be sure to visit the website at http://uiseclub.googlepages.com/home and post comments on the BlogSpot.

Thanks,

Evelyn Ivy

Nov 17th meeting flier

2007-10-24T12:50:00.001-05:00

The UIS Entrepreneurship Club

presents

Kick off Meeting

Join the excitement of starting a brand new student organization at UIS. Come for the UIS entrepreneur club kick off meeting and you will get a chance to be part of the founding team of the club.

Saturday, November 17^th, 2007

UHB 4068 conference room
2 P.M. – 3 P.M.

Why Join?

Meet others who share similar interests.
Exchange ideas with other students.
Great experience that will be used in your future business exploration.
Looks good on your resume.
Opportunity to become active
Network with local area business
Join the One on one mentorship program with local entrepreneurs
Learn how to run a business
Go for national conferences and seminars
Many more activities that capture your imagination.

Elections will be held Nov. 17^th during the meeting.

Lunch will be served

November 17, 2007 Meeting Agenda

2007-10-24T12:46:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the UIS Entrepreneurship Club

AGENDA:

2:00 pm – 2:10 pm Welcome Reception

Lunch will be served

2:10 pm – 2:15 pm Opening Address: Ranjan Karri

2:15 pm – 2:45 pm Club Constitution

Open discussions

Entrepreneurship Journey Discussions
Idea generation: contests, seminars, field trip to businesses, etc
Questions and Answers
Vision and Mission for the Club
Networking opportunities
Entrepreneurship week event for 2008

2:45 pm – 2:50 pm Vote for officers

Offices Open are:
- President
- Executive Vice-President
- Vice-President of Finance
- Vice-President of Programs and Promotion
- Vice-President of Marketing and Membership
- Head of Information Technology (Webmaster)

2:50 pm – 3:00 pm Networking Time with Attendees

Future meeting agendas:

Each month business owners will give presentations at club meetings allowing members to acquire information through the owner's real life experiences.

Field trips to businesses will also be on the clubs agenda, to allow us to see the complex and/or simple business procedures.

Mentorship program:

Mentorship program is aimed at creating a network of support for current UIS entrepreneurs, and providing hands-on experience in the entrepreneurial process. Also, students will get the chance to work at a start-up company, and learn about the problems and complexities of running a business.

Future topics

How appealing is Your Business Idea?
Setting up The Books;
Building Business Plans; Making Your Idea into a Business;
Business Structure and Legal Requirements of Setting up Your Business;
Elevator Pitch Clinic- mentoring for writing and practice

Business Plan Contest

2007-10-19T22:42:00.001-05:00

This is a copy of the email that was sent to the entrepreneur club advisor Ranjan Karri. Email me if you are interested.

Dear Colleagues:

I am delighted to invite your graduate students to submit proposals to compete in the 6th annual University of San Francisco International Business Plan Competition.

The USF International Business Plan Competition is one of the World's Premier Graduate Student Entrepreneurial Events. The 2008 Contest will be held April 3 - 5. All Graduate Students from every nation are invited to submit business plan proposals for participation.

Total Awards for the 2008 Competition will total approximately $25,000; however, the real prize is the chance for your students to offer their business proposals before dozens of leading Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists and Chief Executives. Judges from our previous competitions have included venture capital partners with: Kleiner Perkins, Crosslink Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, De Novo Ventures, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Nth Power, Garage Technology Ventures, Globespan Capital, and many more; such as those featured in the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index (Bloomberg ticker: USFSVVCI) http://www.usfca.edu/sobam/nvc/pub/svvcindex.html.

As the only University Business Plan Competition in Silicon Valley open to complete graduate teams from other universities, the USF Competition provides a unique entrepreneurial opportunity for all graduate students.

We invite currently enrolled graduate students to submit a 5 - 7 page executive summary of their business plans by email attachment by February 4, 2008 for full consideration. Submissions should be emailed to the contest founder: Professor Mark Cannice (Cannice@usfca.edu <http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/ym/Compose?To=Cannice@usfca.edu&YY=66700&order=down&sort=date&pos=1&view=a&head=b> ).

Full contest information is at:
http://www.BusinessPlanCompetition.org <http://www.businessplancompetition.org/>

Please consider posting this opportunity for your students on your university website.

Response Required

2007-10-19T13:20:00.001-05:00

The Entrepreneurship Club is planning a kick off meeting Saturday, November 17 at 2pm. Please email me if you plan to make it. I need an idea as to how many people to expect so I can order enough food and reserve a room big enough to host everyone?

Thanks,

Evelyn Ivy

eivy001s@uis.edu

Meeting

2007-10-19T12:50:00.001-05:00

The Entrepreneurship Club would be meeting November 17^th at 2pm. If you have any ideas for the meeting, please email me at eivy001s@uis.edu or comment on this blog.

Entrepreneurship Week

2007-10-19T12:48:00.001-05:00

November 17 -23 is global Entrepreneurship Week http://www.unleashingideas.org/about .

Any ideas on becoming a part of this global event?

Please share your ideas

2007-10-18T17:23:00.001-05:00

The Entrepreneurship Club was founded in 2007 to harness and enable the deep pool of entrepreneurial genius that exists within the UIS communities. It is entirely student-run and is positioned to complement the offerings of other clubs at UIS. The club was created to promote:

entrepreneurial activity among students,
Working for, or advising new businesses in high-growth environments. In order to accomplish this, we have established the following objectives:
- Build an entrepreneurial network
- providing access to information and job opportunities
- Foster the development of new businesses through ongoing series of workshops, entrepreneur-executive speeches
- The Entrepreneurial Club aims to support entrepreneurs through all steps of the Entrepreneurial Process:
  - Idea Generation
  - Market Research
  - Business Planning
  - Financing
  - Staffing and Implementation

If you can dream it, we can find a way to make it happen.

Do you have any business ideas you would like to pursue? Please share no matter how wild you think your ideas are?

What inspires you?

2007-10-17T22:50:00.001-05:00

What drives you? I would like to know what your passions are?

Becoming a member

2007-10-17T16:46:00.001-05:00

Email me at ecivy@yahoo.com
Everyone is welcomed to join !!!

UIS Entrepreneurship Club opens

2007-10-17T14:40:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the UIS Entrepreneurship Club blog.
Join the excitement of starting a brand new student organization at UIS. Sign up for the UIS entrepreneur club and you will be part of the founding team of the club.

Did you ever dream of starting your own business? Join the UIS entrepreneur club to learn more about pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities. As a member of the club, you will get a chance to………..

· Learn about being an entrepreneur.
· Learn the skills of starting a new business.
· Listen to successful entrepreneurs.
· Network with Springfield area business professionals.
· Organize speaker series.
· Organize and participate in entrepreneurship events.
· Many more activities that capture your imagination.

This is the first year of the UIS entrepreneur club and consequently you will get a chance to participate in setting the direction of this club.

UIS Entrepreneurship Club

Networked knowledge

Social Network Website

Entrepreneurship & a Vision for the 21st Century

Need a little inspiration ….

Golf Outing

Last Meeting

Design Ideas

Golf outing

Design Ideas

Investment Strategies

Next Meeting

January 20, 2008 Meeting Summary

Happy New Year

Never Let Schooling Interfere With My Education

Book Summaries

Congratulations to our Newly elected officers

Happy Thanksgiving

Website

ESCAPE

Awesome Meeting

Nov 17th meeting flier

The UIS Entrepreneurship Club

Kick off Meeting

Join the excitement of starting a brand new student organization at UIS. Come for the UIS entrepreneur club kick off meeting and you will get a chance to be part of the founding team of the club.

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

UHB 4068 conference room2 P.M. – 3 P.M.

November 17, 2007 Meeting Agenda

Welcome to the UIS Entrepreneurship Club

AGENDA:

Future meeting agendas:

Mentorship program:

Future topics

Business Plan Contest

Response Required

Meeting

Entrepreneurship Week

Please share your ideas

What inspires you?

Becoming a member

UIS Entrepreneurship Club opens

Saturday, November 17^th, 2007

UHB 4068 conference room
2 P.M. – 3 P.M.