Open the Door for Encore Entrepreneurs

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SBA and AARP Team Up to Introduce 50+ Entrepreneurs to Resources to Start and Grow a Business during Omaha Event

 WHO:  Leon Milobar, District Director, Nebraska District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration; Connie Benjamin, Nebraska State Director, AARP; and, Val McPherson, Kiwanis Club of Omaha.

Also speaking on available resources will be:  Loren Kucera, Nebraska Business Development Center; Don Siner, Guaranteed Lenders Consultants and SCORE; and, BC Clark, President, Metro Omaha Women’s Business Center.

Speaking on their personal experience starting a business after the age of 50 will be:  Kathy Byrnes, Village Canvas and Cabernet; Mike Popelier, Desperate Husbands BBQ; and, Tommy Garrett, The Garrett Group.

WHAT:  SBA and AARP invite existing and potential entrepreneurs over the age of 50 and the public to this event to network with technical assistance and down-to-earth mentors to help them start and grow a small business.

National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day is a nationwide effort to meet the SBA’s goal to offer training and consulting service to 100,000 new and existing encore entrepreneurs as a result of the federal agency’s partnership with the AARP.

WHERE: Regency Ballroom, Sheraton Hotel Omaha, 655 N. 108th Ave., Omaha 

WHEN: October 2, 4-6 p.m. CT. Registration at the event begins at 3:30 p.m. 

Those who wish to attend may guarantee a seat by calling Michael Foutch at (402) 221-7211 or email michael.foutch@sba.gov.

Currently, there are more than 76 million people as part of the Baby Boomer generation, and many are interested in and poised to be entrepreneurs; one in four between the ages of 44 and 70 are interested in starting their own business or non-profit in the next five to 10 years.  Nearly half report a desire to be encore entrepreneurs, a business with a positive social aspect.

For many Baby Boomers, entrepreneurship training is the toolkit empowering them to use their experience, knowledge and skills to become job creators in our state. This event is designed to leverage the partnership between SBA and the network provided by AARP to introduce existing and future entrepreneurs to existing resources in Nebraska.

In addition, as part of the effort to guide encore entrepreneurs, SBA has set up a dedicated web page for Americans over the age of 50 featuring: an online self-assessment tool that will help potential small business owners understand their readiness for starting a business as well as information to help with business planning, shaping a winning business idea, professional counseling, financial services and information to find local resources in Nebraska. This web page can be found at: http://www.sba.gov/content/50-entrepreneurs.

Event Agenda:

• Welcome and Opening Remarks from District Director Leon Milobar and Connie Benjamin, AARP's Nebraska State Director

• Presentation about the importance of mentors and how Gallup’s Entrepreneurial Acceleration System can help their small business

• Panel discussion with mentors and 50+ small business owners to share stories and lessons learned followed by a question and answer session

• Brief description from SBA resource partners such as SCORE and the NBDC on the assistance that they can provide to encore entrepreneurs