December 4, 2018
This week: First Friday e-Call - Breaking Down Barriers to Entrepreneurship
Join us this Friday at 9:30 a.m. to hear about Patents and Trademark Resources available for inventors and entrepreneurs.
Sara Butts, from the Patent and Trademark Resource Center will tell why a small business owner might visit the patent and trademark center and what resources they will find.
Wendy Guillies, president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation based in Kansas City wrote, “As the United States grapples with the challenge of business and job growth, the Midwest can lead the nation because regional attributes that make a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem… are inherent and highly prized in the Midwest.”
Those inherent attributes include:
• Inclusiveness and access. How easy is it to meet people and make connections? Will others with vital expertise be of help? How readily can you find entrepreneurs who have faced business challenges like yours?
• Being practical — focusing on what works, which is often a mixture of many approaches;
• Demonstrating humility — listening to others and encouraging them to join in creating solutions; and
• Being resilient — not blaming others or getting defeated by setbacks.
A challenge for the Midwest is evident in the results of a national survey of entrepreneurs conducted earlier this year by the Kauffman Foundation which found that more new business owners in the Midwest think it was difficult to obtain necessary licenses, register for a business for a state tax ID or to get a patent, copyright or trademark.
The First Friday e-call attempts to break down these barriers and give new businesses knowledge about the education, experts and economic resources they need to be successful.
If you know someone who can use this information, please ask them to contact Nancy Daniels at nkdaniels@ksu.edu to join the call.