IDEA Cafe Startup Workshops are intended to give a boost to people who are headed in a new direction with their work, starting a new career, a new project or campaign, or a new business.

Links to the Denver and South Denver meetings are to the right on this page, we hope to see other meetings starting soon in cooperation with local chambers of commerce across Colorado.

Since 1994, IDEA Cafes have helped people people who are starting a new career, a new project or campaign, or a new business. How do we help? Those who attend (including you, we've all started something) share startup experience, we brainstorm, and we share information.

“ What a great concept, and it created a lovely opportunity to meet with other people in the community. Starting a business can be a lonely venture; I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking to break that cycle. ” Megan Tackett on May 7, 2011.

“ This was a good experience for me. I enjoyed the people and the brainstorming. Since we all face challenges of some type, I would heartily recommend it to anyone involved in a startup activitiy. Jack Rouff on Apr 30, 2011.

“ Great format, small group works best for this. I encourage everyone to try this group if you want some help getting started. ” Anthony Sanchez, Marketing Club on Sep 25, 2010.

Meetings are free and open to everyone, we just ask that you bring your brain for the brainstorming!

Join us at an IDEA Cafe any time you are headed in a new direction with your work and need a boost.

Next Friday (Oct 28), 2 p.m., at Panera Bread, 13th & Grant here in Denver consultant and entrepreneur John Leavy will share his startup experience with us and then join us in the brainstorming. For more about John, see his very impressive website http://www.johnleavy.com/

RSVPs are never required, but if you RSVP "no" here I stop bugging you about the meeting. :) And to make sure you get a reserved seat at the brainstorming table so you get a chance to have John apply his brain to your brainstorming question, RSVP at http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe.

Then at 4 p.m. at the same place we'll have the 1st meeting of the Socrates Cafe Beginners Group, join us for it if you enjoy good conversation. More info, including the group format under "More/Files" at http://meetup.com/Socrates-Cafe-Beginners

Our speaker at the Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop this Friday, October 21: Chris Daniels http://www.ChrisDaniels.com  on "How I started my career in music." Chris is substituting for Chuck Morris, who is rescheduling.

No RSVP is ever required, walkins are welcome. We meet at Panera Bread, 13th & Grant here in Denver, just a block from the Capitol. But the first 12 to RSVP on our Denver IDEA Cafe Meetup site http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe are guaranteed a seat at the brainstorming table with the speaker until the meeting starts at 2 p.m.  Questions? Call John Wren (303)861-1447

Hunter Lovins, co-author of Natural Capitalism.

PLEASE "SHARE" WITH YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS AND OTHERS WHO MIGHT APPRECIATE A BOOST AT THE END OF THE WEEK AS THEY GET STARTED IN A NEW DIRECTION WITH THEIR WORK. THANKS!

Our speaker this week is the well-known Hunter Lovins. http://NatCapSolutions.org/ This meeting was announced in the current issue of the Denver Business Journal, so we expect a good turn out. RSVP now to make sure you have a seat.

No RSVP is ever required, walkins are welcome.

But the first 12 to RSVP on our Denver IDEA Cafe Meetup site http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe are guaranteed a seat at the brainstorming table with the speaker until the meeting starts at 2 p.m. So to make sure you have a good seat and the ability to get the speakers ideas for your brainstorming topic, RSVP now at http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe. Everyone else sits in the "peanut gallery" and observes the brainstorming.

What is the IDEA Cafe?

Since 1994, we help people people who are starting a new career, a new project or campaign, or a new business. How do we help? Those who attend (including you, we've all started something) share startup experience, we brainstorm, and we share information.

“ What a great concept, and it created a lovely opportunity to meet with other people in the community. Starting a business can be a lonely venture; I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking to break that cycle. ” Megan Tackett on May 7, 2011.

“ This was a good experience for me. I enjoyed the people and the brainstorming. Since we all face challenges of some type, I would heartily recommend it to anyone involved in a startup activitiy. Jack Rouff on Apr 30, 2011.

“ Great format, small group works best for this. I encourage everyone to try this group if you want some help getting started. ” Anthony Sanchez, Marketing Club on Sep 25, 2010.

Meetings are free and open to everyone, we just ask that you bring your brain for the brainstorming!

Who should attend?

What we now call the Denver IDEA Cafe has been meeting since 1994. Anyone who is starting a new direction, starting a new career, new project or campaign, or starting a new business is invited to join us for a boost at the end of the week, and we especially encourage members of local chambers who are interested in helping their local chamber to provide more help to startups.

Join us any Friday when you are headed in a new direction with your work and need a boost at the end of a long week, or when you are willing to share your startup experience.

The first 12 to RSVP on http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe each week are guaranteed a seat at the brainstorming table until the start of the meeting at 2 p.m., others are welcome to attend and either take the seat of a no-show or to sit in the peanut gallery to listen to the speakers and observe the brainstorming.

If you have any questions, contact John Wren at (303)861-1447 or John@JohnWren.com
 

Since 1994, the purpose of the Denver IDEA Café Startup Workshop has been to help turn inspiration into effective action, to help us each get started our self as we help others who are starting new careers, projects, campaigns, or new businesses. We do this by sharing startup experience and brainstorming. We say that if the meetings are successful, you’ll very quickly be too busy to attend, but we do hope you’ll rejoin us from time to time at our monthly “alumni” meetings we hold on the First Friday of each month.

We take our name from a four-step creativity model, IDEA. I in IDEA stands for Inspiration, the Aha! moment or the I stands for Identify the Problem. D in IDEA stands for Develop Alternatives, that’s what we do today by sharing startup experience and brainstorming. It’s up to you to E- Evaluate and A- Take Action! To create means “to bring something new into being.” You aren’t being creative unless you Take Action.

We are now part of the Small Business Chamber of Commerce, which cooperates with local chambers of commerce across Colorado and beyond to provide IDEA Café Startup Workshops and Franklin Circles to their members. If you’d like to be part of the leadership group and take a turn leading this meeting, or if you’d like help starting a new meeting like this, see the chairperson right after any meeting, on contact John Wren at (303)861-1447 or John@JohnWren.com. For more, see our meetup site at http://meetup.com/SBCC-Startup-Workshops or the link to the local Facebook groups (right now Denver and South Denver) listed in the right column of this page.

Friday, September 30 Mike O'Donnell, Executive Director, http://ColoradoLendingSource.org/ will be with us at our Denver IDEA Cafe to talk about his career startup experience.

Join us to get help as you get started, to help yourself as you help others when you share your startup experience, brainstorm, and exchange information about upcoming events and other resources.

To RSVP go to our Meetup.com site or see the link to the meeting on our Facebook Page.

 

Next Friday's (Sept 23) speaker at our Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop: Daniel Epstein (photo)  http://UnreasonableInstitute.org/ on "My startup experience." After the IDEA Cafe at 4 p.m. there will be a discussion of Eric Ries's new book The Lean Startup, I've invited the meembers of The Lean Startup Meetup to join us.

Join us for the Denver IDEA Cafe any Friday to get help as you get started, to help yourself as you help others when you share your startup experience, to brainstorm, and to exchange information about upcoming events and other resources. For more information and optional RSVP, see http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe

This Friday, September 16, 2 p.m. Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop, Free. We share startup experience and brainstorm. More info and optional RSVP at http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe or on the link to our Facebook group on our SBCC Facebook Page http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber.
This is our new monthly "reunion" meeting, we have held it on the final Friday for the last two months, we're making this change to a Friday earlier in the month to see if it help attendance, so far this has not been the case.

We'll try the monthly "reunion" for a while, see if we develop a core group. If so, we'll continue. If not, we'll go back to making every meeting a one off, when the meetings are successful people are too busy to come back the next week.

Dennis Krieger

Dave Westfall

 At the Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop Friday, September 9: Entrepreneurs Dennis Krieger (photo to left), founder of Zingers http://zingers.biz/ and Dave Westfall (photo to right) http://www.TheSmallBusinessAccelerator.com speaking on the topic, "My startup experience." Join us to get help as you get started, to help yourself as you help others when you share your startup experience, to brainstorm, and to exchange information about upcoming events and other resources.

What is the IDEA Cafe?

Since 1994, we help people people who are starting a new career, a new project or campaign, or a new business. How do we help? Those who attend (including you, we've all started something) share startup experience, we brainstorm, and we share information.

“ What a great concept, and it created a lovely opportunity to meet with other people in the community. Starting a business can be a lonely venture; I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking to break that cycle. ” Megan Tackett on May 7, 2011.

“ This was a good experience for me. I enjoyed the people and the brainstorming. Since we all face challenges of some type, I would heartily recommend it to anyone involved in a startup activitiy. Jack Rouff on Apr 30, 2011.

“ Great format, small group works best for this. I encourage everyone to try this group if you want some help getting started. ” Anthony Sanchez, Marketing Club on Sep 25, 2010.

Meetings are free and open to everyone, we just ask that you bring your brain for the brainstorming!

Who should attend?

Anyone who is starting a new direction, starting a new career, new project or campaign, or starting a new business is invited to join us for the Denver IDEA Cafe, and we especially encourage members of local chambers who are interested in helping them provide more help to startups.

Join us any Friday when you are headed in a new direction with your work and need a boost at the end of a long week, or when you are willing to share your startup experience.

The first 12 to RSVP here on meetup.com each week are guaranteed a seat at the brainstorming table until the start of the meeting at 2 p.m., others are welcome to attend and either take the seat of a no-show or to sit in the peanut gallery to listen to the speakers and observe the brainstorming.

For more, go to http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe

With us this week (Sept 2), Donald J. Mares (photo), President and C.E.O., Mental Health America of Colorado, http://www.mhacolorado.org/, who will share his startup experience in public service and politics.

Join us to get help as you get started, to help yourself as you help others when you share your startup experience, to brainstorm,  and to exchange information about upcoming events and other resources.

More info and RSVP at http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe

Our "reunion" meetings have gone so well, we've decided to encourage people to keep coming back, especially new comers as they get up and running, until they are just too busy to join us Friday afternoons. Also previous speakers and those who have attended in the past are invited any Friday that sharing startup experience will help give you a boost.

We'll try this new approach for a few weeks, hope you'll join us soon, experience the "new" Denve IDEA Cafe, and then let us know what you think of it.

We are now also using a written format for each meeting. That's to make it easier to rotate leadership, and to help people who are starting new groups. Each group is independent and may choose to change the format, of course.

If you'd be willing to help start a new IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop in cooperation with your local chamber of commerce, please contact John Wren at (303)861-1447 or John@JohnWren.com.

Also contact John if you'd like to start or join a Franklin Circle Peer Advisory Group.

Great group of people will be at Denver IDEA Cafe this Friday for our 2nd monthly "Reunion" with previous speakers and attendees encouraged to attend. If you want seat at the brainstorming table, be one of the first to RSVP, or just show up. 2 p.m., Friday (Aug 26), at Panera Bread, 13th & Grant here in Denver. Free, we just ask that you bring your brain for the brainstorming. Please share with any of your friends who might find the meeting helpful. More info and optional RSVP at http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe or call me at (303)861-1447.

Would you help us start an IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop in cooperation with your local chamber of commerce? For more information, see http://meetup.com/SBCC-Startup-Workshops and then contact John Wren at John@JohnWren.com or (303)861-1447 for more information.

This Friday's speaker at Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop: Daniel Epstein, founder of The Unreasonable Institute (click here.)

The meeting is free and open to everyone who is starting in a new direction with their career, starting a new project or campaign, or starting a new business. RSVP to this and our other upcoming meetings at http://meetup.com/SBCC-Startup-Workshop

I attended the Boulder Denver New Tech Meetup last night. They do a fantastic job. It's worth the trip from Denver to attend in Boulder, and the Denver group is growing by leaps and bounds. Thanks to Robert for doing such a great job with this. For more see http://www.bdnewtech.com/

A new Franklin Circle Peer Advisory Group is forming now. If you'd like an invitation contact John Wren at (303)861-1447 or John@JohnWren.com

This life is short, let's get started!

This week at our Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop we're trying something a little different. Instead of inviting a speaker, the first 12 to RSVP will get 2 to 3 minutes to share their favorite startup story or two. If this works, we'll be repeating it the last Friday of each month.
Those who have attended an IDEA Cafe before are especially encouraged to attend, the hope is that the last Friday of each month becomes a "reunion meeting" with those who've been helped by the group before returning to share what they have learned, and past speakers returning to share their "short form" startup story. Should be fun, hope you'll join us and please invite your friends who might find it helpful.

An RSVP is never required, but for more information and to let us know you'll be with us go to either http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe or on the link to the event that you'll find posted on http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber

Small Business Online 15-Minute Morning Show will now be just once a week, hope your join us this Friday (July 22) or any Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time, or watch the recording of the show anytime during the week, see the small blue line "Small Business Chamber" underneath the TV screen to the right.

Internet expert and entrepreneur Dave Taylor will be with us next Friday for our Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop, should be a great meeting. More info and optional RSVP at http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber, or to guarantee a seat for yourself RSVP at http://Meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe

I'm reading a couple of great books that we'll be talking about on the SBCC Morning Show this week. Tim Harford's Why Success Always Starts with Failure, see his 3 minute video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR_mCvb-KyY; and Wayne Rogers's (remember him from MASH?) Make Your Own Rules, see the Facebook Page.

We've started a new 15 minute online broadcast The Small Business Chamber Morning Show, see link to the right. It airs live each morning Monday thru Friday at 10:30 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time, 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. You can watch it anytime lin the link just below the color bars to the right.

If you have news about startup you'd like to have shared on the show, email the host/camera man/producer/one-man-band John Wren at John@JohnWren.com

We are recruiting Ambassadors to help us start new IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop in cooperation with local chambers across Colorado. Ambassadors will also encourage participation in the new online Colorado Business Directory & Almanac http://www.PioneerHQ.com. If you'd like to know more about being a Small Business Chamber/PioneerHQ.com Ambassador, contact John Wren at (303)861-1447 or John@JohnWren.com

Our Friday Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop is now the "beginners meeting" for your new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce. To participate, click on the meetup.com link to it on the right of this page, or see the link on our Facebook Page http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber

This life is short, let's get started!

From John Wren's Daring Mighty Things-- The Simplest Way to Start Your First (or Next) New Business, endorse by Dr. Amar Bhide http://bhide.net. For a link to a free copy of the entire book, email John@JohnWren.com or call (303)861-1447.

The world will always have government, big-business, and big-labor: government for those things individuals cannot do for themselves and big-business and big-labor because of certain efficiencies of scale.

Unfortunately, the large scale of these three forms of bureaucratic operations leads to problems:

1) Efficiency comes at the expense of intelligence and creativity. The large organization has a tendency to get better and better at doing what eventually is the wrong thing.

2) Power corrupts. Governmental corruption is kept in check by our process of representative democracy. Big-business corruption is kept in check to the extent that the free market is allowed to operate. That is why big business hates competition.

The world view of the bureaucrat is necessarily different from that of the entrepreneur. The steps recommended here for starting a new business will not make sense to most bureaucrats.

If you decide to work with a business mentor, it is important that you work with someone who subscribes to the following philosophy of business. This person almost always will be an independent business owner.

Beware of seminars about how to start a new business; the most deadly advice for entrepreneurs comes from bureaucrats, public or private, active or retired.

Yes, the world really does need you to create a new business!

There is always a shortage of entrepreneurs, that's why it pays so well. This shortage of start-up specialists is caused by two things:

1) The infinite power of the human mind to create new ways to help people; and

2) People's unlimited need for help. Read today's newspaper. It's easy to see the world needs help. To the entrepreneur, these problems are opportunities in working clothes!

From "Daring Mighty Things-The Simplest Way to Start Your First (or Next) New Business by John S. Wren, MBA+, available on Amazon.com. Wren is a Denver business consultant and founder of the new Small Business Chamber of Commerce. For more see www.JohnWren.com or the Small Business Chamber Facebook Page. Contact Wren at (303)861-1447 or John@JohnWren.com

The Denver Post reports today (click here) on a new Colorado governement effort to boost startups.

Here's the comment I just posted:

If formal planning and market research worked as well as the Small Business Administration, SCORE, SBDCs, and the academics their money and power have influenced think, we'd have a planned economy, not a market economy.

The big problem is that we have set up government programs to snuff out the entreprenurial spirit in America.

Local chambers of commerce, trade associations, and other ways business owners and entrepreneurs gather can do a lot of good. But the SBA/SCORE/SBDC cancer should be cut out, in my opinion.

Maybe a group like this can take a step back and see this very real problem.

John S. Wren, MBA+
Founder, Small Business Chamber of Commerce
IDEA Cafe Startup Workshops * Franklin Circle Peer Advisory Groups
See our Facebook Page: Small Business Chamber

(MBA is a warning. The + means I'm a recovering MBA, that much of what I learned in graduate business school I've had to overcome to be truely helpful to people who what to start something new. Does that mean I have all the answers? No, just the opposite. Again, it's a warning in the interest of full disclosure and transparency.)

In today's Denver Post:

Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop, a free weekly meeting for aspiring
entrepreneurs and others looking at a career change. This week's workshop
will feature Karl Dakin speaking on the topic, "My startup experience and how
I found my new job with Regis University as executive director of the John J.
Sullivan Endowed Chair for Free Enterprise." To be held at Panera Bread,
1330 Grant St., Denver. More info: SBCcBlog.com

For optional RSVP go to our Denver Small Business Chamber Facebook Group
or click on the link to the right for our meetup.com site. Of course, no RSVP is
every required, but it does help us plan.

This should be a very interesting meeting, hope you can join us if you are starting
in a new direction, and please email a link to this site to your friends who have
recently lost a job, had a bright idea, or for any other reason might find it helpful.

I just posted this ad on Facebook, what do you think?

If you see it there, please DO NOT CLICK, since you

are already a member, we are charged for each click.

Curious about what happens for those who do click

on our Facebook ad? Hopefully, not you. :)

Those who click will be taken to this, so just click here:

http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber

Here's the copy from the Facebook ad:

Small Business Chamber of Commerce

Free help as you start a new career, a new
project or campaign, or a new business.
In exchange, you help with brainstorming.

How do you like the ad?

PLEASE FORWARD to any of your friends who might like to join us.

Starting in a new direction with your work? Join us this Friday or any Friday for our Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop. No RSVP is necessary, walkins are welcome, but your RSVP on our Facebook Page or Meetup site guarantees you a seat at the brainstorming table.

Here's the release I just made to the media. Thanks to the Denver Business Journal, the Denver Daily News, the Denver Post, the Villager Newspaper, Westword, and all the other media outlets that help us get the word out to people who could use a boost at the end of the week. Here's the release I just made to them:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 7, 2011

 

Contact:  John Wren cell (720)495-4949

 

New, Free Small Business Chamber Announces Startup Workshops.

Since 1994, free help for people starting a new career, project, campaign or new business.           

 

DENVER—The Small Business Chamber of Commerce's free Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop  meets from 2 to 3:30 p.m. each Friday at Panera Bread, 13^th and Grant in Denver. Speakers and brainstorming. For speaker this Friday and more information see http://www.sbccblog.com/ or http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber or call   (303)861-1447.

 Since 1994, the Denver IDEA Cafe has been helping people who are starting in a new direction by providing a free forum where successful people share their startup experience and then brainstorm specific questions or problems.

This Friday, June 10, Cowboy photographer Jim Keen, http://keenmedia.com/, "Startup with my cameras."

 

June 17, Mike Thompson http://www.thefathershowrp.org/ on "How I started my nonprofit for fathers."

 

June 24, Karl Dakin  http://www.karldakin.com/ "My startup experience and how I found my new job with Regis University as executive director of the John J. Sullivan Endowed Chair for Free Enterprise."

 

 

IDEA is an acronym for:  I= Inspiration or Identify the Problem; D= Develop Alternatives; E= Evaluate the Alternatives; and A= take Action. The meeting is free and open to anyone who is starting a new career, a new campaign or project, or a new business.

 

###

 

John S. Wren, MBA+   http://www.JohnWren.com  or http://Facebook.com/John.S.Wren is the founder of the new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce http://sbccblog.com/ or http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber   Contact Wren at (303)861-1447 or JohnSWren@aol.com.

Please take a look at this short column I posted a couple of days ago on the Denver Post's Your Hub Denver Zone Edition.  If you like it, your 5-star rating and comment would be VERY helpful. If you don't like it, please email me your thoughts about what would make it better, OK? Thanks!

Here's the column, "Connect to Win." I hope you find it helpful:
http://denver.yourhub.com/Denver/Stories/Opinion/Write-a-Column/Story~985935.aspx

John Wren
(303)861-1447  John@JohnWren.com

DENVER-- With the Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop this Friday, May 27, to share his startup experience will be Rick Raddatz, an entrepreneur, philosopher, and professional speaker. He has degrees in both Computer Science and Philosophy from UW/Madison.

Rick worked at Microsoft from 1988 to 2000 and started his own software company in 2003.

To create the Win+Win Revolution, Rick to spent four years brainstorming with other small business owners representing all political views.

Recently, Rick handed over control of his business to a partner so he can focus full time on the Win+Win Revolution.  http://www.winwinrevolution.org/

Going forward, Rick has big plans for the Win+Win Revolution including a mix of non-profit, for-profit and political organizations dedicated to one combined purpose -- making the world a better place.

For more information see our Facebook Page and it's link to our Denver Small Business Chamber Group http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber or our Meetup site http://Meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe.

Question? Have an idea for a good speaker for an upcoming IDEA Cafe? Want to become part of the Franklin Circle Peer Advisory Group that is forming now? Contact John Wren at John@JohnWren.com or (303)861-1447.

DENVER—The Small Business Chamber of Commerce's free Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop  meets from 2 to 3:30 p.m. each Friday at Panera Bread, 13^th and Grant in Denver. Speakers and brainstorming. Other IDEA Cafes are starting in cooperation with local chambers of commerce. For speaker this Friday and more information see http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe   or http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber or call   (303)861-1447.

 

This Friday, May 20, speaking on the topic of "Starting a career in journalism and/or starting your own publication," will be Christine Tatum (in photo to left, past president, Society for Professional Journalists),  Robert M. Schwab (former editor, Colorado Business Magazine), Scott Rodgers (independent publisher of online information site for the 2008 Democratic National Convention), and Joe Sabah (founder, Colorado Independent Publishers.)  All of the speakers are actively working now in journalism and publishing. 

The Small Business Chamber of Commerce's free Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop meets from 2 to 3:30 p.m. each Friday (except for some holiday weekends) at Panera Bread, 13th and Grant in Denver. Speakers and brainstorming. Other IDEA Cafes are starting in cooperation with local chambers of commerce. RSVP by clicking on "IDEA Cafe Meetup" to right, or on the Small Business Chamber Facebook Page http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber

This Friday, May 13, "How I started my career and my dental practice," will be the topic of Dr. Charles Barotz (picture to left) http://www.barotzdental.com/

Since 1994, the Denver IDEA Cafe has been helping people who are starting in a new direction by providing a free forum where successful people share their startup experience and then brainstorm specific questions or problems.

IDEA is an acronym for: I= Inspiration or Identify the Problem; D= Develop Alternatives; E= Evaluate the Alternatives; and A= take Action. The meeting is free and open to anyone who is starting a new career, a new campaign or project, or a new business.

If you click "like" on this Page, it means just that, you like what we are doing, but you are not in the wheel barrow.

To be a group member, free and open to everyone, now join a Facebook Small Business Chamber of Commerce GROUP. When we get 1000 members in any group (we already have over 600 in our Denver group after just a few days) we will hold our first face-to-face “Big Event”. Right now our Denver Group is forming, others will be forming in other cities soon. If you live in Denver and would like to join it go to: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=145283622175466&ref=ts

If you’d like information about starting or joining a group near you, contact http://Facebook.com/John.S.Wren

Why do this?

The new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce's purpose is to strengthen the voice of the grassroots in business and politics.

We are not in competition with local chambers of commerce, but are rather an app for them to use, a way for local chambers to offer additional help to their members and potential members who are starting in a new direction with their work, starting an new career, a new project or campaign, or a new business.

Our three activities are: IDEA Cafe Startup Workshops, Franklin Circle Peer Advisory Groups, and monthly "Big Events", free to those who exhibit and free to those who attend.

Want to start an IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop near you? Contact John Wren at http://Facebook.com/John.S.Wren for help to get it started.

Our Facebook Page has a unique URL that we use in media releases, facebook.com/small.business.chamber.

Our Community Room College is now offering a new 6-week certificate program, Self-Direct Learning for Learners and Teachers. For more see http://communityroomcollege.blogspot.com/

There is still one seat available for our new Franklin Circle Alpha Group. This is a closed, confidential group of people who are interested in starting a Franklin Circle. For more information, contact John Wren at John@JohnWren.com or (303)861-1447.

We have 866 Denver Small Business Chamber Facebook Group members.When we get to 1000 we'll have our first monthly "Big Event", free to exhibitors and free to those who attend. So join by clicking the above link, then clicking "Join" if you haven't already, and invite your Facebook friends to join us too, OK?

Denver IDEA Cafe startup workshop will have two meetings this Friday, downtown and south Denver. Details and optional RSVP at http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe We're trying to find a way to cooperate with local chambers of commerce to offer an alternative to the SBDCs most of them promote to their members.

SBCC Weekly Membership Report

Thanks to the magic of technology, we've started a new, free daily newsletter focused on small business and startup. It's called Small Business Chamber Daily News  (For  a free subscription, click on this link.)

The new South Denver IDEA Cafe is off to a great start. The first meeting was held last Friday, January 14, and the next meeting will be the 2nd Friday in February, when the group will make a decision about whether to meet once a month or once a week. Thanks to Ken Wyble with the South Metro Chamber and Richard Oppenheim for getting this off the ground. To get an invitation become a member of either (1) the SBCC Denver Facebook group (when we get 1000 members we will hold our 1st monthly "Big Event", free to exhibitors and free to those who attend) or (2) the SBCC Denver IDEA Cafe Meetup.

The Small Business Chamber's Community Room College is holding 50-minute chalk talks on how to start or join a CEO/entrepreneur/creative manager peer advisory group. For more information see http://meetup.com/CommunityRoomCollege

There are still a couple of seats open in the new Franklin Circle Alpha Group that is now forming. This will be the last peer advisory group personally organized and led by the founder of the Small Business of Commerce, John Wren. For more information contact him at (303)861-1447 or John@JohnWren.com

Life's short, let's get started!

Denver-Boulder New Tech

There will be a presentation about your new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce tomorrow at the Denver-Boulder New Tech Meetup. This is a great group, should help us get to 1000 members for our Denver SBCC group so we can schedule of 1st "Big Event." http://www.bdnewtech.com/

Thursday we are having a lunch meeting at 12:30 p.m. near I25 & Colorado Blvd. for small business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and creative managers who might be interested in the Franklin Circle that is forming now. For infomation contact John Wren at John@JohnWren.com or (303)861-1447

I went to bed last night at 1 a.m. on 1-1-11. We get a second chance for 1-1-11 @ 1 this afternoon.

The advice from my friend Bob keeps ringing in my ears as we ring in the new year: "Stay willing and keep making contacts. When you are right and the time is right, Providence will provide." 

Seems like the time may be right, finally. I can only hope that I'm right now, too, to take advantage of the good things that are happening:

Yesterday I was invited to present on your new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce at Denver/Boulder New Tech.  http://www.bdnewtech.com/

This week's Denver Business Journal quotes me in their "Big Ideas" article: "I’d like to see every DPS high school made available as a community center each weekend. How this would be done could vary from school to school, worked out by the principal with input from surrounding neighborhood associations and various business groups." — John Wren founded the Small Business Chamber of Commerce"

Ken Wyble with the South Metro Chamber is working with Richard Oppenheim to launch a South Denver IDEA Cafe January 14.

And finally, the new Franklin Circle Alpha Group is scheduled to start January 13. This will be the last Franklin Circle I ever personally organize and faciliate, let me know if you'd like an invitation to the information session we are having January 6.

Happy new year! Let's get started!

John

John S. Wren, MBA+
Founder, your new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce
http://www.johnwren.com/
John@JohnWren.com    (303)861-1447