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W

hy the Small Business Chamber of Commerce, Inc has been formed. Who we are, what we hope to become, and what is our purpose, what we hope to accomplish. By John S. Wren, MBA+, founder & temporary CEO   

We are a fellowship of men and women who help others make a Good Living as a way to learn more about how to make a Good Living ourselves. Our workshops and groups are based on the foundational principle of adult learning theory: We teach best what we most want to learn. Leaders are asked to be servants who facilitate the group and each person’s participation, not experts who lecture and give advice. 

As we use the term, Good Living means: #1 customers are satisfied. In addition, those involved in the business: #2 earn an adequate income, #3 constantly learn and grow, and  #4  have the leisure time to be a good citizen, community member, neighbor, friend, and family member. For most of us it also means being an active member of our own church, synagogue, or temple and/or a 12-step recovery program. 

We cooperate with local chambers of commerce, schools, other groups, business professionals, business owners, and community newspapers to organize and facilitate IDEA Café Startup Workshops and Franklin Circle Peer Groups patterned after those we started here in Denver in the early ‘90s.  5280 Magazine has said they’ve, “infused Denver with an entrepreneurial spirit.” Meetings are open source, we constantly improve and share, and each group is autonomous and self-governing.  

My little book on startup will soon be converted into a handbook for our group, we hope to publish it in time for our 1st Annual Meeting and Ben Franklin Birthday Celebration January 17, 2013. To download a 99-cent copy or to buy a paper back copy of the current version Google John Wren Daring Mighty Things. While you are there take a look at the book Just Start by Leonard Schlesinger and Charles Kiefer, it’s the book we recommend now.  

Since 1954 the Small Business Administration in its various disguises (SCORE, SBDCs, etc.) has just about snuffed out the entrepreneurial spirit in America with a venture capital approach to startup ( formal market research and formal strategic planning) that is just not the way most successful businesses actually get started. If they did, we’d have a planned economy and not a market economy. 

How do we know? We’re based on adult learning theory and the research and experience of  Amar Bhide http://bhide.net, Saras Sarasvathy www.effectuation.org, Leonard Schlesinger www.babson.edu, Charles Kiefer www.InnovationAssociates.com, and my consulting and teaching experience since 1979. 

What is success for us? If an IDEA Café Startup Workshop is successful, those who are in attendance will be too busy to come back the next week. If a Franklin Circle is successful, each member will make a Good Living. If your Small Business Chamber of Commerce is successful these autonomous and self-governing workshops and groups will spread across the country, the unemployment rate will drop, job satisfaction and customer satisfaction will increase, and America will see the dawn of a new era, our being once again the shining light on a hill.  

Want to help? We hope to form a board of directors by our Annual Meeting next January 17. If you’d be open to serving on it or to helping us in any other way we welcome your involvement please call today!