Our founder and CEO John Wren has been asked to blog about tonight's Presidential debate. The comments he makes will be his own, he does not speak for our Small Business Chamber, which takes no position on issues or candidates.

You can watch Wren's comments about the debate tonight just click on the link below: http://live.denverpost.com/Event/University_of_Denver_Debate_2012_First_Presidential_Debate_Community_Bloggers

 New! We will have online IDEA Cafe Startup Workshops starting next Monday (Oct 8). We will hold a meeting each Monday afternoon from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and we may schedule them at other times if there is enough interest. Join us next Monday for our "test" meeting and help us get started! More information and RSVP for the online meeting and other upcoming face-to-face meetings at:
http://www.meetup.com/SBCC-Startup-Workshops/

I've just participated in the Capstone meeting, the 9th session for the Just Start Online Class. At least read the book Just Start, if you are really serious about heading in a new direction with your work life. And I highly recommend the online class. Another class starts October 10, see http://Just-Start.com 

Changes have been made in the way we are doing IDEA Cafe Startup Workshops because of my participation in the Just Start Online Class (see above.) We are going to try the changes a time or two more, and then announce the "new" IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop. For a preview, attend a meeting soon! (See link at top of this post.)

Franklin Circles are closed, confidential peer advisory groups based on what Ben Franklin did with his friends each Friday evening starting in the fall of 1727, and also what we've learned here in Colorado since starting the first Franklin Circle in Denver in 1994.  For help starting a group on your own with friends, just Google "How to Start a Franklin Circle" and you'll see the link to the HowWike.com site that we set up to share information. A new group is forming in Denver, if you'd like information about it, contact John Wren at (303)861-1447 or John@SmallBizChamber.org

We are trying to make our Small Business Facebook Page a dynamic, useful dialog that you can go to whenever you have something to share about your business or doing business. You can help us make it a better resource for you by going there and posting from time to time. Thanks! http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber

If you and I aren't Facebook friends yet, I hope you'll invite me. http://Facebook.com/John.S.Wren

Startup experience shared at free meetings.

"Real help from real people."

DENVER— Founder of the Small Business Chamber of Commerce, John Wren says, "If we are successful, you'll be too busy to come back next week. We expect to have an impact on the unemployment rate, one new career or new business at a time."

 

The Small Business Chamber Englewood IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop and the Denver IDEA Cafe both meet from 2 to 4 p.m. on alternating Fridays. The 1st & 3rd Fridays the Englewood group meets at the Englewood Public Library, 1000 Englewood Parkway, 80110. The Denver IDEA Cafe meets the other Fridays at Tony's Market, 950 Broadway, 80203.

 

No meeting on some holiday weekends. Free and free parking. Startup speakers and brainstorming. For speaker this Friday and more information and optional RSVP see http://meetup.com/SBCC-Startup-Workshops.

 

To volunteer to share your startup experience at a future meeting or for help starting a new IDEA Cafe in cooperation with your local chamber of commerce or service club, contact John Wren at John@SmallBizChamber.org or (303)861-1447.

Speakers at upcoming meetings:

Today, Aug 31: No meeting because of holiday. Happy Labor Day!

Sept 7: (Englewood IDEA Cafe at Englewood Library, 1000 Englewood Parkway) Russell D. Dennis, President, Denver Chapter, United States Veterans Chamber of Commerce www.USVCC.com; and Toby Gallegos, business consultant and outreach for Co-operate Colorado, www.healthcareforallforless.org on "How I started my career and how I started what I'm doing now."

 

Sept 14: (Denver IDEA Cafe at Tony's, 950 Broadway) Wilson D. Kendall, President, Center for Business and Economic Forcasting, Inc; Thomas J. Gorman, Director, Rocky Mountain HIDTA, and Kevin Jones, Vice-President of Development, Young Americans Bank on "How I first started my career and how I help start what I'm doing now."
 

Sept 21: (Englewood IDEA Cafe at Englewood Library, 1000 Englewood Parkway) Jenny Ford, founder of www.Monkey-Toes.com and www.SugarLoco.com; Georgia Hoyer, founder of www.TrekPak.com; and Rod Schiller founder of www.JuvoTax.com will speak on "My startup experience."

What is now called the IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop has met since 1994 to help people who are starting in a new direction by sharing experience and brainstorming. The new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce has been formed to help local chambers across Colorado and beyond to form similar groups. For more see http://meetup.com/SBCC-Startup-Workshops. To volunteer to share your startup experience at a future meeting or for help starting a new IDEA Cafe in cooperation with your local chamber of commerce or service club, contact our founder & CEO John Wren at John@SmallBizChamber.org or (303)861-1447.

Thanks, Kim, for letting us use your image on our Facebook Page, http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber ((You can thank Kim, too, and get a link to her really interesting website and blog cafe by clicking on link here to Facebook, then click on this impage on our Small Business Chamber of Commere Facebook Page. Want help to Just Start? Ask us, we'll help!))

We just sent out this media release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2012

The Small Business Chamber announces new Englewood IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop starting in September.

"We expect to have a dramatic impact on the unemployment rate." John Wren

DENVER—The Small Business Chamber of Commerce is now offering a free Englewood IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop, in addition to the Denver IDEA Cafe. They will both meet from 2 to 4 p.m. Fridays, 1st & 3rd Fridays the Englewood IDEA Cafe will meet at the Englewood Public Library, 1000 Englewood Parkway, 80110. The Denver IDEA Cafe will now meet the 2nd, 4th, and any 5th Fridays at Tony's Market, 950 Broadway, 80203. Free and free parking. Startup speakers and brainstorming. For speaker this Friday and more information see link on http://www.SmallBizChamber.org or call (303)861-1447.

John Wren, Founder and CEO of the Small Business Chamber of Commerce said, "For nearly two decades we've been telling people to just start, and that's what we intend to do. This is the beginning of rapid expansion of our unique startup workshops across Colorado and beyond, in cooperation with local chambers of commerce and others. If we are successful we expect to have a dramatic impact on the unemployment rate of the economic development areas where a chamber of commerce or other group starts meeting.

"This Englewood and our Denver meetings are our model groups. Those who are interested in starting a new one are encouraged to attend, then if they are interested we will help them launch.

"It's now widely acknowledged that businesses just don't start the way we've been told they should since 1954 when the Small Business Administration was formed. Since 1994 I've been inviting successful people to share how they really got started in their career, a project or a campaign, or a new business, and we brainstorm. People who attend tell us the meetings are a helpful boost. We are very grateful for the help the Sullivan Chair at Regis University has given us with this, and also for the new book Just Start which was published recently and that we are encouraging all of our members to read http://Just-Start.org."

Speakers at upcoming meetings:

Today, Aug 17: (Denver IDEA Cafe at Charlie Brown's, 10th & Grant) Entrepreneur and Regis University business instructor Jeffrey W. Buxton, President, Front Range Ski Bus http://Facebook.com/FrontRangeSkiBus on "My startup experience."

Aug 24: (Denver IDEA Cafe at Charlie Brown's, 10th & Grant) Theresa Bombaci Vera www.TheCounselingCouchllc.com on “How I started my counseling practice.”

Aug 31: No meeting because of holiday. Happy Labor Day!

Sept 7: (Englewood IDEA Cafe at Englewood Library, 1000 Englewood Parkway) Russell D. Dennis, President, Denver Chapter, United States Veterans Chamber of Commerce www.USVCC.com; and Toby Gallegos, business consultant and outreach for Co-operate Colorado, www.healthcareforallforless.org on "How I started by career and how I helped start what I'm doing now."

The Denver IDEA Cafe has met since 1994 to help people who are starting in a new direction by sharing experience and brainstorming. The new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce has been formed to help local chambers across Colorado and beyond to form similar groups. 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.

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John S. Wren, MBA+ http://www.JohnWren.com or http://Facebook.com/John.S.Wren is the founder and CEO of the new, free Small Business Chamber of Commerce, Inc (http://www.SmallBizChamber or http://Facebook.com/Small.Business.Chamber) which has been formed to help local chambers of commerce across Colorado and beyond to organize and facilitate IDEA Cafe Startup Workshops, which Wren has been doing himself for nearly 2 decades. For more contact Wren at (303)861-1447 or John@JohnWren.com

 

PLEASE SHARE We are going to start a weekly Google+ public "broadcast" IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop, but first we want to build a core group that will help us when we launch to build an audience. All you need to do now, and it would be very, very helpful, is to click on the g+ icons at the top of this page, one towards the left and the other at the top of the column to the right.  Thanks!

Free help for finding new work.

Real help from real people. We share startup experience and brainstorm! 

The Small Business Chamber of Commerce's free Denver IDEA Cafe Startup Workshop now meets from 2 to 4 p.m. each Friday in Charlie Brown's at the Colburn Hotel, 980 Grant in Denver. Free and free parking. Startup speakers and brainstorming. More info and RSVP at http://meetup.com/Denver-IDEA-Cafe or call (303)861-1447.

Speakers at upcoming meetings:

Aug 17: Entrepreneur and Regis University business instructor Jeffrey W. Buxton, President, Front Range Ski Bus http://Facebook.com/FrontRangeSkiBus on "My startup experience."

Aug 24: Theresa Bombaci Vera www.TheCounselingCouchllc.com on “How I started my counseling practice.”

Aug 31: No meeting because of holiday. Happy Labor Day!