BusinessTN

Whether starting from scratch with a brand new business or struggling to stay afloat in a familiar industry, the business leader who stops learning stops succeeding. But with all the workshops, seminars and mail-order strategy kits on the market, it's easy to become overwhelmed when looking for reliable information. Where does one turn to for knowledge?

According to Jim Piatchek, CEO of The Professional Disturber, educational opportunities can be found almost anywhere. Piatchek splits education for business owners into four categories: classes, seminars, mentors and networking. The last is the least quantifiable in information but has the most potential for information in the future. (After all, there's no limit to who can fit in your Rolodex.)

"Too often, business owners get a kind of tunnel vision in regard to their business," Piatchek says. "They think, "My business is different," when the truth is that all small businesses face the same fundamental challenges."

Wherever you turn for advice, Bridget DiCello, president of Building Bridges LLC in Memphis, warns that, "You need to follow up with a resource. Have someone you can go to with all the 'yeah-buts' that come up after you leave." Establishing a go-to person--or people--is the best way to ensure reliable and regular information, and any educational opportunity can lead to those connections.

Who's Out There?

Tennessee has multiple entrepreneurial associations, as well as industry-specific groups and chapters of national or global organizations. The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is a national volunteer nonprofit comprised of successful business leaders passing on their expertise to struggling small businesses. SCORE has chapters in Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Memphis, offering first-time entrepreneurs educational workshops in starting a business, getting a loan, marketing and accounting. More importantly, SCORE offers one-on-one advice with an executive matched to your industry and business needs.

Small business chambers, development centers, and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) host meetings and guest lecturers regularly, but some of the best information at these meetings comes from the like-minded business owners who attend them. Networking organizations abound, from specific industry-related organizations, such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the American Marketing Association (AMA), to general small business associations, such as the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) and Business Network International (BNI), which have global memberships.

AICPA offers prep courses for certification in accounting, as well as a new Economic Crisis Resource Center for information and advice to CPAs working with struggling companies in an economic downturn.

The AMA includes chapters in Nashville and Knoxville, offering educational resources in customer relations and hosting conferences and workshops that help improve everything from Web design to branding.

EO chapters in Nashville and Knoxville host regular workshops and retreats, benefiting from both the global resources of the small business organization and the local perspectives of chapter members.

Strategic Business Network holds conferences all over the state, utilizing a unique "speed networking" style of meeting one business leader and talking for five to six minutes before moving on to the next--with the goal of establishing a tremendous web of contacts within an hour and a half.

For more practical skills, look no further than courses at any of Tennessee's major universities. Business schools like Owen at Vanderbilt and Fogelman College at the University of Memphis offer graduate programs in business administration and management. If you're not looking for an MBA, state schools and community colleges can offer cheap night courses in basic skills and technologies, getting you up to speed on basic programs and computer usage. (Chattanooga State's courses, for instance, run between $95 and $250, covering basic Windows programs.)
According to Kevin Maxfield with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center in Chattanooga, any seminar or course that offers something too good to be true probably is. "Fly-by-night scams that promise expertise and success for a minimal investment of time or money are unlikely to provide what you need," Maxfield warns.

Even legitimate lectures and seminars can be less than useful if they are too broad. "Sometimes, you just come away from them feeling good," Piatchek warns. "The key is to walk away with a plan of action."

No number of workshops, seminars and conferences can quite add up to the benefit of a few trusted advisors, DiCello stresses.

"By the time it's in a book or seminar, it might be too late to stay ahead of the game," DiCello points out. "Often, it's a matter of figuring stuff out with help from mentors rather than just learning exactly what they've done."

It's one thing to glean information, but having a vast network of peers and mentors in your corner can be priceless.