NCET

Meet industry leaders while learning how to transform business startups into profitable companies at the “C4CUBE Boot Camp 2010: 002″ from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 11-12 at The Center for Unique Business Enterprises, 300 E. Second St., Suite 1405, in Reno.

Participants will learn about business positioning, mistakes to avoid and how to get ready for investors. They also will have the opportunity to watch representatives of real companies present to potential investors.

Cost: $99; $55 for students; and $175 at the door. Cost includes handbooks and meals.

Details: lynne.keller@c4cube.com or call 775-622-9900, ext. 104.

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Jessica DiLullo Herrin co-founded the prominent wedding website WeddingChannel at 24, and for the next few years, she devoted almost all her waking hours to her start-up. Her next business had to be different—because it had to accommodate a growing family. From the start, Stella & Dot has sold its custom jewelry through in-home trunk shows led by independent sales reps—stylists, in the company’s vernacular. Today, Stella & Dot has 10,000 stylists and Herrin has, in her own fashion, learned to slow down. Read full story:

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In the world of startups, success or failure can be hard to consistently predict. One thing that’s sure, however, is that anyone who starts a business is changed by the process. The continual challenges of meeting the opportunities and issues that arise make it fun and always interesting. I think it is why many people continue to start businesses regardless of the (easier) alternatives presented by employment for somebody else.

Having started a few businesses in my life, I view some of the lessons of the experience as intuitive and others much less so. Given the time and money involved in learning these lessons, none could be characterized as cheap.

They all changed my worldview, though. And they all changed me as a person. I’m glad I learned these lessons, but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish that I knew them originally.

Here are the eight things I wish I knew when I started my first business. Read full story:

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An agreement that will strengthen outreach efforts and expand small business development opportunities for small businesses in the information technology industry has been signed by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). CompTIA is the non-profit trade association advancing the global interests of information technology (IT) professionals and companies including manufacturers, distributors, resellers, and educational institutions. CompTIA provides education and training to individuals underrepresented in the IT industry through its education foundation. The SBA and CompTIA Strategic Alliance Memorandum will expand small business development for such businesses. Read more:

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Not many Americans turn down job offers these days—especially those who have been laid off. Art Wells is an exception. The Portland, Ore., Web developer has left two job offers on the table in the last year. He chose instead to stick with the freelance business he started in late 2008 after being laid off by lighting manufacturer Rejuvenation. Although he starts most weeks not knowing who he will be working for, new clients keep ringing. "Two new jobs called in this morning," Wells said during a 9:30 a.m. interview on a recent Friday.

An unknown number of Americans who lost jobs in the Great Recession responded as Wells did—by creating their own. Bloomberg Business profiled 26 such ventures over a year ago. Over the past month, they reached out to all of them to find out how they’ve fared. Read more:

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