e-Ntrepreneur
The e-newsletter of the John Carroll University Entrepreneurs Association
An organization of the Edward M. Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship

November 2006
The holiday season is upon us. We made it through another year! See you at the Holiday Party on December 14th at the Dolan Center!
 -- Mary Patton, Senior Editor

Chairman’s Address – Chuck Ciuni
"Time to Reflect"
With the holiday’s fast approaching, we normally find ourselves rushing around. It is not only the season with the parties and the shopping, but the end of the business year; the chance to look back at our accomplishments and think about the year to come.  There are always challenges, and the work never really gets done, particularly when it depends on you.  This is the life of the entrepreneur.

I would only ask you to take a moment and think about the people in your life.  One group in your life should be your fellow EA members.  We started a holiday get together to help you share the joy of the season with people who are, in many ways, just like you.

Director’s Column – Mark Hauserman
“Thanks”
I thought that it might be instructive to look at the associations past program month. 

Our two programs: “Creating a High Performance Team” and “Giving Back – The Benefits of Community Service” say a great deal about you and your appreciation for people.  You seem to be anxious that your employees achieve top performance to the point you were willing to get out of bed early on a Saturday morning to learn about the best techniques.  I guess you could call this “enlightened self-interest”. You could until you look at the early morning attendance for “Giving Back”.  This was clearly about looking outside your company to use your skill and experience to help others.

Everyone will tell you that life and business “is all about people”. After the clichés are over, our members got up early to invest in both the people who help them make the money, and the people who just didn’t get the same opportunity that we did.

I think the programs of the past month show just how enlightened our members are.  With your leadership, our future is in good hands. Thanks!

Member Profile – Rebecca Morgan of Fulcrum ConsultingWorks
By Ashley Cerny, EA staff writer
Rebecca Morgan is in demand.  Since founding Fulcrum ConsultingWorks in 1990, her expertise has been tapped by well known national and industry publications, including Fortune Magazine, Business Week, Dow-Jones Newswires, and Industry Week.  In addition, Morgan writes monthly articles for Inc Magazine, pulling ideas from her own business experience. 

Based in Cleveland, Fulcrum ConsultingWorks helps area, national, and international manufacturers address operational gaps that prevent reliable and profitable delivery to the market.  In short, Fulcrum helps companies implement their brand promises.        

“I am totally committed to bringing real value to every single client.  A company should only want to work with me if they know that I am committed to learning and getting better every single day.  That means better as a consultant, better as an operations expert, and better as a business owner,” Morgan said.

In order to continuously improve, she is actively involved in professional organizations, and she attends at least two weeks of professional conferences each year.  This past summer, Morgan hired a consultant to take a strategic look at her business, and she is very excited about making the changes that evolved from their collaboration.  Morgan’s commitment to progress speaks to the core of entrepreneurship.

“After 15 years of professional employment, I realized the only job I wanted was one that no existing company could offer, so I created my own,” Morgan said.  “People often say that they can’t go into business for themselves because they need the security of a job.  There is no more security in a regular job than there is in running your own company.  Security is based on your talents, focus, and energy.  They are what make hiring you a good (or a bad) decision for an employer or for yourself.”

To keep up this schedule, Morgan said, “Early to bed, early to rise.”  But it’s probably easier said than done. 

The Mentoring Committee
And speaking of Becky Morgan…  As chair of the committee, Becky wants you to know the Mentoring Committee is positioned to help you address issues in your business. 

To obtain mentoring, you should contact Mark who will answer your questions and guide you through the process.

Mentoring affords you the opportunity to tap top business leaders for advice on direction you might take your business.  There is no charge to members for mentoring and the process normally takes 1-2 months to complete.

If you are interested in exploring mentoring, please contact Mark Hauserman at 216-397-4572 or mhauserman@jcu.edu.

The Communications Committee
Linda Bayer, Chair of the Communications Committee, announces that Rob Felber has joined the committee.  As a result of the member survey earlier this year, the committee has recommended some exciting changes to the EA Website, to make it more topical, interactive and fun!  The revamping process will begin soon and you should see the results early in 2007!

Unusual Opportunity
The Slavic Village Development organization is offering one year of free rent to a business who will locate in their building on Broadway in Slavic Village.  If you are looking for that “first office”, this might be an interesting opportunity.  This is a competition, and your application must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 8th.  If you are interested in competing, contact Darlene Morales at the association office at 216-397-4573.

Member News
Boler Speakers
Dean Luis Calingo, Dr. Jack Soper and Mark Hauserman have been invited to speak at the annual conference of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) in January.  The topic is: Cross-Campus Collaboration on Entrepreneurship Programs: "Chipping Away at the Wall".

Starr Stars
Member Dick Starr has published an article in the December issue of HVAC Magazine, a trade publication that reaches 150,000 contractors throuout the US.  Dick reported that: "this is what happens to JCU Marketing Graduates who actually enjoyed English"!

Community Partners Column
The EA is forging partnerships with community organizations that are supporting entrepreneurship and have programs that may interest you. We have asked our partners to let us know five days prior to the end of the month of upcoming events; they will be reported in this column each month.

“Eight Sisters” meet at Kent State
On Friday, November 10th representatives of the “Eight Sisters” the eight 4-year degree conferring business schools in Northeast Ohio met at Kent State to discuss cooperation in promoting entrepreneurship in the region.  A dynamic new program is being developed jointly by the schools and more details will be forthcoming as the plans are finalized.

JumpStart Ohio Midwest Fund Breakfast Monday, November 7 at 6 p.m.
At Thursday, December 14th, join Credit Suisse and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System for a breakfast discussion to learn more about the Ohio-Midwest Fund and new private equity investment opportunities in Northeast Ohio.
The event is free, but you must register by December 8th.  For more information or to register please contact Teri Kirk at tkirk@lesiccamper.com or (614) 232.8309.

CEO Students go to Chicago                                                                 
A contingent of our CEO students went to the national Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization convention in Chicago the weekend of November 3rd.  Joining over 2,000 other CEO members from around the country, our students heard presentations on entrepreneurship, learned of projects they could bring to campus, and networked with fellow like-minded future entrepreneurs.

At their regular bi-weekly meeting the following week, the team representing John Carroll presented the best ideas to the students who could not attend. This resulted in the development of a couple of projects that will be done by CEO for EntrepreneurshipWeekUSA at the end of February.
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Don’t forget to send your news to us at: editor@jcuea.org.

You are receiving this e-newsletter as a member of the JCUEA. If you prefer not to receive this monthly email, please notify Darlene Morales (dmorales@jcu.edu) that you would like to “unsubscribe”; JCUEA, John Carroll University, University Heights, Ohio 44118.