Speakers – Introduction
“Climbing Success and Making a Difference: My Journey and Your Future”
My presentation will cover a bit of my story: leadership, dreams, adventures, challenges, goals, and more. It will refer to different streets and avenues I took and what I have encountered alone the way. I will share my goals and accomplishments being a successful deaf business woman. I will also talk about climbing success, which we are all searching to find our way through. Looking at what it means to be deaf itself is the adventure that offers us the personal growth and what it takes to make that climb. Our interactions with people can be seen as opportunities to help or be helped. We may not have a choice about the path we climb, but we do have a choice about how we climb on the path. We can climb with openness, courage and acceptance, or we can climb with resistance, defensiveness, and fear. The transformations we go through are what make the difference in that path we climb. By sharing my story and encouraging others to climb, I will show them that “IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING.”
“The Power of Votes and Voices”
My presentation will cover why the small business community should be active on the legislative front, the formation of legislative policy, creating and managing a grassroots network to identify and track legislation important to small business owners. Keeping your employees and elected officials informed. Effectively advancing your legislative agenda. Many of today’s labor and self-interest groups have learned the lesson that political power is necessary. This power must be cultivated and when necessary, it must be used aggressively and with great determination. Small businesses must learn this lesson because whether you like it or not politics will be all over your business. This guiding principle is a characteristic American business has to embrace and stay heavily engaged in today’s business and economic climate. Being proactive in these critical areas will help you succeed and grow your business.
“Deaf business still means business despite the recession”
- Business – my perspective. As a Deaf Sign user, setting up and running a business which initially was just me and my PA to a successful concern dealing with many high profile companies and partners in the business world. I would like to be able to tell colleagues about how this is possible and how I did it practically speaking.
- Learning from your business mistakes. I am not too proud to think I have not made any mistakes and am happy to provide examples. As the saying goes, it isn’t making mistakes that is the problem, it is how we deal with them.
- “Nothing is Impossible” – how different is this from “Impossible is Nothing”? Taking the theme of the conference, I would like to translate it into Sign Language as it would be signed “Impossible – nothing”. Literally speaking, it means the same thing of course, but if we look closely at the language involved, I would be taking the idea of impossibility first and adding the negation afterwards, which turns it into a positive message. It also reinforces my first highlight, in that my experience as a business man has been like this.
At first, I and others thought it was impossible for me to succeed, because I am Deaf and the business world has traditionally been a hearing one.
Through persistence and trial and error, I have turned the experience and my business into a positive, living, breathing success. I would like other Deaf people to see this and to believe that “impossible is nothing”.
“Overview of Patents and Trademarks for Deaf owners”
This presentation covers an understanding of a few basics of Intellectual Property law that every deaf businessperson must know. This knowledge can go a long way in helping your business grow and remain competitive. Why bother with trademarks of unique ASL signs that represents your company? Are getting patents or trademarks too expensive? Find out if they are right (or wrong) for your business. Presentation will include interactive examples of how to prepare and submit patent or trademark applications.
Knowledge is your power!
Raja Kushalnagar’s full bio
“Protecting your business from liability losses!”
When you own your own business, there is always the possibility of causing harm to someone else, and unless you are prepared to face this reality, there remains the chance that everything you own can be wiped out in a heartbeat. Sole proprietor businesses, typically the category in which a home business falls, are especially susceptible to causing the owner to lose not only the business assets, but their personal assets as well, if you are on the losing end of a liability claim.
SCORE Workshops
Counselors cover topics that have proved most challenging to small businesses, such as writing a winning business plan, marketing for success and managing your money. All presenters bring years of industry and business experience. Workshops also offer an opportunity to interact with other small business owners.
-Creating a winning business plan; Cash flow forecasting; Manage your money; How to select the correct legal structure(Business Legal Structure); Starting and Running your own business; How to buy a business.
“Understanding the Economy”
By understanding the macro (the big picture) economy better, then we can make intelligent and rational decision-making at personal and business level. Ecomony is made up of society making everyday decisions in terms of providing supply of and in demand for product and services.
Besides the supply of and demand for product and services, we need to make rational and intelligent decisions with our savings and investments regarding approximate future outcome in our economy. By understand the economy better, then we can identify the needs for investments into productive and profitable enterprises and have higher chance for those enterprises to become successful.
One part of the whole economic picture that is pretty much mis-understood is the money supply. I will cover the understanding and details about the money supply so you can “see” the future better and thus making better decisions regarding the savings and investments.
I will also explain the basics of our banking system because our money supply is pretty much tied into our banking system.
By fully understand the economy and thus see the future more clearly than before, then you can really make better economic decisions for your personal and business levels.
How Healthcare Trends May Impact on Small Business
As Washington is constantly changing various proposals on U.S. health care reform, this has left many consumers and business owners struggling to understand just how this will affect them. This will give you an impartial outlook on the health care problem and weigh the pros and cons on hot issues. Investing in the future of U.S. health care is important while maintaining a fiscal responsibility makes this a challenging debate. Step away from politics and get the facts. Business owners, contractors, and employees can gain a better understanding of these potential results and how to adapt their business plan.
2010 Economic & Tax Update and How it May Impact Your Business Organization
With many legislation changes in Washington and federal regulators trying to stimulate the U. S economy, this presentation will explain how various event s may impact business organizations. What’s the impact of the stimulus money? Will the credit market loosen up? What’s expected from the real estate market? Should I hold off on raising my sales price? And, this will give some insight on the business possibilities in the months ahead.
“The Launch and Evolution of a Start Up Company”
Jason will explain what a start-up company is and what type of structures start-ups come in. Start-up companies are created by breakthroughs in new ideas or new services. Most start-ups are initially funded by the founders themselves. The failure rate of start-up companies is very high. He will discuss three types of business structure a person can start: corporation, LLC, or a sole proprietorship. He will also cover different funding options such as grants, venture capitalists, angel investors, banks, and “bootstrapping”.
Jason will also go over the importance of getting patent protection for a product or a service before starting a company. If a company’s value is based on its technology, it is often equally important for the business owners to obtain intellectual property protection for their idea. Another important and critical aspect of launching a startup company is a business plan. The business plan is the heart and roadmap of the vision of the company. Jason will discuss the formula of what is required in a business plan.
“Personal and Business Debt Management”
Introducing to the Best and Simplest Personal & Business Financial Management System that saves thousands of dollars of debts, frees up more time to focus ON business than IN business, improves personal and professional relationships, and provides up to date financial reporting system.
“Understanding the different types of marketing strategies and revenue sources”
Goal: -Understand the different types of marketing strategies
-Understand how to use the business tool that will help with expanding business
Participants will learn:
- 4 different areas in business that brings in cash
- 4 conversion steps from prospects to buyers
- 10+ marketing strategies that will create short & long term income
- Tool is available to use
Activities:
- Participants will conduct mini-assessment of own company’s marketing efforts identifying “weak” area in the business with a partner
-Brak-away activities discussing how they can utilize one of these strategies in their business
-Create general picture of short and long term plan.
Participants will leave with:
-Understanding with new marketing strategy ideas
- Tools to use to expand marketing efforts of their own business and services
- Resources for coaching programs.
“Interpreting For With Deaf Professionals”
“Interpreting For With Deaf Professionals”workshop will explore the challenges Deaf Professionals and interpreters will face while working together at various levels of management and skill. Today Deaf Professionals can be seen working and thriving in the government, federal, university, K-12 education, not-for-profit organization, and private industry realms. This setting is quite different from early 20th century employment of the deaf where most used to work in blue collar positions such as printer, teacher of the deaf, mechanic, etc.
Thanks to the 1984 ADA law implementation and TRS/VRS availability, more and more Deaf people have broken the glass ceiling to higher management levels. To keep up with the Deaf Professional’s fast track to success, this workshop will enhance Deaf Professionals and interpreters’ knowledge and skills providing the tools they need to work effectively with the community they serve.
“What Are the Fastest Growing Careers in Business?”
How to Keep or Look for a Better Job in Business World.
In any highly competitive field – and these days every field is highly competitive – being different is the only way to win. Nobody wants to sell a commodity and nobody wants to be a commodity.
We model ourselves and our businesses after other successful people and businesses, spending considerable money and energy discovering and replicating best practices, looking for that one recipe for success.
Trying to accomplish ourselves by being the same as others, only better, it is hard to sustain. There are too many smart, hard-working people out there all trying to excel by being the best at what everyone else is doing. It is simply easier to be unique.
How can you move closer to your unique value in order to land your job or keep your job? Can you be more effective by being yourself?
“TEAM Dysfunction”
Dysfunction is at the very heart of why teams – even the best ones – often struggle. Business world faces confrontations with dysfunctions daily. It might plague people’s career, business operations, and any company’s revenue even sales.
I’d like to introduce you to outlines of the powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohensive, effective team.
There you will learn how to overcome the dysfunction and run a team effectively in business operations.
Larry Umberger’s full bio
“Project Planning”
Each type of business involves some degree of project planning. Regardless of its size or complexity, every project has some similar elements. By working smarter, we learn to be more creative as we manage the use of our resources. This workshop will include some hands-on activities designed to foster teamwork and getting result.
