Heartland Hints--Live Online Training for Busy People

5 Strategies for Active Economic Development

Registration is now open for the remaining two half-hour Heartland Hints webinars covering the Center's publication on "5 Strategies for Active Economic Development." The first webinar discussed stopping economic leakage. The second webinar concentrated on techniques to retain and expand local businesses and the third webinar discussed supporting local entrepreneurs and the fourth webinar looked at strategies to capture outside dollars. Participant response to this series has been positive as one recent participant told us that this format is both "short, sharp and snappy; just what I needed to focus on one key strategy. The case studies make it real and it was great to share our ideas with each other. Keep up the good work!"

The last webinar will be:

February 22, 2012--Strategy 5, Developing New Business

The webinar will be conducted by Milan Wall, Co-Director and founder of the Heartland Center, and Kurt Mantonya, Senior Associate. Case studies conducted by the Center will reinforce strategies you can use to help create a more vibrant economic development program for your community. Supplementing the presentations will be opportunities to interact through chats, polls and peer learning. The webinars will take place at 12:00 p.m. (Central) and conclude at 12:30 p.m. The cost for the fifth webinar is $35.00 (US). Registration includes a digital edition of the Heartland Center publication, "5 Strategies for Active Economic Development." All webinars are broadcast utilizing Voice Over Internet Protocol or VoIP technology. You can register for this webinar by clicking on the link below. Registration is limited to the first 100 people, so register today! For questions about Heartland Hints webinars, please email Kurt Mantonya.

You can regsiter for the webinar or the series by clicking on this link

Energizing Entrepreneurs Webinar Series

The Heartland Center in collaboration with the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship will be conducting a webinar series this winter on Energizing Entrepreneurs (e2), led by Craig Schroeder, Senior Fellow at the Center. This three-part webinar series will equip participants with the tools to implement an Entrepreneurial Development System (EDS) in their community or region.

The RUPRI Center has hosted a number of regional and national Energizing Entrepreneurship (e2) Insitutes over the past decade, and interest in this valuable training continues to be strong. However, the current economic climate creates significant constraints on the time and resources available to attend two- or three-day training events. We are responding by developing a series of e2 webinars for 2012, which combine applicable relevant content with participant interaction and shared learning, hallmarks of an e2 Institute. Each webinar will be designed to provide interaction, discussion and feedback. Webinar participants will receive a packet of down-loadable training materials that include session powerpoints and readings. Registrants will also be able to view the webinar via post-webinar recording, so you can refresh your learning experience at any time.

All webinars will be held at 12:00 p.m. (Central) and end at 1:00 p.m. The cost for the webinar series is $185.00 (USD). Each registration entitles a single user to have up to three people attend at their computer in one site. Additional registrations from the same organization will be treated as another single registration. Your purchase can be completed by clicking on the link below. You may also purchase this webianr series through an invoice. Contact Kurt Mantonya at kmantonya@heartlandcenter.info for details on payment options. For specific questions about the webinar series content, contact Craig at craig@e2mail.org.

Webinar Session Dates and Content

Wednesday, Februrary 22, 2012: The first session is a foundational introduction to entrepreneurship, and the development and support of local entrepreneurs as the bedrock of effective economic development. Participants will have an opportunity to relate the session content to their own community's support of entrepreneurs.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012: The second session digs into strategies for supporting entrepreneurs within an Entrepreneurial Development System (EDS) approach, including youth engagement, to nurture entrepreneurial talent and growth within a community or region. The session will help participants create a resource team of local and regional partners to support their work with entrepreneurs.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012: The third session is focused on steps to successfully mobilize and EDS, and builds upon the previous session content and activities. Upon completing this session, participants will have the basic resources and knowledge to implement an EDS in their community or region.

Participants who register for the webinar series will receive and e2 Resource Toolkit in addition to the powerPoint handouts for each session.

Webinar registration can be found by clicking here.