Professor Stan Mandel to Particpate in Winston-Salem Business Accelerator Program

Business Accelerator program to begin Jan. 19
Reposted from Winston-Salem Journal | By Richard Craver

A new initiative by the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce aims to offer officials at small- and midsize businesses new insights into running their companies.

The chamber’s monthly Business Accelerator seminar program will begin Jan. 19 and run through November, excluding July. The seminars will be held from 3 to 6:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month in the chamber’s boardroom at 601 W. Fourth St. Professors at Forsyth Technical Community College, Salem College, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University will be the instructors. Corporate partners of the chamber will assist.

Jill Atherton, the chamber’s vice president for economic development, said Wednesday that the seminars will cover topics such as creating an effective business plan, financial management, time and stress management, marketing and customer service. The professors have hands-on experience in consulting with local businesses and understand how to effectively teach adults, Atherton said.

“This offering is great for business owners that don’t have the time to pursue a business degree but still want to know the latest trends and information at a modest cost,” she said.

The cost is $10 a seminar or $75 for the series. The program requires participants to read material before each seminar.
“We plan to present certificates to those that complete the series,” Atherton said. “Those that attend individual programs will get a notebook with course information and additional resources.”

The first seminar — creating an effective business plan — will be presented by Stan Mandel, the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University.

“We will incorporate real-world experiences with classroom learning to be sure the participants can take what they learn and apply it to their businesses,” Mandel said.

Atherton said the idea came from chamber members wanting to learn collectively about economic and business trends from higher-education sources.

“National studies show that businesses that plan for growth and anticipate challenges have higher rates of success than those that don’t,” Atherton said.

“But business owners and managers find it difficult to make the time to do that, and they don’t know where to turn for insights and information that apply to their businesses.”

Registration is required. For more information, call Sonya Clark at 728-9202 or e-mail sclark@winstonsalem.com.