Minnesota Small Business Bulletin-August 2017

Small Business Bulletin

August 2017

Ten Insights from a Successful Entrepreneur

Tashitaa Tufaa in front of his buses

Minnesota Business-8/3/17
It took 13 years for Tashitaa Tufaa to grow his business revenue to $35 million. He came to Minnesota as a young political activist from the Oromo region of Ethiopia. His entrepreneurial story is a remarkable one — from cab driver to the owner of more than 300 school buses as part of his company, Metropolitan Transportation Network Inc. In a recent interview with Minnesota Business, he shared insights gleaned from his entrepreneurial journey.


2017 MN Cup semifinalists logo

What do Squarrel Cooperage, TeamGenius and Rhino Tools have in common? They are among the 80 finalists in the 2017 MN Cup competition. The 13th annual event is giving away a record $450,000 in total prize money this year.  

Aug. 7 marked the end of the second round of competition and the start of semifinalist judging. MN Cup semifinalists were asked to submit a 10-page business plan, 15-slide investor presentation and one-minute video. Semifinalists will be notified by Aug. 24 if they are advancing to the next round of competition.

MN Cup has posted a list of all 80 semifinalists, with links to their websites.

PRESS RELEASES

DEED Offers New Guide on How to Start a  Family Child Care Business

Woman reading book to children

DEED recently published a new manual called “First Considerations in Starting a Family Child Care Business.” The free publication provides details on licensing, financing, state laws, child care resources and more. The agency was directed by the Minnesota Legislature last year to develop and publish the manual in response to a shortage of child care services in the state, particularly in Greater Minnesota.

RECENT BLOG POSTS

Man working at computer

One potential source of workers for businesses that need help in a tight labor market is blind, DeafBlind and low-vision Minnesotans – a group that historically has been overlooked in the workforce. Read more at MinnesotaWorks.net.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Full Stack St. Paul logo

Full Stack Saint Paul is a public-private collaboration that was created to attract, retain and expand technology and innovation jobs in St. Paul. Goals include attracting 2,000 tech jobs to the city and increasing innovation-related commercial space by 200,000 square feet by 2020. Full Stack Saint Paul has more details about this ambitious initiative.