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Greetings, Hennepin County business community. In this week’s newsletter, we invite you to read about the following topics:
- Legal advisor Davis Senseman clears up contract confusion
- Elevate Answers: Market research at the library
- ELEVATEor Pitch: Annie Liang Music
- Applications open for CEO Next
- Event Spotlight: Celebrating entrepreneurship with Victor Hwang
If you know someone who would benefit from the info covered in this week’s newsletter, please forward it to them.
Elevate Hennepin legal advisor Davis Senseman, founder of Davis Law Office.
When growing a business, there are always legal questions, lots of documents, and it can get pretty confusing. Elevate Hennepin advisor and founder of Davis Law Office, Davis Senseman, said she gets it, and she's here to help make sense of it all for entrepreneurs across Hennepin County.
“I always tell people, you didn't open a restaurant or start this retail store because you were really good at paperwork,” said Davis. "We’re here to help you with that other stuff, and that’s what I love about Elevate.”
She gets a lot of questions about contracts and offers tweaks and expertise to understand the legal jargon. Read how a little contract work can make the day-to-day of operating a business a bit easier.
Knowledge of the market you’re entering is essential when creating a business plan. As an established or soon-to-be Hennepin County entrepreneur, you are eligible for a Hennepin County library card and access to the Business Market Research Collection — one of HCLIB’s many perks!
Major questions to focus on when doing market research are:
- Is there a demand for my product/service?
- How saturated is the market for my product/service?
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What is the employment rate and income range of my potential customers/clients?
Doing this research will support you in feeling confident about your budding business and will serve you well as you apply for loans or pitch to investors.
Local Minneapolis musician Annie Liang sought consulting support from Elevate Hennepin when she wanted to take her artistry to the next level. Annie worked with Elevate Hennepin’s Yan Pang, of Springboard for the Arts.
Annie shares, “Yan helped me find my voice in songwriting and provided me a safe space for me to grow and explore as an artist. Elevate Hennepin gave me this precious opportunity working with professional people like Yan to help my business grow.”
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 Applications are now open for CEO Next, a group-learning opportunity designed to help successful business leaders keep growing and solving challenges of scale.
In CEO Next, business owners receive:
- 30 hours of deep industry research from Elevate Hennepin partner Edward Lowe Foundation.
- Action-oriented speakers who have successfully grown their companies to regional or enterprise levels.
- Facilitated conversations with successful peers to tackle unique challenges with fresh perspective.
“Really, you don’t get the opportunity to sit down with a group of people who have been in business for as long as they had anywhere else,” said Silva Screen Printing CEO Jacque Lee Jaque Lee. “The knowledge and wealth of information that was given to is incredible."
This opportunity is offered to qualified business owners at no cost through funding provided by Hennepin County. Applications are closing soon, submit your application today to secure your spot in CEO Next.
 Victor Hwang, founder and CEO of Right to Start
Join us as we celebrate the amazing accomplishments of local and national entrepreneurship and look forward with Victor Hwang, founder of Right to Start, an organization working to make it easier for everyone across the county to start and grow their business.
Entrepreneurs drive job creation, boost incomes, and generate wealth in our communities. Yet, starting and growing a business is often challenging for many. Hear how local, state, and national leaders are prioritizing economic opportunity through entrepreneurship.
See how Minnesota and Hennepin County economic development efforts fit in with national efforts to develop more businesses and what you can do to support them.
Register soon, there are limited seats available for this event.
In-person event, August 29, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
7700 France Avenue South Auditorium Bloomington, MN 55435
No-cost
The entrepreneur's SEO toolkit
Are you a small business owner trying to make sense of search engine optomization (SEO)? Join this workshop from Elevate Hennepin education partner SCORE to understand the what, why, and how of getting found online.
Online event, August 21, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Register today
Financial literacy for your small business
In this presentation from the Small Business Administration (SBA), learn about bookkeeping, financial statements, cash flow, P & L, business financing, loans/access to capital, SBA backed financing, and SBA resource partners.
Online event, August 21, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Register today
Small business consultations
Drop in at the Minneapolis Central library for one-on-one consultations with entrepreneurial experts from Elevate Hennepin partners LegalCORPS, SCORE, and the Minneapolis Small Business Team.
In-person event, August 27, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
300 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, MN 55401
Register today
How ERAF can transform your business
Join the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to discover how your business can benefit from the Employer Reasonable Accommodation Fund (ERAF), an initiative that reimburses small to mid-sized businesses up to $30,000 for expenses related to providing reasonable accommodations for job applicants and employees with disabilities.
Online event, August 28, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Register today
CEO Next information session
Join Elevate Hennepin staff, CEO Next alum, and facilitators to learn about this 9-month opportunity to engage in CEO roundtables, learn from speaker forums, and work with a team of experts on strategic research to achieve your unique business goals.
Virtual event, September 5, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.
Register today
Thanks for following along with us! If you know someone who could use any of the resources above, please forward this newsletter or tell them to sign up!
We’ll be back in your inbox in a couple weeks. Until then, you can follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram! Be a part of our online community by sharing your #ElevateHennepin stories and tagging @ElevateHennepin in your posts.
Have a great week!
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