By Carmen K. Sisson
Few things could lure an accountant from her desk in the middle of tax season, and Janice Hudson Burris felt the same way when she heard about Tuesday’s seminar by the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link.
It sounded interesting, but as an accountant and partner at Mitchener Stacy and Associates in Columbus, and the co-owner of NetPayroll, she didn’t really have the time, she reasoned.
She’s glad she changed her mind and decided to attend.
Wednesday afternoon, she couldn’t stop raving about how much she learned during the “EntreLeadership” workshop — the first in a three-part series of programs designed to ignite entrepreneurs and business owners and “feed the fire.”
Melissa Cook, vice president of the Link’s chamber division, said 257 people filled Mississippi University for Women’s Nissan Auditorium Wednesday, and most stayed the entire day.
Burris was one of those people, and she said guest speaker Chris LoCurto was “outstanding.”
LoCurto, a member of finance guru Dave Ramsey’s Speakers Group, spoke about the basic business principles that have kept Ramsey’s “EntreLeadership,” at the top of the bestseller list.
There was something for everyone, from longtime business owners to new entrepreneurs, Burris said. Even though she knew a lot of the information, it served as a refresher course, and she felt it was time well-spent.
“This is such a busy time that I really hesitated to take that time away from tax season, but it was worth it,” she said.
That’s exactly the reaction Cook hoped people would have. She wanted to bring someone “high-quality, high-caliber” to Columbus, someone who would appeal to a broad cross-section of people.
Thanks to three grants from Mississippi University for Women, MUW’s Center for Creative Learning and MUW’s Center for Creative Entrepreneurship, along with $15-per person tickets, she was able to bring LoCurto to town.
The next two programs in the “Feed the Fire” business growth series will focus upon the external aspects of business as well as a rapid-fire session in which participants can choose four of eight 20-minute classes on topics ranging from hiring and firing to corporate image and mission statements. Both programs will be free and open to the public.
Bill Fruth, a geographic economics and economic development expert, will speak March 28 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at MUW’s Nissan Auditorium. Cook said Fruth plans to discuss the economic situation in Columbus, including how many jobs the area needs to create and what the city will have to do to stay at its present level or take things to the next level.
The rapid-fire sessions will be held May 3 from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at MUW’s Cochran Hall.
The best part about the 20-minute “speed dates” with experts is that the speakers are drawn from the community, said Karen Stanley, owner of neonFROG, a marketing and public relations firm handling publicity for the event.
“It’s taking those people you know and may have admired and getting the opportunity to hear from people you’ve always wanted to hear from,” Stanley said.
“Bite-sized info” will be presented on human resources, business etiquette, grant writing, time-management and other subjects.
“We’re just trying to bring in quality speakers for the area to help businesses grow and thrive,” Cook said. “We’re trying to help them through the times everybody is struggling through.”
As for Burris, she’ll still be steeped in taxes when the second session rolls around, but she plans to attend anyway.
“I’ll just have to burn the midnight oil and work a little extra on weekends to make up for it,” Burris said.
For more information, call the Link at 662-328-8369.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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