You’ve executed your startup business idea, obtained the proper permits, insured your assets, and structured your business for success. Now, it’s time to grow. Successful business owners attribute their growth to strategic thinking, planning, and identifying opportunities for advancement. There are many things to think about as you work to bring your business to the next level of success and progress. We’re here to help.
JEDCO and the Jefferson Chamber have teamed up to bring you a Prosper Jefferson seminar on Growing a Business in Jefferson Parish. Join us for the second of a three-part seminar series on the Life Cycle of a Business. We’ve invited four experts from a variety of industries to share their insight and advice on some important Business Basics, including:
- Creating and implementing a business plan
- Identifying funding sources
- Pitching to Angel Investors
- How to obtain government contracts
- Case Study: How one local business grew into a local powerhouse
The event will take place Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at the JEDCO Conference Center from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The cost to attend is $5, which will cover a hot breakfast. Online registration is encouraged, but we also accept walk-ins and credit card payment at the door. Register to attend here.
Meet our Speakers
Carmen Sunda, Louisiana Small Business Development Center – Greater New Orleans
As Director of the LSBDC Greater New Orleans and Bayou Region, Carmen is responsible for the management and operations of a 10-parish regional SBDC with multiple collaborative partners. She has over thirty years of experience in assisting small businesses in achieving growth, profitability and sustainability. She has been recognized nationally for her expertise and innovation.
Her areas of specialty include strategic marketing, loan packaging, market research, management and risk management. She was named the Louisiana SBDC State Star in 2007 and awarded the SBA 2009 Financial Services Champion of the Year for the state of Louisiana. In 2015, Carmen was honored as one of the 50 Women of the Year by CityBusiness and awarded a Louisiana Economic Development Collaborative Excellence Award for collaborative partnership with St. John the Baptist parish. The LSBDC GNOBR was awarded the Louisiana SBDC Center Innovation award in 2011 and 2013 and was named the top SBDC in the Nation for 2013 by the U.S. Small Business Administration receiving the National Small Business Development Center Service Excellence and Innovation Award.
Eileen R. Lodge, LA-PTAC
Eileen R. Lodge, is a New Orleans, LA-PTAC Counselor, she is responsible for counseling Contractors in ten Louisiana parishes, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James St. Mary and Terrebonne. She has been working with LA-PTAC since December 2015. Before, Eileen worked for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Contract Specialist/Contracting Officer with over 32 years of government contracting experience. She has worked with the Corps in the New Orleans District, Kansas City District, Gulf Region District North and South, Afghanistan Engineering District South and Transatlantic Programs Center (TAC) with an unlimited Contracting Officer warrant. Eileen has a Bachelor Degree in Business Management from Northwood University and retired from the government with the highest level in contracting, Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level III. Eileen is currently a member of Women Impacting Public Policy, (WIPP). Eileen resides in Orleans Parish.
Mike Eckert, NO/LA Angel Network
Mike Eckert, a native of Chicago, is a seasoned business executive with particular expertise in the early stage investment eco-system. He has extensive start up experiences as a member of the launch team of The Weather Channel/Weather.com where he served as its President and CEO for 14 years, and which brought him to New York City and Atlanta. He also served as Chairman and CEO of Pathfire, a leading digital video asset management and distribution company. Mike has been an angel investor since 1997 and currently is Chairman of the NO/LA Angel Network a group of 100 high net-worth individuals that invests in early stage companies. Mike is also a member of the Board of Directors of the national Angel Capital Association (ACA), which is comprised of over 200 angel-investing groups and 15,000 individual investors nation-wide. He has served as Vice Chairman of the ACA and Chair of the ACA’s Public Policy and Strategic Planning Committees. Mike is past Chairman of the Atlanta Technology Angels, the largest angel investment group in the Southeast, and one of the most active angel investment groups in the USA, and is a former fellow in Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center. . Mike currently is a limited partner in a number of Venture Capital Funds, is on the Investment Committee of the New Orleans Start-Up Fund, the Advisory Committee of the Louisiana Venture Capital Fund and the Advisory Board of the New Orleans Bio-Innovation Center.
Teresa Lawrence, Delta Personnel
Teresa was born in Cuba and traveled to the United States with her family in 1973. In 1988, she married David Lawrence, whose family owned and operated a staffing agency, Delta Temporaries. That same year, the business began to struggle after her father-in-law was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, so David and Teresa quit their jobs and took over the family business. With no formal training in the staffing profession, they spent years trying to run the business, get out of debt, and just survive. In 2000, Teresa became the sole owner of Delta Personnel. Eighteen years later, Delta Personnel is on the leading edge of the industry.
Teresa participated in and graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program in New Orleans, which helped her company double sales to over $7 million in 2018. The company’s list of achievements is long and varied. Delta Personal ranked on the 2017 Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list and was recognized by the Jefferson Chamber for its Healthy Business Practices. Teresa was honored with a 2016 New Orleans CityBusiness Women of the Year Award. Teresa is a member of a number of organizations. She serves on the JEDCO Board of Commissioners, Jefferson Parish Workforce Development Board, Women Business Enterprise National Council Forum, Women President Organization-Louisiana Chapter, and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board. She also serves as the Regional Director of Women’s Business Enterprise South.
