Through The Mythic Group and my involvement with the United Nations Association - YPIC Greater Detroit chapter as director of the Entrepreneurship Committee, I'm spearheading a conference to encourage the growth (some would say rebirth) of Michigan as fertile territory for small business and entrepreneurship.
This is my vision for the event:
The State of Success: Michigan Cross-County Conference is a distributed event organized by The Mythic Group and the Entrepreneurship Committee of the UNA-YPIC. It will take place at several different venues over the course of four days Friday, Jan. 16, 2010, to Monday, Jan. 19, 2010, in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties in Southeastern Michigan. We will include other counties if possible through the involvement of other organizations.
The conference is a multipurpose event with three core elements:
- Change the public discourse about Michigan: Are you as tired as I am of the popular dialogue revolving around our region? Factional incivility and in-fighting that undermines common goals, negative political discussion both in-state and out-of-state, national magazines making studies of our despair and disrepair ... it's past time to change the talk. That doesn't mean sugarcoating our weaknesses; it means accentuating our strengths. We need to both raise Michigan morale and build upon legitimate Michigan momentum.
- Answer the question, "Why would anyone want to stay in Michigan?": Government, schools, jobs, and other things we think of as institutions have been under assault in this state. But, we're still here, and there is hope. This conference should help people clearly see that hope and understand what to expect and how to do their part to see Michigan improve. Thorugh this event we must create relationships with one another, because every consumer and business owner, citizen and politician, stranger and neighbor with whom you share this state is a potential partner and resource with the common interest of strengthing Michigan.
- Give people hope about the future of doing business in Michigan: It is crucial that we help people connect to the other people, products, services, and resources that will help them succeed here. By showing successes of the previous year, we will look forward to the coming year and how we will build upon that success. Let's give people reason for hope for financial and business success in Michigan.
I intend on seeing this conference happen in a unique way. Instead of being held at a central location, it will be a distributed event, occuring at several locations around the state over the course of the MLK Day weekend. As I write this, it is Veterans Day, a day about gratitude and freedom in America. In my view, entrepreneurship is all about freedom, and that weekend allows us to rally behind that sentiment. All successes in the state may not directly involve entrepreneurship, but the concept of taking control of one's financial destiny in that way sums up the promise of freedom for me, and I think that is a theme that resonates in these trying economic times.
I would like presenters to explore a variety of topics on the theme of success. Both speakers and venues should trumpet and reveal their successes over the previous year. Snapshots of local successful startups and small businesses, projects that have promoted the success of individuals, Michigan's business role on the world stage, how Michigan businesses have survived and even grown during the recession, the future of Green tech and business in the state, the growth of the Michigan film industry, prospecting in the state, local pockets of prosperity largely unaffected by the economic downturn -- all of these are fertile subjects to dig into and present.
It's my hope that this conference will encourage the proliferation of sustainable engines for economic growth (jobs, business income, etc.) in the state, particularly in SE Michigan, the area of operation for our chapter of UNA-YPIC and the place where the national spotlight often rests. I also want it to bring profitable returns not only to my company and to our organization, but to all involved presenters, attendees, venues, sponsors, organizations, and participants. I'm interested in the idea of it contributing to the establishment of something I call The Phoenix Fund, which would be managed by a 501(c)(3) and dedicated to awarding endowments to entrepreneurs and small businesses with a high probability of transforming an endowment into regional economic growth.
If you would like to participate as a sponsor, presentor, host, organizer, or attendee, please let me know. A good way to do that would be to contact me at ron@mythicgroup.com. Another would be to call 734-968-9301 and ask for Ron Marshall. Or just jump into the conversation here or on Facebook: http://ping.fm/hkduV
- Ron Marshall
. Why don't we stop doing that?
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