Networking/Education
Events and services are focused on improving overall entrepreneurial knowledge:
- CEO / CFO roundtable events
- Educational speakers at bi-monthly membership meetings
- Educational materials & guidance
- Electronic newsletters
- Executive Entrepreneur Forums
Networking Services
The EDC sponsors networking events designed to expand entrepreneur peer and resource pools. Events include business/social exchange programs with guest speakers and targeted networking invitees, as well as venues for entrepreneurs to present their business models for funding.
Renew Rural Iowa Program
Renew Rural Iowa (RRI) is an Iowa Farm Bureau program that combines an innovative mentoring model for entrepreneurs with a rural vitality investment fund. The program is designed to enhance the enterprise value of existing or new rural Iowa businesses to encourage their reinvestment within the community, thereby increasing the overall wealth of that community. The program combines the relationships, network and resources of IFBF with the business mentoring muscle of Cedar Rapids-based Entrepreneurial Development Center, Inc. (EDC).
Part of the RRI program includes two one-day seminars, a Business Development and Business Success seminar series. The Business Success seminar, based on Curt Nelson's Baking and Business 101™, will cover the fundamental components to building and growing a successful business:
- Strategic Fit
- Business Planning
- Building and leading the optimal management team
- Leadership and its effect on performance
- Resources – money, technology, and facilities
For more information on Baking and Business 101, visit www.bakingandbusiness.com. For more information on Renew Rural Iowa, visit www.renewruraliowa.com.
