By Ted A. Baker, CEO/Executive Director, Muncie Innovation Connector, Inc.—
MUNCIE, IN—The Muncie Innovation Connector, East Central Indiana’s only full-service Entrepreneurial Support Organization, is thrilled to present Business Showcase Week 2024, November 18 – 23. All events and workshops will take place at the Innovation Connector, 1208 West White River Blvd, Muncie, and are FREE to attend, but registration is required due to limited space and high demand.
Business Showcase Week 2024 will include nineteen separate events, including workshops, presentations, panel discussions, networking, and celebrations. This year’s events are directed toward existing business owners, leaders, employees, and entrepreneurs with ideas and future hopes of starting a business. Sessions are designed to provide practical takeaways to benefit attendees as they operate their businesses. Presenters during each session are highly qualified to bring attendees actionable items to improve their businesses.
Several very popular topics include Security for Your Business: Facility & Employee, IT, and Banking; Empowering Minority-owned, Veteran-owned, Women-owned Businesses: Navigating Opportunities with Local Government, Local Universities, Colleges, and Muncie Community Schools; Finding Money and Capital to Grow a Business; Business & Tax Strategies for LLCs ad S-Corps; and Moving the Bottom Line of My Business from Negative to Positive – and many more.
I would like to highlight a few very special events. Business Showcase Week 2024 begins on Monday, November 18 at 8 am with a Kickoff Celebration, including our annual awards presentation for Excellence in Entrepreneurship and a Community Supporter of the Year. It concludes with a Ted Talk about a true account of an overseas encounter that nearly had disastrous results and ended with a great story to tell.
On Wednesday, November 20, John Qualls from Indy’s Eleven Fifty Academy will lead a cutting-edge, interactive workshop on AI—Prompt Engineering for Executives and Business Leaders. John will show us how to utilize AI in our normal business operations. This workshop will be a game-changer for those who attend. No experience is needed to attend. Normally, attendees pay $300 or more to attend this workshop, but we offer it free. Again, space is limited, and registration is required.
At 8:30 am on Thursday, November 21, Ball State Coaches Rich Maloney (Baseball) and Cam Andry (Women’s Golf) will provide their Insights in Leadership: Lessons and Insights from Coaching Athletes. This is a great opportunity for our business community to learn how developing champions on the field or the course can easily transfer to how owners and managers lead their businesses and employees.
For the first time, on Saturday, November 23, from noon – 2 pm, the Innovation Connector will host an interactive session, Middle-Grade and High-School – Lunch and AI/Entrepreneurship Workshop. This is open to students in Grades 6 – 12 who want to learn more about how Artificial Intelligence can assist them to start a business of their own.
I have only highlighted a few of the many events that make up Business Showcase Week 2024. Again, this year, Business Showcase Week coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week. We are proud to bring our best programming to our community and across the globe. None of this would be possible without the generous support of the many sponsors and partners who have invested in our business community. Special thanks go to First Merchants Bank for being the Title Sponsor, the East Central Indiana Regional Planning District, Prime Trust Federal Credit Union, Spotted Monkey Marketing, R & R Engineering Co., Inc., and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation as Business Showcase Support of Excellence Sponsors. There are so many additional sponsors who make this week possible and special. For a full list of sponsors, please visit www.SHOWCASEWEEK.com.
Event registrations are now open at www.SHOWCASEWEEK.com. Remember, all events are FREE to attend, but registration is necessary.
On behalf of the entire Business Showcase Week 2024 team, we welcome you to join us for this eventful and special week.