My friends and family who are all Cable TV junkies are always down and out about where the country is headed. I even have one relative preparing for the upcoming revolution, if it would happen. (Note: He is not participating in any group, he is just preparing himself to protect his property). This is all foreign thought to me.

I was asked, what do you think? I pointed out that there are a lot of smart people in this country always generating new ideas for business. Business is happening. The problem is Cable Television is not reporting on it because good news does not conform to the “economy of fear and anger” ruling our flat screens. I conveyed a story about a friend who I had not seen in a while.  Last time we had met, he was involved in a startup dealing with medical informatics. I asked him how it was going, he says, “I sold that company. It got bought by a big company recently.  I am now onto building a new company.”

And, this weekend, there was the Startup Weekend at Purdue. It was a marathon event where 60 bright people came up with several ideas to start a new business. Out of Indiana, one idea has made it to the Global Battle.

Startup Weekend Indianapolis

“StartUp Weekend Indianapolis has brought together people with ideas and people with skills. A mix of seasoned vets, and lots of rookies are spending the weekend, building something truly exciting. .. The weekend is filled with opportunities to learn new things, try new things, and possibly even build something. Check out the Schedulee .. Busy this weekend? Join us for just the Pitches Sunday night and see who goes on to compete in the Global Battle.”

It is a national program where hope is ever present. Let’s take some ideas and build a new company from it.

It really is time to turn off Cable TV and the “Economy of Fear and Anger.”

Look around your community and I am sure you will find an economy of Entrepreneurs in your area. People who live to turn ideas into action. These people are your leaders. They are the ones that turn ideas into jobs. Here in Indianapolis, there are several groups specializing in supporting their industries. Techpoint, Indiana Venture Club,  and Bio-Crossroads to name a few. These groups support new businesses and ideas in our community.

Now, we have Startup Weekend.  How cool is that? Turn off Cable TV, look around, you will find there is Gold in your community.  Join the real revolution – Entrepreneurs building new industries. It’s the American Way.

Last week on Thursday April 22, 2010, Erik Deckers participated in the Strategy Session called Mistakes Small Business Makes in their marketing.  Erik was responsible to talk about “The 3 Mistakes Companies Make with Their Blogging and Social Media.  He will discuss the following:

1. Ignoring Social Media
2. Broadcasting, Not Conversing
3. Abandoning the Plan

I think he did a pretty good job.

Check it out:

Ron Sukenick approached me several weeks ago and described a new networking event he was putting together called “At the Top“.

As he was describing At the Top, it had a familiar sound to it.  It sounded a lot like the old Entrepreneurs Alliance of indiana.  I thought, “man I miss the old Entrepreneur’s Alliance.”  I miss seeing everyone on the 3rd Thursday of every month to have drinks and learn about how business started, failed and succeeded.  See, I used to be President of EAI.  We had too much competition and everyone just kind of pulled out.

So, Ron asked if Professional Blog Service would like to be a co-sponsor of the event.  I said, “Absolutely”.

Here is why, I would not have co-started Professional Blog Service, if not for the Entrepreneurs Alliance.  It was there that I heard many stories from many different Indianapolis business people who were just like me.  My  all-time favorites were:

• Ray Compton – “You don’t need a lot of money to market, you need to be creative.”
• Harley Davidson – “There are three things needed to be a successful manager – knowledge, experience, and emotional competency.”  With the emphasis on emotional competency.
• Jeff Smulyan – Great story about how he got started

And the other companies:

• Ritters Ice Cream
• JD Byrider
• Scott Jones
• Ontario Systems

The list really goes on and on.  There were a lot of great companies and speakers that participated at the Entrepreneurs Alliance of Indiana.

So, Ron has resurrected this idea with his “At the Top” program.  The venue is the excellent Skyline Club downtown.  (See the metaphor here, “At the Top”  on top of Indianapolis?)  The format is going to be similar to what we did at EAI.  There will be cocktails and appetizers with a guest speaker for each meeting.

So, if you are an Entrepreneur seeking inspiration from other Entrepreneurs that have gone through what you are experiencing, go to the “At the Top” meeting November 18, 2009.

What:  At the Top

When:  November 18, 2009

Time:  5:30p

Where:  Skyline Club – Downtown Indianapolis

Professional Blog Service is very happy to be a co-sponser of this important series of meetings.  Without Entrepreneurs, there is no economy.

You can learn more about At The Top here.

Paul Lorinczi is President of Professional Blog Service.