Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all!! May all your wishes come true and may your life be filled with blessings this coming 2010 (ie, great internship, being incredibly busy with work and friends, hoping your partner gets a MAP where you can visit or that is not too far and he doesn't go too long, and having winter end soon!).

This is the beginning of this blog where hopefully you will find different experiences and helpful tips on how to handle MBA life as a partner...

My secret? SPARK! It is an incubator in Michigan where I got in touch with 3 entrepreneurs that keep me busy with fun projects. Here's some info on how to do it:


SPARK Volunteer Consultant Program
Ann Arbor SPARK works with hundreds of early stage entrepreneurs that are trying to help transform the SE Michigan economy. For many of these companies, there is no funding available for them to hire consultants to work on their business plans, do market research, make sales calls, and do many other projects related to product or business development. If you have business or technical experiences, and would like to volunteer your time to help a startup, please consider this program. Here is how it works:
1. Send a paragraph description of your background to Amy Cell, Amy@AnnArborSPARK.org. (Examples below)
2. Amy will include it (without your name or contact information) in a newsletter that goes out to local entrepreneurs every 3-4 weeks.
3. Entrepreneurs contact Amy if they would like to get connected with you, and Amy will forward the entrepreneur information over to you. You can decide with whom to meet.
4. Once you decide to connect with an entrepreneur in need, you would mutually agree on the work to be done, time frame, and other details.

If you have any questions about this program, you can contact Amy Cell at Amy@AnnArborUSA.org or 734-821-0075.

AL - His training and skills are in mechanical engineering. With experience in design, process and manufacturing, he has worked with small and medium sized start-up manufacturers. He has taken products from customer concept through design and build. He is looking for early stage start-ups that need help.

DM - She recently completed her MBA with a concentration in marketing and biosciences management. She has over four years of experience in project management, marketing and business development in the life science industry. She has experience managing a multitude of projects that included customer relationship management, marketing campaign administration, and analyzing data to create a sales and marketing plan. She has also been involved in creating a business plan to grow the biosciences program at NC State. She recently moved to Michigan and is trying to make contacts and get connected in the life sciences industry in the area. While continuing to search for full time employment she’s interested in project work that compliments her background.