COSE SBC

Say what you will about Cleveland’s weather, sports teams or certain other aspects, but one thing you can’t accuse our area of is a lack of support for the small  business owner.  One such example takes place in one week as the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) presents its annual Small Business Conference (SBC) on October 20 and 21 at the IX Center.  The two-day conference is designed specifically as a resource and support system for small businesses and entrepreneurs across the 8 counties of Northeast Ohio.  More than 1,600 people are expected to convene each day to attend workshops, hear inspirational keynote presentations from nationally recognized speakers, network with other professionals from all walks of the business community, and learn about resources and services at the SBC trade show.  The energy during the course of the Conference is almost palpable, as business owners and their employees leave with fresh new ideas, more business insight and new contacts to follow up with after the event.  What’s best is that SBC is free to the first attendee of any COSE member, and $75 per additional employee from that COSE member business.  Not a COSE member but thinking of joining?  SBC-time is the perfect time to join as the Conference costs over $400 for nonmembers!

In total SBC offers over 90 educational workshops and presentations.  Two of those are programmed and presented by the COSE Arts Network to help creative entrepreneurs with specific business issues.  On Wednesday, October 20 from 2:45 pm to 4:00 pm  Geniocity’s own Carolyn Jack and Noelle Celeste will present Branding and Communications for Artists, a workshop discussing how to reach your customers, clients, art consumers and the general public alike, and how to build and leverage a brand, create a comprehensive communication strategy and relate the personalized story of your arts business to the world.

Then on Thursday, October 21 from 1:00 pm to 2:15 pm, leading intellectual property attorney Sharon Toerek will present Cover Your Assets! – Intellectual Property Law for Artists in Business, a look at the many tools available to protect you and your artistic work (copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, licensing and contracts).  Sharon will provide guidance on each and how to utilize them in your respective arts field.