Arizona Entrepreneurs Rock!

Just returned from the second Annual Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference (http://www.azentrepreneurship.com/) . . . what a great experience!!! If you ever felt alone as a sole proprietor of a small company here in the Valley, this event is proof that (a) you're not and (b) we have a ton of talent right here in our own backyard . . . and the people who know where to find it! So as to not overwhelm and make this a ridiculously long (and therefore unreadable) post, I'll just highlight a few things I learned now and continue to add to the list over the next few days!

First, Michael Gerber, author of The E-myth Revisited and Chairman of Club E (yes, with local chapters in Phoenix and Denver currently--hello!) was amazing. He highlighted the importance of expanding the (greater) good vs. just making money, with transformation as a key goal. In other words, he seemed to advocate taking social responsibility to the next level, and, in an incredible confluence of cultures, espoused bodhichitta in a yarmulke, when he said, "You cannot create in your sleep." In other words, he says we must remain aware of ourselves (my paraphrase of his direct citation of Gurdjieff, which is such an obscure reference I'm surprised I remember how to spell it!). That is to say, be aware so that you can create meaningful results. That's what I got out of it anyway. I'll report more on Arizona Enterpreneurship Conference speakers and attendees, such as Pat Sullivan of Act!, SalesLogix and now Jigsaw Health; Rochelle Balch of RB Balch; Teri Spencer of Ephibian; Erika Feinberg of Active Forever; Mark Rukavina of iMemories; and Ingrid Vanderveldt of Club E. Also Amanda Vega was featured via a podcast during the event, reporting from adtech in New York.

You can see the presentations for yourself now, thanks to Essential Event Technologies here!