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	Home > American Express OPEN SCORE Events 2008 > American Express Open SCORE Events 2008 FAQ

Women Entrepreneurs · Site Map ·

American Express OPEN/SCORE Speed Coaching FAQ

What is the purpose of the Speed Coaching events?

What can you tell me about the co-hosts?

Where will the Speed Coaching events take place?

What is the Agenda for the event?

What workshops are being offered?

How much does Speed Coaching cost?

Who will benefit most from attending Speed Coaching?

What if participants don’t live in or near one of the five cities where the Speed Coaching events are being held? How can they benefit from this program?

What is the purpose of the Speed Coaching events?

The purpose of Speed Coaching is to provide education, resources, and inspiration to small businesses. It will do this by putting business owners on their own fast track to becoming bigger, faster, better, and stronger through participating in a focused, interactive, five-hour program that pairs them with experienced business coaches.

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What can you tell me about the co-hosts?

SCORE is America’s premier nonprofit source for free, confidential small business advice, boasting a national network of more than 10,500 experts drawn from Fortune 500 companies and successful small businesses.

As the team at American Express exclusively dedicated to providing products and services to small business, OPEN from American Express® draws on more than 20 years of market-leading expertise to help put participating small businesses on the fast track to growth and expansion.

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Where will the Speed Coaching events take place?

The confirmed cities and dates for spring 2008 Speed Coaching events are:

March 26, 2008 - Chicago, Illinois
April 23, 2008 - Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas

In 2007, the first event was held in Orlando, Florida. More details about the inaugural event.

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What is the Agenda for the event?

9:00 AM – 9:45 AM:
Business owner check-in and assignments
(Continental breakfast and networking)

9:45 AM – 9:55 AM:
Welcome and opening remarks

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM:
Speed Coaching Session #1
Workshops A, C

10:30 AM – 10:50 AM:
Networking coffee break

10:50 AM – 11:20 AM:
Speed Coaching Session #2
Workshops C, D

11:20 AM – 11:40 AM:
Networking coffee break

11:40 AM – 12:10 PM:
Speed Coaching Session #3
Workshops A, B

12:15 PM – 2:00 PM:
Luncheon, keynote address and facilitated networking

2:15 PM – 2:45 PM:
Speed Coaching Session #4
Workshops C, D

2:45 PM – 3:00 PM:
Networking coffee break

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM:
Speed Coaching Session #5
Workshops A, B

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM:
Closing remarks, prize drawings and networking

4:00 PM:
Event concludes

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What workshops are being offered?

Building a Business Plan for Growth

Growing a business is like driving cross country—in both cases, you better have a darn good map. For small business owners, that means a business plan that takes into account every aspect of your operation. If you’re looking to grow and are ready to start putting your plan on paper, this workshop will tell you what you need to know—from developing new product lines, to hiring additional personnel.

Marketing Your Business

How do you develop and define your product or service? How do you identify and understand your target market? Maximize sales to current customers? Use strategic tools to evaluate and learn from your competition? Effectively promote your company? The answer to all these questions: effective marketing. This workshop will offer an interactive discussion of cost-effective, creative, integrated marketing solutions—including guerilla advertising tactics and everyday promotional resources you may not have considered.

Success Stories

Get ready to be inspired. During this Q&A-style workshop, you’ll participate in a group conversation with a handful of entrepreneurs who have been where you are, know what you’re going through, and made it to the top. After you quiz them on the triumphs and setbacks they experienced on the road to success, you’ll be more convinced than ever of one thing: Entrepreneurs aren’t born—they’re self-made.

Following the Money

This workshop has a simple goal: to help you better understand your business finances, thus helping you direct future growth and funding. Call it the bottom line on the bottom line. Learn about the main sources of capital, what lenders and underwriters look for in a small business, how to optimize your credit profile, the basics of financial statements, and much more.

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How much does Speed Coaching cost?

The Speed Coaching events are FREE for small business owners. These events reflect the commitment of OPEN from American Express to supporting SCORE in its mission to reach out to our nation’s fastest-growing sector—small business!

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Who will benefit most from attending Speed Coaching?

Speed Coaching is designed for small business owners who will benefit from a one-on-one session with a SCORE counselor. The business owner will be introduced to SCORE’s resources and counseling program and will be able to continue counseling sessions in the future. A maximum of two people per invited company may attend the event.

SCORE and OPEN from American Express, in conjunction with your local SCORE Chapter, will welcome 250 attendees and pair them with 50 assembled SCORE business counselors.

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What if participants don’t live in or near one of the five cities where the Speed Coaching events are being held? How can they benefit from this program?

Aside from the five-city Speed Coaching events, mentoring sessions can be scheduled on a private basis through any of SCORE’s 389 chapter offices across the country. Additionally, workshops and tools to assist small business owners will be made available at no charge through the SCORE homepage, at www.score.org, and the OPEN from American Express Small Business portal, at www.openforum.com.

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American Express OPEN/SCORE Events

March 26, 2008 - Chicago, Illinois

April 23, 2008 - Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas

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