From ASME San Francisco Section January 1997 Newsletter:
Small Business Report: January 1997
by Eric E. Worrell, P.E., Small Business Committee Chair, ASME Region IX and San Francisco Section
This column, past editions, upcoming small business events, The Small Business and Consultants Referral List and more are on the web at http://www.ccnet.com/~eew/asmesfsb/.
At the afternoon presentation of the Small Business Forum., held Tuesday, November 14, at the IMECE in San Francisco, the wrap-up discussion focused on the question, "What can ASME do for small business?" Two main themes in reply were "local" and "affordable". And so was born ASME San Francisco Section's Small Business Committee. Here are my ideas on what we can do to help each other as engineers in small business.
1) Get together one evening a month over pizza, burritos, Chinese take-out or such to exchange experiences and advice and help each other brainstorm problems.
a) Meeting room convenient to transportation from San Francisco, East Bay and North Bay (near 12th Street, 19th Street, MacArthur, Lake Merritt, El Cerrito Plaza or other BART?)
b) Different topic focus for each month's discussion--solo consultant, multi-engineer consulting firm, small manufacturer, solo engineer in small, non-engineer run company, legal issues, insurance issues, choosing accountants, lawyers and other service providers....
c) Work with Santa Clara Valley and Mt. Diablo Sections and other local engineering and non-engineering organizations to combine efforts. Possibly have each section have a small business group meet a different day of the week and different weeks of the month to accommodate more of our crazy schedules.
2) Provide speakers from within the small business committee to one or two Section Meetings a year.
3) Determine common professional development requirements and organize local, low hassle, inexpensive, conveniently scheduled professional development seminars and short courses.
4) Place small business member of the month listings in the newsletter.
5) Provide feedback to the regional and national organizations within ASME to help them help small business.
6) (Place your ideas here)
If you are interested, have suggestions, or can provide or suggest a location, please contact Eric Worrell by telephone or fax at (510) 689-4579. Our Small Business Committee kickoff will be the January Section Meeting. The topic will be "The Mechanical Engineer as Consultant -- A Panel Discussion" A brief organizational meeting will be held following the general meeting.
As with any volunteer commitment the question arises, "What's in it for me." As I'm just starting my own business, The Ergonomic Energy Works, specializing in Engineering and Organizational Creativity Consulting,, Product Development and Freelance Writing, I'll be looking for advice from some of you on what mistakes to avoid, how to get good help, clients, etc. Hopefully, I can help you with fresh ideas and client and resource leads. We each have different strengths. We can be stronger working together while enjoying our independence!
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