Success Story:
2011 Texas State Small Business Person(s) of the Year



Mentoring Minds was founded in 2002 by Michael and Lisa Lujan selling a single, homemade teaching aid, and is now an educational publisher with more than 50 employees and more than $10 million in 2009 sales with learning aids used in schools across the United States. The company focuses on the success of students and has a passion for developing quality educational materials such as workbooks, flip charts, learning wheels, and other aids that encourage children to develop effective problem-solving techniques. Mentoring Minds, which is minority-certified with the state of Texas and is an Historically Underutilized Business (HUB), ranked #344 in Hispanic Business Magazine’s list (June 2010) of the U.S.’s largest Hispanic-owned companies and was also ranked the 22nd fastest-growing Hispanic-owned business in 2009. It is also on Inc. Magazine’s list of the top 5000 companies in the nation for 2010. SBA Letter (PDF)

Owners: Michael L. and Lisa M. Lujan
Business Address: 4908 Hightech Drive • Tyler, TX 75703
Business Phone: 800-585-5258
Business Fax: 800-838-8186
Business Website: www.mentoringminds.com
SBA Award: 2011 Texas State Small Business Person(s) of the Year

Spring 2012
Small Business Start-up Sessions
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) offers FREE pre-counseling sessions for individuals who would like to have a better understanding of the information to be discussed when they meet with an SBDC counselor. These sessions are held on the first Wednesday of each month, as follows
01/11………….W…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
02/01………….W…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
03/07………….W…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
04/04………….W…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
05/02………….W…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Location: RTDC 108
Call 903-510-2975 to register

Management Skills Certification
(BUSG1008 - Small Business Management) Business skills are ultimately more critical to your success than the service or product you are selling. Yet for one reason or another, people in small businesses tend to spend very little time honing their management skills.
With this six-week course (only 1-evening per week) you will learn valuable skills in legal, strategic planning, insurance, financial analysis, accounting and tax, marketing and positioning and advertising. This six-week course is taught by accomplished business professionals.
BUSG1011 CRN35065…..$99
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
04/05………….R…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
FINANCING A SMALL BUSINESS
04/12………….R…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
BUSINESS PLANNING
04/19………….R…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
ACCOUNTING AND TAXES
04/26………….R…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
ADVERTISING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
05/03………….R…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLANNING
05/10………….R…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Location: RTDC 134

Certificación Técnico de Negocio
(BUSG1008 - Small Business Management) El conocimiento de negocio es aun critico para su éxito, relativo al servicio o producto que usted vende. Sin embargo por alguna rezón u otra, negociantes de pequeñas empresas proponen muy poco tiempo afilando sus habilidades de manejo de negocio.
Un curso de seis semanas (solamente una noche por semana) usted aprenderá información valiosa tocante ley, planificación estratégica, seguros, análisis financiero, contabilidad y impuestos, mercadotecnia, posicionamiento y publicidad. Las clases serán esenadas por empresarios.
BUSG1011 CRN35066…..$99
CONCIDERACIÓN LEGAL PARA SU NEGOCIO
04/03………….T…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
FINANCIAMIENTO PARA NEGOCIO PEQUEÑO
04/10………….T…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
PUBLICANDO SU NEGOCIO PEQUEÑO
04/17………….T…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
PLANIFICACIÓN DE NEGOCIO
04/24………….T…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
CONTABILDIDAD Y IMPUESTOS
05/01………….T…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
PLANIFICACIÓN ESTRATEGIA DE NEGOCIO
05/08………….T…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Ubicación: RTDC 134

Email Marketing for Small Businesses
This course provides guidelines for developing, producing, and maintaining an effective email marketing campaign from start to finish while staying within federal regulations. “Best Practices” from industry regarding email contacts, lists and management of data collected will also be covered while learning how to apply email marketing to your entire virtual presence, including Web, and how to bring services directly to your customers. (10 hrs.)
SBDC1010 CRN25093…..$79
02/07-02/28...……….T…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Location: RTDC 151

Introduction to Social Media Marketing;
Mobilizing and Managing Your Brand
This course will provide detailed descriptions for most major types of Social Media and will demonstrate how each type can be used in the marketing activities of a business. Information presented will provide assistance to the students in the proper use of Social Media function as well as identifying and selecting the right Social Media channel for their business model and marketing strategy. Also, methods of how to interchange information between Social Media functions will be placed on the importance of selecting the proper Social Media function which will yield the greatest benefit for the business. Governmental regulations related to the proper use of Social Media will be presented. A general working vocabulary of Socail Media terminology will be explanied (5 hrs.)
SBDC1010 CRN35084…..$100
03/22-03/29………….R…………..6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Location: RTDC 151

Upcoming Events

Women Entrepreneurs Networking Luncheon
“Celebrating Women’s Achievements & Possibilities”
The Tyler SBDC would like to thank everyone for attending the 2010 Women Entrepreneurs Networking Luncheon. We had a wonderful turnout and a lot of great networking opportunities for the business women of East Texas. Be sure to join us again this year for the14th Annual Women Entrepreneurs Networking Luncheon & Exhibit Thursday, August 18th as we continue to support and celebrate women’s achievements and possibilities.

Tickets $35.00 - ONLINE TICKET SALES NOW CLOSED.
*Workshop Starts at 8:45am Sharp for those who have registered to attend.

Exhibitor/Vendor Information
Contact Lori Greene, Elite Services & Events, LLC at 903-484-4309 or lori@ecuinfo.com.
Click here to download WENL 2011 Flyer

Become a sponsor
If you would like to help support the women entrepreneurs of East Texas by being a sponsor for this year’s event, please contact Kay Bookout at 903.510.2975 or via email: kboo@tjc.edu.

Criteria for logo submissions regarding company recognition/digital media use:
72 dpi, RBG color mode, jpg or png format
Submit file via email: kboo@tjc.edu.

Upcoming Events: 2011 WENL Sponsors
We would like to extend a very special thank you to our 2011 sponsors for supporting the women entrepreneurs of East Texas!
Platinum Sponsor: Greater Texas Capital Corp.
Gold Sponsor: Coming Soon
Silver Sponsor: Austin Bank
Other sponsors include: Tyler SBDC, Sharon Young, Tyler Junior College.


Make an Appointment with SCORE
What is SCORE?
www.easttexasscore.com

SCORE stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives. Working together with Tyler SBDC, SCORE offers real world business experience to help you start a business or expand an existing business. SCORE can help you understand what is involved in business ownership and decide if you are ready to start a small business.

The East Texas Chapter of SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” is part of a national nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of the nation’s small business. SCORE volunteers serve as “Counselors to America’s Small Business.”

East Texas SCORE provides all of East Texas free and confidential business counseling tailored to meet the needs of your small business and your personal objectives. East Texas SCORE and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) also offers workshops and classes to assist you setting up a small business.

SCORE volunteers are real-world professionals with time-tested knowledge who donate thousands of hours to help small businesses succeed. Counselors are experts in such areas as accounting, finance, marketing, management and business plan preparation.

Our chapter volunteers provide guidance and counseling to entrepreneurs in Smith and surrounding counties in East Texas.