Bend, Oregon: Veteran entrepreneur, Jim Schell, says in this show, "No small business owner should feel lonely." Jim spearheads the original pilot program in Bend, Oregon called, Opportunity Knocks, affectionately called OK groups.

Small business owners join an OK group which meets once a month for three hours. There are groups for business owners in retail, manufacturing, service and home-based business. The owners serve as an advisory board to one another. Meet the participants and see how they work together to solve problems and grow their businesses.

Jim Schell says, "You've got to understand two premises. First, all business problems are generic. You've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Products may be different, services may be different, but they're all generic."

Second, if you put a group of small-business people together in the same room, someone will have had the problem before, or the opportunity."

Jim also says, "Financials are financials." Yet, he wants to see each of us make them into our most powerful strategic and tactical tool.

Go to this other episode with Jim to find out more.

Watch TV? Find out which episode of the show is airing on . your local PBS-member station. The people in Bend, Oegon watch the show on Oregon Public Television.

CONTACT:
Jim Schell
Opportunity Knocks
PO Box 9073
Bend, Oregon 97708
T: 541.317.9490 F:541.317.9492
URL: http://www.opp-knocks.org/
Email: Click here.
Industry: Business services

We invite your questions or comments.

• READING YOUR FINANCIALS: Jim spent some time with us to talk about using your financials as a both a strategic and tactical weapon. Most of us give them a passing glance. Keep the passion of your revolution and evolution alive!

• 1500+ Questions and Answers within SmallBusinessSchool. Within every show there are about 15 questions and answers. Within the school, there is a place to record your answers to these questions. Your answers to the same questions that Hattie asked business owners in every episode become part of your own secure database where you have options to re-display your best answers within this site as your own profile page (that is this page), essentially an executive summary , a study guide and/or a transcript.

• FIRST PRINCIPLES: Starting a business is the road to economic independence for most of us average people. Read a little more to see why incorporating a business keeps the passion of the American revolution alive!

• SUPPORT PUBLIC TELEVISION:
  Become a member of your local station. If you are already, great. If not and your business is doing well, consider joining the Producers' Club ($1000).

• GO FURTHER: Study these key points of the case study guide (just above in the green box) and each of the related transcript segments.

• Form your own Advisory Board.
  
  First, read Jim's book, Small Business for Dummies, then check out his other suggestions as our veteran entrepreneur. He wants you to develop your own OK Group. He'll help. Give him a call.
  
  Also, try working with your local office of the following organizations:
  • SCORE. Contact your local SCORE person.
  • Chamber of Commerce. Both the local and the national Chamber are well worth your time. Some of these people could be on your own board of advisors. Wanda Walser is an advocate.
  • NFIB. An advocacy group for small business, the National Federation of Independent Business has been looking at legislation from the city to the state to the federal governments.
  • Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Associated with the Small Business Administration (SBA), there are over 1000 SBDC's in the USA and they are another resource for help and continuing education.

• Leadership and Coaching: So much about all this is deep within our souls, yet there are thousands of leadership gurus and even more coaches. And, now there are many, many special resources for women.
  
  1. Long list of leadership resources
  2. Coaching resources
  3. Women's resources

• MENTOR-PROTÉGÉ PROGRAMS: This special page of references about Mentor-Protégé Programs is especially for those who could help the US government save some taxpayer dollars by introducing new efficiencies. A mentor within this federal contracting group is an inside passage to getting government contracts. .
  
  Study more from other episodes.

• JOIN, JOIN, JOIN: Your professional associations in your industry are your key to continuing education, market research, collaborations, strategic partnerships, capital and so much more ... often you'll find that you enjoy like-minded people and many will become friends for life.
  1. AdAge
  2. Target Marketing
  3. Direct Marketing Magazine