Website aims to help artists space out

 

Nycpaspaces.org launches as a place where artists can find, schedule and rent performance and rehearsal space; and organizations can produce revenues from their underutilized space.

A new website makes it easier for performers to tap into space quickly while offering the organizations leasing it the opportunity to generate some extra cash from an asset that might have sat idle otherwise.

Updated: August 27, 2012 4:32 p.m.

It's hard enough for anyone to find real estate in the city, but for artists, who often have not just limited budgets but odd needs in terms of the timing of the space they need, the search can be all but impossible.
Now a nonprofit is trying to make it easier for them to find, schedule and rent performance and rehearsal space. Last week, Fractured Atlas, an arts service organization, launched NYC Performing Arts Spaces at nycpaspaces.org, which allows artists to search for space using a variety of their own requirements from dates and times, to location and price.
"We are like an Open Table for the arts world," said Adam Huttler, the executive director of Fractured Atlas.
He said there is a chronic shortage of rehearsal and performance space in the city and that it is especially difficult to find on short notice. The website makes it easier for performers to tap into space quickly while offering the organizations leasing it the opportunity to generate some extra cash from an asset that might have sat idle otherwise.
"Now instead of making 50 calls for find space, you can make just one," Mr. Huttler said.
The product was in testing for about six months before its official launch last week. So far, 1,090 organizations in all five boroughs have listed space on the site.
Organizations pay $20 a month to list their space. When an arts' group rents the space, Fractured Atlas keeps 1.5% of the transaction's cost.
Mr. Huttler says Fractured Atlas doesn't view the service as a major revenue generator, but it does need to charge to cover the cost of running and maintaining the site.

Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120827/REAL_ESTATE/120829912#ixzz24oELK04F

New Start Up Resource

The name Wicked Start, while irreverent and fun, is also a play on a slang definition of “wicked,” meaning masterful. A "wicked start" is a masterful way of starting a business. At Wicked Start, we believe entrepreneurs and small business owners are on the forefront of business today, leading change and innovation with great ideas.

Starting a business is one of the biggest decisions that you will ever make, and it can be as daunting as it is exciting. To be successful, you must take lots of personal, financial and planning considerations into account. At Wicked Start, our objective is to combine a practical, manageable business approach with a dose of “heart” to manage these considerations during the entire start-up process. This “heart” is compassion, which plays an instrumental role in how you create, drive and build a successful business on based on principles, integrity, and best practices. By injecting compassion into your solutions, you will find a healthier business in the long term and a healthier bottom line.

Connecting Entrepreneurs in Central New York: New Website

Enitiative, a coalition of six campuses in Central New York that promotes student and community entrepreneurship, has a new website aimed at connecting Central New York entrepreneurs with the resources available to help them launch and grow their ventures.

Students, faculty, staff and community members can visit www.cnyentrepreneurship.com to find resources they might need at any stage in their business. From conducting basic market research to forming legal structure and designing a marketing campaign, fledgling and established business owners can find both university and community resources that are there to help them succeed.

“There are many organizations, college courses and seasoned entrepreneurs in Central New York that offer services, knowledge and experience to those entrepreneurs who are just starting out or who want to take their business to the next level,” says Bruce Kingma, associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation at Syracuse University. “We wanted to provide a single place for entrepreneurs to get this important information.”

Enitiative worked with organizations and colleges across Central New York to compile the resources listed on the website. Any organization that would like to be included on the website as a resource for entrepreneurs should email the Enitiative office at excel@syr.edu.

The SU-led Enitiative is funded by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., focusing on entrepreneurship in the arts, technology and neighborhoods. SU’s academic and community partners in this initiative include Cayuga Community College (CCC), Le Moyne College, Morrisville State College, Onondaga Community College (OCC), the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), the Central New York Community Foundation, the Gifford Foundation, CenterState CEO, Messenger Associates Inc. and National Grid.

TED Talks

Check out TED Talks, a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

6 qualities of successful social entrepreneurs

As related in The Nonprofit Times e-mail newsletter:

So, what makes a successful social entrepreneur? In his book “How to Change the World,” David Bornstein disputes the common assumption that highly successful entrepreneurs are more confident and persistent than most others.

Instead, he found that what distinguishes successful social entrepreneurs is the quality of their motivation; they were the ones who were most determined to achieve a long-term goal that was deeply meaningful to them.

With this, he sets out six qualities of highly successful social entrepreneurs.:

Willingness to self-correct. Inclination to self-correct stems from the attachment to a goal rather than to a particular approach or plan.

Willingness to share credit. A willingness to share credit lies along the “critical path” to success, because the more credit entrepreneurs share the more people will want to help them.

Willingness to break free of established structures. By doing this, entrepreneurs can gain the freedom to act and the distance to see beyond orthodoxy in their fields.

Willingness to cross disciplinary boundaries. Independence from established structures not only helps social entrepreneurs break free of prevailing assumptions but also gives them latitude to combine resources in new ways.

Willingness to work quietly. Many social entrepreneurs spend decades steadily advancing their ideas.

Strong ethical impetus. At some moment in their lives, social entrepreneurs get it into their heads that it is up to them to solve a particular problem.

Famous Entrepreneurs Series (FES): Central NY Resouce

The Famous Entrepreneurs Series (FES) is a business membership organization created to fuel the entrepreneurial flame in the Greater Syracuse and Central Upstate New York region. Through FES, admired CEOs and management thought leaders join us to share their successes, failures and bold visions in an effort to create inspired discussions within our local community.

4th Annual Series Continues
with
Vijay Govindarajan,
author of "Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators"
Wednesday, March 24
Onondaga Community College
Storer Auditorium, Ferrante Hall

Social Entrepreneurship Resources

Craigslist Foundation has a helpful resource section on Social Entrepreneurship from their Nonprofit Boot Camp. A couple examples are listed below. The section includes presentations for most programs and some audio recordings too.

Nonprofit vs. For-profit: Which way to go? (NY08)
Moderator: Jeffrey Robinson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Management & Global Business, Rutgers Business School
Presenters: Jessamin Waldman, Founder, Hot Bread Kitchen;
N. Taylor Thompson, Co-Founder, PharmaSecure

Tales from the Trenches: Resource Review and Top Five Lessons Learned (NY08)
Moderator: Lara Galinsky, VP of Strategy, Echoing Green
Presenters: Andrew Bucko, Founder/Managing Director, The Reciprocity Foundation;
Nandini Narula, Co-Founder, GreenMango;
Toni Blackman, Musical Ambassador, Performer & Writer, Artist Development, Consultant

The Art and Science of Business Development for the Public Good (NY08)
Presenter: David Jordan, Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Clark University's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program and President & CEO, Seven Hills Foundation

Online Entrepreneurial Forums: Ask Questions and Network

Interested in a forum to ask for assistance or float ideas? There are a number of online resources that offer an opportunity to network and connect with other individuals and businesses looking at new ideas and ways to generate money. One example is a newly launched resource I came across.

EntrepreneursBoard is a fresh, budding new online discussion forum dedicated to providing all entrepreneurs with a niche in which they can network and share ideas with other like-minded entrepreneurs.

Have other suggestions? Share them here.

Small Business Administration Offers YouTube Channel

The Central NY Business Journal reported that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced the launch of its channel on YouTube, the popular video-sharing Web site."

With millions of visitors, most of them under 35, YouTube offers a prime opportunity to use current technology and the appeal of a popular online platform to further promote the agency's programs and services," SBA Administrator Karen Mills said in a news release.

The SBA hopes to reach this audience with its message of entrepreneurship, the importance of small business to the nation's economy, and information on the agency's programs and services.The SBA YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/sba) debuted with a 60-second introduction to the agency, its programs and services, and a 10-part "Delivering Success" series co-produced with the U.S. Postal Service.

Future content will cover how small businesses can take advantage of the loan programs in the economic-stimulus package, government-contracting opportunities, exporting to increase market share, and counseling and training on how to start and grow a small business, according to the agency.