Global Entrepreneurship Week

By Kenneth Surbrugg, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Missouri Southern State University

It’s the week before Thanksgiving and all through the land, celebrations are occurring, some even are grand. It’s Global Entrepreneurship Week, and the reason is clear. Connect, understand, support, and celebrate entrepreneurs during this time of year.

The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) is an organization with a central purpose to provide a platform where entrepreneurs from all over the world can find resources and various levels of support to help them unleash their ideas.

The Global Entrepreneurship Network focuses on the following themes throughout the year to help support and grow a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.

• Connect. Programs are offered both online and in-person to help enhance collaboration among local, regional, national, and global entrepreneurial ecosystems.
• Understand. GEN has programs aimed at helping policy makers with evidence-backed data and research to shape policies that help entrepreneurs grow.
• Support. GEN also offers a wide variety of programs to help support entrepreneurs at various stages of their venture and help them reach the next level.
• Celebrate. Global Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of entrepreneurial success and what it takes to achieve the entrepreneur’s definition of success.

The GEN fosters a community around a common culture of entrepreneurship, opportunities, and innovation. Through this common culture, entrepreneurs can express and share their success, failures, and frustrations while other entrepreneurs and network partners provide support and encouragement. This develops enthusiasm and curiosity. For the past 15 years, this global network, spanning across 180 countries, is responsible for organizing Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 14-18) is a global celebration of entrepreneurship. Programs from around the world will be created and shared through a network of host institutions. Missouri Southern State University is one of those host institutions sharing programs to help foster entrepreneurship during Global Entrepreneurship Week.

The Missouri Small Business Development Center at Missouri Southern State University (MO SBDC at MSSU) has been involved in offering training events during Global Entrepreneurship Week. This year, the MO SBDC at MSSU is offering virtual training events that focus on business plans, QuickBooks Desktop, exporting to the Czech Republic and Central Europe, and U.S. Military Veteran Small Business Resources. For a list of the local events offered through the Missouri Small Business Development Center at Missouri Southern State University, please click here.

Entrepreneurship is not easy nor is it for the faint of heart. Building or growing a small business takes effort and resources. Yes, it takes money, an interested customer base, and effective communication. You can have money, customers, and excellent communication and still fail or feel alone. Through the GEN, entrepreneurs can find a community for support and tap into ideas for motivation. And during Global Entrepreneurship Week, entrepreneurs can find programs offered across the globe.

For more information about the Global Entrepreneurship Network, please visit their website. To learn more about Global Entrepreneurship Week, click here.

Keep innovating.