Registration is now open for Microsoft's free Small Business Summit. SBS runs from March 19th - 23rd, and offers web-based and/or in-person sessions on a range of topics that are relevant to small business. This is the second year Microsoft has sponsored this summit, and there are some great speakers and interesting topics on the agenda. Sessions are broken down into 4 key areas:

1. Security and Support
2. Productivity and Mobility
3. Financial Management
4. Sales and Marketing

There are about 70 sessions available. A smattering of examples:


Sales and Marketing without Busting the Budget
Speaker: Rachel Russell, Microsoft
Start Date/Time:     3/20/2007 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Description:  Want to create professional-grade sales and marketing tools on a limited budget? Want to manage your campaigns efficiently and inexpensively? This session will show you how you can do it yourself with the right technology.


New Product Preview
Speaker: XD (Xuedong) Huang, General Manager, Microsoft
Start Date/Time:     3/22/2007 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Description:  Do you like sneak previews? How about an advanced look at new products? Be the first to see a breakthrough in voice communications that will save you a lot of time--and even more money. You really shouldn't miss this one.


Employee Benefits: Keeping Good People Happy and the Biz Solvent
Speaker: Rusty Rueff, Chief Operating Officer, SNOCAP
Start Date/Time:     3/21/2007 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Description:  Your employees want benefits, and you want to provide them. But you wonder if the business can bear the cost. Explore the options for employee programs that will keep your staff from jumping ship but won't drive your business into bankruptcy.


The Economy and the Small Business Owner 
Speaker: Wayne Best, Chief Economist, Visa USA 
Start Date/Time: 3/19/2007 12:00 PM Pacific Time 
Description:  Unless your business exists in a vacuum, you can't afford to ignore the overall economy. Come hear Wayne Best, Senior Vice President of Business and Economic Analysis for Visa USA, discuss economic trends and their impact on small business. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how macro-economics can affect your business.


Coping with Risk
Speaker(s): Rieva Lesonsky, Editorial Director, Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
Start Date/Time:     3/21/2007 9:00 AM Pacific Time
Description: Small business is inherently risky. Starting a business is dicey, but the risks don't end there. The bigger your business grows, the more there is to lose and the scarier those risks seem. As Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Media, the publisher Entrepreneur magazine, Rieva Lesonsky lives and breathes small business. Come hear her discuss small business risks and how to minimize them.


Sessions are generally under an hour, and speakers run the gamut from Microsofties to Entrepreneurs, Authors, and Economists. Last years sessions filled up, so if you are interested in registering, please do so early. For a complete list of available sessions and times, visit Small Business Summit.

        

 

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