What They Never Told Me about Buying A Business. Attendees at this Topical Tuesday have the opportunity to hear advice, stories and more from this amazing individual, business owner, volunteer and small business champion!

Lynn Schreder wears many entrepreneurial hats, one of which is Co-Owner of KHI Solutions, an organization specializing in health insurance for individuals, families and small employer groups. Hear from Lynn about her purchase of KHI and all of the things she learned along the way – including how she purchased a multi-million dollar business with $100 cash!This June event will be held at the Iowa Center for Economic Success - register today! http://theiowacenter.org/calendar/events/event-369/

In addition to leading the charge at KHI, Lynn is also on the board of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) serving as co-president. Her latest adventure finds her appointed by the Governor, and confirmed by the Iowa Senate, to serve on the Iowa Workforce Development board. And let’s not forget about her role serving on the leadership council for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, where Lynn works to support businesses through advocacy work at the state and federal levels.

Lynn has been in the sales and marketing field for nearly 30 years, including 14 years in the telecommunication industry. She graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in industrial education and also works as a volunteer for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, raising money and creating awareness of this devastating disease.

NAWBO Iowa members who attended the event in April will appreciate the latest TEDx Talk, just released! It's Dr. Bill Withers offering a look at how technology and "screen time" impact communication among the various generations. You can view Dr. Wither's TEDx Talk titled "Let's Stay in Touch" here >> https://youtu.be/tRchIgSfVEs

SBA Awards Michelle DeClerck as the 2017 Iowa SBA Women in Business Champion of the Year

In recognition of the small business community’s contributions to the American economy and society, the President of the United States designates one week each year as National Small Business Week. Scheduled for the week of April 30th of this year, Small Business Week 2017 will honor the more than 26 million small businesses in America. Since its establishment in 1963, the highlight of this annual tradition is the presentation of awards which focus on the outstanding contributions of small business persons and champions at the district, state and national levels. The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced Michelle DeClerck as the winner of its 2017 Iowa SBA Women in Business Champion of the Year award.

DeClerck founded Conference Event Management 13 years ago and has since built her business into a successful event management company providing event services of all kinds in Iowa and throughout the world. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, DeClerck has been a dedicated advocate for other woman-owned businesses throughout the state. She is active in several organizations that support women business owners and provide mentoring to young women. She sits on the Central Iowa executive committee for Iowa Women Lead Change (IWLC) and was involved in the first year’s student mentorship program. DeClerck serves as secretary for the Iowa Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and for the last six years has even provided pro bono event planning and registration services for the annual NAWBO Summit educational conference. In 2011 she was named the Iowa NAWBO Business Owner of the Year.

DeClerck has been involved with the Million Women Mentor program and serves on its Iowa Executive Council. In support of this, DeClerck founded Mentor Tank in 2014 to further encourage and provide mentoring opportunities to young women in Central Iowa about to enter the professional field. She has also brought together a woman-business owner’s panel to help educate college business fraternities and continues to provide guidance and mentoring to young women seeking to jumpstart their own careers.

The Iowa SBA Women in Business Champion is selected based on the following criteria:

• Active support for legislative or regulatory action designed to help women-owned small businesses.
• Efforts to increase business and financial opportunities for women.
• Legal, financial or managerial assistance provided to enhance women’s business ownership.
• Voluntary efforts to strengthen the role of women business owners within the community.
• Advocacy of the women-owned business community as a whole, not solely for individual personal advancement.
• Other accomplishments demonstrating effectiveness in improving the environment for the creation and expansion of businesses owned and operated by women.

Any individual who has fulfilled a commitment to the advancement of women’s business ownership in Iowa may be nominated. Nominees do not have to be small business owners, nor do they have to have had SBA assistance.