10.19.20
New Mastermind for Women Business Owners Provides Inspiration for Growth and Innovation Mindset
Tammy Allen, Director | Marketing & Programs, The NIIC
For immediate release
October 19, 2020, Fort Wayne, Ind.— Women-led and owned businesses have a new option to pursue innovation and growth. The NIIC EmPWR Program is launching an Innovation Mindset® Mastermind, which will guide business owners and entrepreneurs through an Innovation capacity growth process. This differs from typical masterminds, which last six months to a year for a dedicated cohort. For more information or to apply, visit https://niic.net/innovator-mindset-masterminds/.
The new Innovation Mindset Masterminds are short-term, immersive, and collaborative experiences for women business builders. Participants will collaborate through four weekly, 90-minute discussions, peer-to-peer mentoring, community building, and mutual support. The Innovation Mindset Mastermind programs and the Innovator Mindset assessment are offered by The NIIC at no charge to participants through generous funding by the Office of Women Owned Small Business as part of the WBC EmPWR Grant.
The Masterminds kick off on November 3, 2020. The application and registration for cohorts from November through April 2021 can be completed at https://niic.net/innovator-mindset-masterminds/.
The Innovator Mindset® assessment was created by Dennis Stauffer after extensive research into innovation and entrepreneurship. The assessment offers business owners insights about their personal inclination toward the innovation cycle, then leads participants through a series of online modules designed to grow innovation capacity. The first step is to measure business owners’ “Innovativeness Index.”
“The Innovator Mindset® methodology will enable Mastermind participants to measure their capacity for creating and delivering value to customers. Business owners will be challenged to improve performance by reexamining their values, assumptions, and leadership behaviors,” said Sarah Lance, NIIC EmPWR Program Manager.
“We anticipate participants will use the feedback from this program to expand their capacities for creating new business value,” Lance added. “It is an excellent tool for aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs to gain the tools for becoming elite business leaders in every industry.”
About The NIIC
467 new products launched, 189 patent applications submitted or granted, and 2,290 jobs created—that is what entrepreneurs have achieved through The NIIC since its inception two decades ago. The NIIC has also connected Northeast Indiana companies to attract $91 million in grants and capital.
The NIIC is a non-profit, vibrant entrepreneurial community designed to advise entrepreneurs to plan, launch, and grow successful business ventures. The NIIC bolsters innovative companies to move ideas into action. The NIIC is located in a designated U.S. Small Business Administration HUB Zone. In April 2018, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb designated The Northeast Indiana Innovation Park Campus as an Opportunity Zone through the U.S. Treasury. The NIIC is the country’s only ISO9001:2015 registered business incubation and acceleration program. TheNIIC.org. Click here for The NIIC press kit.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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