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In celebration of Small Business Week, WORK_SPACE is offering a series of Lunch & Learns surrounding important skills for growing your business.

About the workshop:

Learn about the unique issues facing women business owners as well as the many resources and opportunities to help them succeed.

About the presenter:

Milena Erwin joins us from the Women’s Business Center in Hartford, CT.

Milena has over 20 years’ experience managing, counseling, and training small business owners. A native of Bulgaria, she speaks five languages and has lived on three continents. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. With her expertise in marketing and export sales management, she has led companies to international growth in an increasingly global world.

A passionate advocate for women in business, Milena strives to give small business owners the tools and support needed to fulfill their dreams. At the Women’s Business Center, Milena develops and manages all training and programs, including business advising, as well as directly advising women entrepreneurs.

View all WORK_SPACE Small Business Week programs here.

In celebration of #smallbusinessweek, WORK_SPACE is offering a series of Lunch & Learns surrounding important skills for growing your business.

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About the workshop:

Growing a successful business can be complicated, yet there are 7 action steps you can take to prepare the framework necessary to breakthrough to the next level of business success.

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About the presenter:

Born into a family of entrepreneurs it was only natural for Business Advisor Shelly Koehler to dive in too, eventually owning two successful ventures including an international sports travel business. And with 15 years of professional economic development experience, she brings a wealth of knowledge and fine-tuned business acumen to her CTSBDC clients.

Shelly’s purpose in life is to make a positive difference in peoples’ lives; a boon to Connecticut’s small business owners and entrepreneurs. She helps them focus on critical details, be prepared, and build a community of resourceful contacts that shore up their limits and help them navigate business challenges.

Shelly loves being outside all year as well as traveling, sewing, baking and hiking Connecticut’s trails with her dog Kodi. A sports fan too, she enjoys helping young adults achieve their potential through athletics and currently coaches fast pitch softball at the collegiate level.

View all WORK_SPACE Small Business Week programs here:

In celebration of #smallbusinessweek, WORK_SPACE is offering a series of Lunch & Learns surrounding important skills for growing your business.

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About the workshop:

Experts in the field of cyber security lead an open and frank discussion on the financial motivations behind cyber crime and how to prepare for and survive an inevitable attack.

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About the presenters:

BRIAN MULLIGAN

As VP of Sales, the better part of Brian’s day is spent working with clients to find the best solutions to their challenges. He rolls up his sleeves and does whatever is necessary to ensure that his clients’ expectations are exceeded at every turn. And as a believer in the philosophy, “When thou cease to learn, thou cease to live,” he is constantly taking advantage of new learning opportunities to keep him, and his clients, current with new advances and ideas.

“Understanding my clients’ businesses, each team member’s role inside of the business, and what I can do to solve their challenges while making it easy for them, is what I strive for every day.”

Brian is not interested in the “one and done” projects. He wants to be able to provide new and creative solutions to what keeps his clients up at night, and that, he maintains, makes for quality, long-term relationships.

A firm believer in work/life balance, Brian makes time for being a husband, father, and grandfather, and makes sure to enjoy every minute he has with family.

ANDREW TYLER

When even the best plan goes astray, Andrew is who you want on your side. He believes in persistence, technical excellence and creativity in developing solutions – and adapting them – until our professional services clients are confident in what the technology will do for their business.

“I love my clients and truly enjoy serving their business needs.” Andrew finds as much satisfaction in seeing the commercial success of his clients as he does in perfecting the technical details of his work.

Every client, every business, has different technology challenges. Knowing that he played a role in helping clients solve theirs with a Kelser-crafted technology solution is what keeps Andrew excited to go to work each day.

Andrew is CISSP certified.

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View all WORK_SPACE Small Business Week programs here:

In celebration of #smallbusinessweek, WORK_SPACE is offering a series of Lunch & Learns surrounding important skills for growing your business.

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About the workshop:

Beyond Social Media: Tips & Tools for Optimizing your Online Presence

Led by a panel of WORK_SPACE members specializing in digital marketing; including:

• Allison Butler, Animator & Video Editor
• Phil Ly, President of I DO STREAM
• Emma Petersen, WORK_SPACE Associate

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About the presenters:

ALLISON BUTLER

Allison Butler is a creative professional aimed at bringing motion to everything she touches. Video content is the best way to grab an audience’s attention… and keep it! Don’t hesitate to reach out and chat about how video can help your business. https://www.instagram.com/allisonlbutler/

PHIL LY

Philip Ly, founder and president of I Do Stream LLC, has extensive background in managing and developing successful businesses within the Internet industry. He holds a computer engineering degree from Rutgers University and MBA from University of Connecticut. Philip also has over fifteen years of IT infrastructure and applications development experience. Philip has held positions at IBM as a senior IT Specialist and was an SAP Consultant at Hewlett-Packard. In addition, he has started and run two successful internet businesses including a video upload and sharing service.

EMMA PETERSEN

Emma Petersen is a staff member at WORK_SPACE that deals with all things social media marketing, event promotion, and brand engagement.

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View all WORK_SPACE Small Business Week programs here:

This is a free monthly network gathering where we watch an inspiring video over lunch (BYO), discuss the talk, and then eat cake to celebrate birthdays for that month.

In honor of mental health awareness month, WORK_SPACE is partnering with Mental Health Connecticut to screen two short videos that approach the topic with energy and humor.

You can learn more about Mental Health Awareness Month here:

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What’s so Funny about Mental Illness | Ruby Wax

ABOUT THE TALK: Diseases of the body garner sympathy, says comedian Ruby Wax — except those of the brain. Why is that? With dazzling energy and humor, Wax, diagnosed a decade ago with clinical depression, urges us to put an end to the stigma of mental illness.

SANKOFA: Linking Back for an Evolving Identity

Please join us for the opening reception of our upcoming exhibit for Connecticut artist – Michelle Thomas.
This event is free and open to the public.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Upon finishing her graduate studies in art education at Central Connecticut State University, Michelle Thomas seeks to showcase the breadth and scope of her research. This current body of work represents Thomas’ personal journey of looking back upon life, retracing historical events and individual experiences to glean knowledge of self. No matter how painful looking at our past is, there exists an extreme benefit to learning from mistakes and misfortunes to change the course of the future. The human story may, at times, be wrought with injustice, discontent and outright hatred yet our resilient spirit rises above and overcomes all obstacles. The artist’s mission is to encourage healing in this hurting world. As we journey back, we can reunite with spirit, taking us to the very source of existence where all knowledge and wisdom reside, manifesting the necessary energy to change the world and ourselves.

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT:

This current body of work represents a personal journey of looking back upon life, retracing historical events and individual experiences to glean knowledge of self. The overall research towards the artist’s master thesis concludes the necessity of infusing the African descent community with images and stories of empowerment to create a climate of unity and love to become the standard for a lasting legacy.

Mask Making; Led by Michelle Thomas

Each participant has the opportunity to explore a variety of mixed media materials and create a unique mask that speaks from their specific perspective. Using our imaginations and manifestation of creation we can make masks that signify our inner identity without judgement or flaw; just pure creation. Images of empowerment help shift our minds towards celebration and unity.

This tutorial will be ongoing throughout the day as a part of CT Open House Day.

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WORK_SPACE is an official participant of Connecticut Open House Day – an annual event scheduled for the second Saturday of June, when cultural organizations and tourism attractions throughout the state open their doors to Connecticut residents and invite them to discover — and rediscover the wealth of treasures offered right here in Connecticut. WORK_SPACE will be open for tours of its unique coworking commons and three art galleries. Coordinated by the Connecticut Office of Tourism.