This article originally appeared in the Enid News & Eagle. Click here to read the original article.

ENID, Okla. — For area entrepreneurs, or those thinking of starting their own businesses, Autry Technology Center is offering a series of classes focusing on improving business management skills.

The first of eight sessions will meet 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Guest speaker for the first class Michael Morris, professor and department head of the Department of Entrepreneurship, Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University. He will discuss what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and how to succeed in a small business in hard economic times.

STILLWATER, Okla. - Ravi Naidoo, managing director of Interactive Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, is slated to speak to Oklahoma State University students and the public in a presentation titled “Creativity & Design as Vehicles for Transforming a Nation” on March 25 at 3:30 p.m. in the Student Union Little Theater on the OSU-Stillwater campus.

Sponsored by the OSU School of Entrepreneurship, the OSU CIE Scholars, and the OSU Entrepreneurship Club, the event is open to the public and is intended to bring inspiration to people of all ages.

“Ravi is simply an amazing speaker. His experiences and perspectives about how creativity and design can change an entire nation has huge implications for Oklahoma and OSU,” said Michael Morris, professor and head of the OSU School of Entrepreneurship.

This article originally appeared on NewsOk.com. Click here to read the original article.

The woman who founded the Build-A-Bear Workshop with its well-known chain of mall-based retail stores will be a presenter during the first Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference next month in Oklahoma City.

Maxine Clark will share her business experiences and insight along with more than two dozen other national and state business experts and company owners, said Nola Miyasaki, director of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

The center is presenting the event to inspire female entrepreneurs already in business and those wanting to join the growing club, Miyasaki said.

This article originally was published in the Tulsa World. Click here to read the original story.

STILLWATER, Okla. - Female entrepreneurs and those who aspire to become business owners are invited to sign up for a conference that's designed to inspire them.

The first "Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference" will be held March 30 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

The gathering, presented by the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University, will feature successful women entrepreneurs from across the country.

Nola Miyasaki,director of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship, and Pat Henriques, Spears School Entrepreneur in Residence, discuss the Women Entrepreneurs Inspire conference with Jennifer Eve of KWTV News 9.

Nola Miyasaki,director of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship, and Linda Durbin of EXAKT-PAK, discuss the Women Entrepreneurs Inspire conference with Angie Mock of KOKH Fox 25.

This article originally appeared in the Journal Record. Click here to read the original story.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Don’t assume that teddy bears and hamburger buns have nothing in common.

They are an entrepreneurial gold mine for two women who started their own businesses – Maxine Clark of Build-a-Bear Workshop and Cordia Harrington, founder of the Tennessee Bun Co.

They are the keynote speakers on March 30 for the first Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. The event is sponsored by the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship, a growing program at Oklahoma State University.

Nola Miyasaki, Riata Center executive director, said about 20 breakout sessions also are planned to help women, whether they have a kernel of a business idea or have reached a plateau in a years-long venture.

This story originally was published by Tulsa World. Click here to read the original story.

Kudos to Oklahoma State University and the Rotary Club of Tulsa for creating an intensive entrepreneurship program for military veterans.

The Oklahoma State University Veteran Entrepreneurship Program is a year-long program, free to disabled veterans, that offers the kind of help a returning veteran might need to get a successful business up and running in a short period of time.

The course starts with a five-week online self-study program, then an intensive week-long workshop at the Stillwater campus, and then a 10-month mentoring segment pairing the veterans with members of the Rotary Club of Tulsa.

This story originally was published by Tulsa World. Click here to read the original story.

Lt. Col. Brett Crawley compares his experience participating in Oklahoma State University's Veteran Entrepreneurship Program to being put in a slingshot.

Crawley started his own information technology company in Oklahoma City about six months ago, but since starting the veteran program "it has fast-forwarded everything."

Crawley served in the U.S. Army starting in 1987 and has been deployed to Jordan and Iraq. He learned about the OSU program through the Tulsa-based Folds of Honor Foundation, which offers support and education to veterans and their families.

This article originally was published in the Daily O'Collegian. Click here to read the original story.

The OSU Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference hopes the founder of the store that popularized do-it-yourself stuffed animals will inspire women wanting to start their own businesses.

Jodie Navarre, a marketing senior, has been a student worker in the Spears School of Business entrepreneurship department for the past year and is ecstatic to see this conference come to life.

“The main target audience for this conference is women who intend to start their own business one day.” Navarre said.

The keynote speaker is Maxine Clark, the founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Nola Miyasaki, director of the Riata Center For Entrepreneurship developed this conference with her staff.

This story originally was published by NewsOK. Click here to read the original story.

The woman who founded the Build-A-Bear Workshop with its well-known chain of mall-based retail stores will be a presenter during the first Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference next month in Oklahoma City.

Maxine Clark will share her business experiences and insight along with more than two dozen other national and state business experts and company owners, said Nola Miyasaki, director of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

The center is presenting the event to inspire female entrepreneurs already in business and those wanting to join the growing club, Miyasaki said.

By: Ruth Inman, Communications Specialist

Kirsten McIntyre, co-anchor of KWTV News 9’s weekend evening newscasts, will serve as emcee at the first OSU Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference in Oklahoma City at the Cox Convention Center on March 30, 2010.

The one-day WE Inspire conference will offer opportunities for women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to get inspired by successful women entrepreneurs from across the country, learn tools to help start and grow a business, discover ways to do business better and network with other women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. The event will be presented by the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

“Our goal is to support women entrepreneurs in starting or growing businesses through role models, success stories, workshops by entrepreneurs and expertise from our entrepreneurship faculty,” said Nola Miyasaki, Riata Center executive director. “The WE Inspire conference is designed to help women find ways to do business better and to be successful in their entrepreneurial endeavors.”

This story originally was published by Tulsa World. Click here to read the original story.

Author and educator Jeretta Horn Nord loves the passion entrepreneurs have for their businesses.

In her new book, “A Cup of Cappuccino for the Entrepreneur’s Spirit: Volume II,” she tries to capture that passion through profiles of more than 50 entrepreneurs, including a couple from Oklahoma.

Nord will attend a Tulsa book signing Wednesday from 7 to 8 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 8620 E. 71st St., along with Cindy Patterson Thompson, who was the book’s editor. Thompson, who originally is from Cushing, now lives in Austin, Texas.

This story originally was published by Tulsa World. Click here to read the original story.

Author and educator Jeretta Horn Nord loves the passion entrepreneurs have for their businesses.

In her new book, "A Cup of Cappuccino for the Entrepreneur's Spirit: Volume II," she tries to capture that passion through profiles of more than 50 entrepreneurs, including a couple from Oklahoma.

Nord will attend a Tulsa book signing Wednesday from 7 to 8 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 8620 E. 71st St., along with Cindy Patterson Thompson, who was the book's editor. Thompson, who originally is from Cushing, now lives in Austin, Texas.

This story originally was published by the O'Colly. Click here to read the original story.

The Spears School of Business is awarding $25,000 to the student who has the most creative and inventive idea for their own business.

The “What’s Your Big Idea?” competition also offers a second place prize of $10,000, followed by a third place prize of $5,000. It is already in progress and is not accepting any more applicants, according to the Web site. Ninety-six teams have entered and, by March 31, a panel of judges will narrow down the competition to 16 teams. All teams must learn how to write and present a formal business plan. The final four teams will present their business plans to a panel of expert judges in the Spears School of Business auditorium on April 24.

Michael Morris, dean of the entrepreneurship department, organized the four-month-long competition.

The Oklahoma State University School of Entrepreneurship recently launched a faculty fellowship program, which will recognize up to 10 faculty members across campus who are active and involved in entrepreneurial activities.

Melanie Page, OSU associate professor of psychology, was appointed as the first Riata Entrepreneurship Fellow on January 22.

In addition to her duties as a faculty member, as Riata Entrepreneurship Fellow, Page will serve as director of the OSU Creativity Initiative. The OSU Creativity Initiative seeks to move OSU to a national leadership position in creativity and innovation. As director, Page will be charged with moving the initiative forward and creating opportunities and providing support for OSU students, faculty and staff to take creative and innovative ideas to actions.

U.S. Air Force veteran Christopher Stanford (sitting) of Austin, Texas gets assistance from professor Justin Webb.

Stanford is among 31 veterans from across the country who have been participating this week on the OSU-Stillwater campus in the Veterans with Disabilities Entrepreneurship Program (VEP) through the OSU Spears School of Business Department of Entrepreneurship.  Designed like a military bootcamp, the program consists of a series of training modules which assist the veterans in creating and growing profitable businesses that can profitable. 

The program is free and gives participants a chance to receive guidance from experienced OSU faculty and successful entrepreneurs in addition to receiving 24 continuing education credits.

Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear Workshop  founder, chairman and “chief executive bear” will serve as a keynote speaker for the first annual Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference in Oklahoma City at the Cox Convention Center on March 30, 2010. Clark will share her entrepreneurial story behind the creation of Build-A-Bear Workshop and its success and inspire participants to live in a world of possibilities and always dream big.

The one-day WE Inspire conference will offer opportunities for women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to get inspired by successful women entrepreneurs from across the country, learn tools to help start and grow a business, discover ways to do business better and network with other women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. The event will be presented by the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

“Our goal is to support women entrepreneurs in starting or growing businesses through role models, success stories, workshops by entrepreneurs and expertise from our entrepreneurship faculty,” said Nola Miyasaki, Riata Center executive director. “The WE Inspire conference is designed to help women find ways to do business better and to be successful in their entrepreneurial endeavors.”

This article originally was published by NewsOK.com. Click here to read the original story.

A new weapon to improve national security and safety in laboratories working with explosive chemicals has been created by a fledgling business formed at Oklahoma State University.

OSU business graduate Shoaib Shaikh and associate chemistry professors and research scientists Allen Apblett and Nick Materer are the creative minds at XploSafe LLC, which makes a nanotechnology-based ink that changes color after detecting peroxide, chlorate and nitro based explosives.

Founded last June, XploSafe was born after scholarship winner Shaikh’s and two other students’ entrepreneurial ambitions were matched by OSU’s Spears School of Business with Apblett and Materer’s multi-year research into development of a compound to detect explosives.

This article originally was published in the Stillwater NewsPress. Click here to read the original story.

Small business and a resurgent housing market will drive Payne County’s economy this year, business and real estate leaders said.

The region’s farmers and ranchers, once again, face the unknowns of weather, energy prices and federal legislation, Payne County Extension Agent Nathan Anderson said.

“I’m not looking for a great uptick. I see more small businesses opening, continuing a trend over the last 18 to 24 months,” Stillwater Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Larry Brown said.

Industry and manufacturing also are looking at Stillwater for possible expansions, he said. The battle to keep MerCruiser here put Stillwater in the national spotlight as a pro-industry city, which has sparked interest from other industries considering expansion.

STILLWATER, Okla. - Women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs are invited to attend the first annual Women Entrepreneurs Inspire Conference in Oklahoma City at the Cox Convention Center on March 30, 2010. A discounted $25 “stocking stuffer” registration fee for the event will be offered until Dec. 25, 2009.

The one-day WE Inspire conference will offer opportunities for participants to get inspired by successful women entrepreneurs from across the country, learn tools to help start and grow a business, discover ways to do business better and network with other women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. The event will be presented by the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

“Our goal is to support women entrepreneurs in starting or growing businesses through role models, success stories, workshops by entrepreneurs and expertise from our entrepreneurship faculty,” said Nola Miyasaki, Riata Center executive director. “The WE Inspire conference is designed to help women find ways to do business better and to be successful in their entrepreneurial endeavors.”

This article originally appeared in the Stillwater NewsPress. Click here to read the original story.

Shoaib Shaikh’s cubicle in Oklahoma State University’s Riata Center for Entrepreneurship is tiny, but his business plans are huge.

Shaikh is co-founder and chief executive officer of Xplosafe, L.L.C., a company developing the commercial promise of two Oklahoma State University professors research into bomb detection and defusing.

It all started last year when Shaikh and two other students entered a business-plan competition, said Dr. Michael H. Morris, OSU professor and N. Malone Mitchell Entrepreneurship chair and head of the Department of Entrepreneurship.

“They are the first team ... that has come back and started a business in Stillwater. It’s being run at the Riata Center on campus,” Morris said.

This article originally was published in the Stillwater NewsPress. Click here to read the original story.

Anyone can have great business ideas. They don’t all flow from business-school graduates.

It’s why Oklahoma State University is asking all students: “What’s your big idea?”

Oklahoma State University’s business plan competition is open to all students because journalism, engineering, art, physics, history or agriculture students may have a great business idea that they want to develop, Professor Michael H. Morris said.

Morris is the N. Malone Mitchell Entrepreneurship chair and head of the university’s Department of Entrepreneurship.

Tuesday is the deadline for students to file an intent to compete form with Nola Miyasaki at Suite 101 of the William S. Spears School of Business on campus.

Click here to watch the video.

This article originally was published in The Journal Record. Click here to read the original article.

TULSA – Oklahoma State University is gearing up to put budding entrepreneurs through a mental workout. Organizers of the first OSU Cowboys Bootcamp for Entrepreneurs said it will build an entrepreneurial culture and increase success rates. The OSU boot camp is designed for Oklahomans interested in launching their own ventures and those in the early stages of start-ups.

“This gives them a good foundation for being successful in venture creation and growth,” said Nola Miyasaki, the director of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at OSU.

Beginning Oct. 10, the $650 boot camp will be held every Saturday morning for six weeks.

The Spears School of Business will celebrate the grand opening of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship on Sept. 25, 2009, at 11 a.m. The Riata Center was made possible by a transformational $28.6 million gift from OSU alumni Amy and Malone Mitchell 3rd in 2008. The Mitchell’s gift was the largest donation ever to a university entrepreneurship program, and it created both the Riata Center and the OSU Department of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business.

The Riata Center offers a diverse portfolio of experiential programs to immerse students in entrepreneurship, as well as outreach programs for entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs across the state. Together with the OSU Department of Entrepreneurship, the Riata Center seeks to support the development of a vibrant culture of entrepreneurship in Oklahoma, and to create a nationally visible program that also impacts the field of entrepreneurship internationally. Core programs of the Riata Center will support student entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, a cross campus business plan competition, technology based entrepreneurship and commercialization, entrepreneurial interns, entrepreneurs’ bootcamps, a bootcamp for disabled veterans and related initiatives.

At the grand opening, Malone and Amy Mitchell will be on hand to help dedicate the newly finished Center, which was transformed from a classroom in the lobby of the Spears School of Business.

STILLWATER, Okla. - A special version of OSU’s Experiential Classroom was presented to 22 Russian university faculty members and administrators at the Moscow Academy for Industry and Finance in April 2009.

This customized three-day seminar was sponsored by the U.S.-Russia Center for Entrepreneurship and presented by the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University in collaboration with Syracuse University and the Beyster Institute at the University of California, San Diego Rady School of Management.

The participants represented the top institutions of higher learning throughout Russia and included professors as well as department heads, deans and directors. The seminar was presented by Mike Morris of OSU and Minet Schindehutte of Syracuse University with Ray Smilor of the Beyster Institute.

If you've ever envisioned yourself being an entrepreneur, there may be no better time than now to start pursuing that dream. Oklahoma Horizon's Rob McClendon visis with Scott Klososky and Mike Morris about what's being offered ...