• Mon. Apr 9th, 2007 @ 6:00pm - 8:00pm
• The Midwest Entrepreneurs Forum
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Address: 565 W. Adams, Chicago
• Fee: Free to members, $ 20.00 for non-members

In an ongoing effort to provide our members with the tools they need to successfully develop their businesses, we are presenting another educational presentation, entitled: “Shared Experiences from the Trenches and Things That Worked for Me” Session 2

Sometimes it’s a principle; sometimes it’s a quote/advice from a mentor, friend, or book. We’ve asked three very experienced entrepreneurs, to share with us their favorite lessons they’ve learned that have helped them succeed, or even just survive.

One thing all three of these entrepreneurs know is that to be a success, you must be passionate about your work. Half-hearted enthusiasm will not sustain you during the many challenges that will lie ahead. Your passion must translate into a labor of love. For your developing business to succeed, you must focus all your energies and attention on your company, and accept the demands and sacrifices it will place on your personal life.

The April 9th event will feature:

Michele Honomichl is founder and CEO of Celergo, LLC

Celergo (www.celergo.com) manages local and expatriate payrolls for multinational corporations in the oil, financial services, real estate, technology, and various other industries. Celergo currently supports over 65 clients with payrolls in more than 60 countries, including many Fortune and Inc 500 companies.

In 1999, Michele started her entrepreneurial career with an expatriate technology company, GPSLink. She was the chief architect of the technology and raised capital from a strategic partner for this venture. As the needs of international corporations changed in the early 2000’s Michele realized there was greater potential in providing payroll services to multinational companies. With a new technology capability of supporting complex payroll consolidation, Michele launched Celergo in late 2003. Today, Celergo has 24 people based in offices in Deerfield, IL, and London, UK.

Greg Padovani is Founder and President President One to One Communications www.penscommunications.com

Greg is one of the pioneers of One-to-One communications. While at Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, he listened to patients. He learned firsthand that people wanted information that is relevant, brief and useful. With this insight, in 1993 he implemented the first individualized newsletter.

Realizing that there was a customer need and a client demand for this type of communication, Greg founded PENS Communications Systems (PCS) in 1998. PCS combined unique new software with print production technologies allowing clients to deliver true One-to-One communications to their patients while tracking results using their own billing data. All this was delivered using a business model that delivered high value services at acceptable costs and profits.

A.J. Singh has been the President and CEO of Modularis

(www.modularis.com) since he founded it in 1999. Modularis is a Chicago-based software and services provider to Independent Software Vendors worldwide. At Modularis, A.J. has been the driving force behind Accelerator, Modularis’ cutting-edge software automation toolset and framework for the Microsoft .NET platform. Through his efforts and those of his close-knit team, Modularis has been chosen to provide the core technology for several large-scale, mission-critical software applications sold in the public safety and telecommunications sectors.One example of their international clients is TATA India.

Before founding Modularis, A.J. worked as a software architect for Whittman-Hart, and Computer-Integrated-Manufacturing manager for Motorola.

He obtained a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A.J. has over twelve years of experience in software architecture, design, and engineering.

The Midwest Entrepreneurs’s Forum (MEF) promotes and strengthens the process of starting and growing companies by providing services, which educate and inform entrepreneurs. MEF meets the second Monday of each month (except July, and August ) at the Downtown Campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, 565 W. Adams Street, Chicago, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A suburban meeting is held the last Tuesday of each month (except July and August) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Daniel L. and Ada F. Rice Campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, 201 East Loop Road, Wheaton, IL (directions listed).

Each MEF meeting normally features a case presentation/panel discussion that spotlights a single company in a critical stage of development. MEF membership is $ 60 per year or $ 20.00 to attend a single meeting to see if membership is something you think would benefit you. If you decide you want to become a member bring your receipt for $ 20.00 within 30 days to the next meeting and you will only be required to pay an additional $ 40.00 to become a member for the year. Year is from your payment to the next year. Students with a valid ID pay $ 5.00. IIT students with a valid id get in free.

Questions? Contact: mef@ jerryRmitchellandassoc.com