Release Date: May 24, 2006

M2Technology donates a day of services to the Parental Stress Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Geared towards assisting nonprofit organizations with technology questions, M2Technology was on hand to lend their support.

"Network engineer Michael McKenzie (left) and sales engineer Eric Franko (right), owners of M2Technology, perform a network assessment of the Parental Stress Center's computers with consultant Bob Luczak (seated) Wednesday at the center in East Liberty. Robert Morris University's Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management and the United Way of Allegheny County sponsored the region's second Technology Day of Caring, with workers helping almost 30 nonprofit agencies."

Heidi Murrin/Tribune Review

E-Lifelines, HELP, M2Technology and the Engineer’s Society of Western Pennsylvania will discuss Western Pennsylvania’s entrepreneurial history and the potential for entrepreneurship in the region.

A panel of experts will convene over lunch to answer questions from a moderator on the history and suitability of the region for launching new businesses It will include some of the region’s most visible entrepreneurs or entrepreneur experts who will answer practical questions about starting a business in the region and what it is like to be an entrepreneur. Panelists include: Sunil Wadhwani, I-Gate Cofounder, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Carl Cohen, Esq., Executive Director, Raptor LLC, Frank Demmler, Director, Innovation Works and The Enterprise Group others. Also, invited panelists include Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O’Connor and Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.

The lunchtime event is 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6 at the Engineering Society of Western Pennsylvania. The cost to attend the event is $25.00 per person, including lunch. Student fee is $15.00 (valid student ID required). Reservations can be made by contacting the ESWP offices at 412-261-0710, ext. 10, by E-mail at eswp@eswp.com or REGISTER ON-LINE .

In addition to discussing how to start a business in Pittsburgh, panelists will also address core pro’s and cons of starting a business such as:

PROS

• Pittsburgh is a great city to start a business
• Satisfaction of your accomplishment
• Setting your own goals
• Building your own dream
• Executing your passion
• Being your own boss
• Flexibility in your schedule
• Being paid the full value of your efforts
• Losing committees and building consensus for implementing an idea
• The satisfaction of creating employment for others
• Instilling a vision within your team
• Clients will know you are the final answer and that you will likely go the extra effort for them
• Being on a perpetual high

CONS

• Long hours
• You can never escape the business
• Your spouse, kids or significant others might hate your passion for your business
• You have to take the good and bad
• It’s an emotional roller coaster
• It’s a financial roller coaster
• Having employees
• Not having committee’s and others to bounce ideas against
• The pressure of having others rely on you for employment
• Not having the resources of a larger company
• Someone will always be there to tell you how to do it differently
• You will always be second guessing yourself
• Having to prove to customers that you can do better when your track record is skimpy

In addition to lunch and informative panels, HELP and E-Lifelines, two entrepreneur led organizations will highlight the free support services such as mentoring and collaborative meetings they offer entrepreneurs as well as the website M2Technology designed to coordinate other services offered to Entrepreneurs. To learn more about E-Lifelines, visit their web site at www.elifelines.org.

PopCityMedia.com, the new electronic “voice” promoting an exciting, dynamic Pittsburgh, gives this event high billing in this week’s newsletter.  Read More About It!

Karl Schieneman, 2004 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Entrepreneurial Lifelines Founder, and Danette O'Connell, Mentor and Entrepreneurial Lifelines board member, will be appearing on Our Region's Business with Bill Flanagan. Tune in to learn more about this tremendous opportunity for up-and-coming businesses in Pittsburgh. The show will be airing throughout the day on Sunday, December 18, 2005. Times and stations are listed below:

Release Date: November 29, 2005

New Entrepreneurial Lifelines web site connects mentors with new business owners

Pittsburgh entrepreneurs seeking help in building their businesses have a new source of free, experienced help - just an Internet connection away. eLifelines.org, the online home of Entrepreneurial Lifelines, is now up and running.

Using an interactive database, eLifelines.org connects new entrepreneurs with experienced entrepreneurial mentors. By visiting the site, entrepreneurs seeking help and mentors willing to counsel new business owners can begin the process of working together. Online forms are the first step in a process that leads to in-person discussions and participation in regular Entrepreneurial Lifelines meetings.

Karl Schieneman, 2004 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, conceived this revolutionary program. As he and the founding board envision it, Entrepreneurial Lifelines is an organization of experienced Pittsburgh entrepreneurs committed to assisting new entrepreneurs with free mentoring advice and thus, helping the region cultivate new businesses.

"I started Entrepreneurial Lifelines primarily because I thought it could be helpful to link existing entrepreneurs to mentors who can offer encouragement, experience and advice," Schieneman said. "I know how lonely it can be to start your own business and need answers. I also believe if Pittsburgh is going to find future growth, it will likely have to come from start-up businesses as opposed to hoping to attract outside businesses to relocate operations in Pittsburgh."

The Rivers Club is the home of Entrepreneurial Lifelines, and initially drew on club board members, including Schieneman, as well as its overall membership, for core mentors as well a number of entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Organization (YEO).

"I was pleased that the Rivers Club agreed to support this," said Schieneman, who was honored as 2004 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for his work as Managing Director of Legal Network, Pennsylvania's largest attorney-owned and operated legal staffing firm.

According to Mentor and Entrepreneurial Lifelines board member Danette O'Connell, "mentors are only required to give as much time as they are able, as this is a volunteer program. The program follows a classic entrepreneurial model - it has no government support, no salaries and no employees."

The new web site has been built with the same entrepreneurial spirit, thanks to the efforts of M2Technology (www.m2technology.com), a local start-up that provides a wide range of technology and Internet services for clients in Western Pennsylvania. "The eLifelines web site is our personal contribution to the important task of helping the region nurture and grow new businesses," said Eric Franko, an M2 network engineer who helped build the site.

To learn more about Entrepreneurial Lifelines, become a mentor or find a mentor, visit www.elifelines.org

To learn more about the Rivers Club, visit www.riversclub.com or call 412.391.5227.