A 90-minute, high-impact session for business owners. Delivered by the Illinois Center for Employee Ownership (ILCEO), the program introduces the powerful principles of The Great Game of Business, Inc. — a proven framework to help employees think and act like owners.

Join veteran media producer Tom Mann as he shares practical insights gained from decades of experience in broadcast television, radio, podcasting, and digital media production. Tom will demonstrate how quality audio can elevate your brand and increase audience engagement across social media, websites, podcasts, and video platforms.

Here’s how to stop being constantly on the edge, survive downturns and build something you can actually survive long enough to enjoy. A plain-spoken session on why smart people with good businesses still end up in distress or quietly die: Perhaps, best practices for different sizes, type/ species of business. 

Brendan Morgan, CPA of Pathfinder Accounting & Tax will walk through the essentials in a clear, practical way so you can confidently handle day-to-day bookkeeping, avoid common mistakes, and better understand your financials without needing an accounting background.

Search behavior is rapidly shifting from traditional Google searches to AI-driven tools like ChatGPT, voice assistants, and AI-generated summaries.  This workshop introduces Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) - a practical approach to structuring content so businesses can be found and featured as direct answers in these tools.

Brand Voice Builder is an intermediate-to-advanced, hands-on session designed to help small business owners, marketers, and content creators train ChatGPT to reflect their unique voice, tone, and personality. Instead of generic AI copy, you’ll learn how to create content that truly sounds like your business.

Brand Voice Builder is an intermediate-to-advanced, hands-on session designed to help small business owners, marketers, and content creators train ChatGPT to reflect their unique voice, tone, and personality. Instead of generic AI copy, you’ll learn how to create content that truly sounds like your business.

This workshop is a shortcut to understanding commercial space and is being led by Alysa Bunting, Owner/Managing Broker of Indigo Realty, LLC.

In this workshop, you will learn the essentials of creating effective video content from an industry professional with decades of real-world experience.

This workshop is designed for small business owners who want to get noticed without hiring a large PR firm or chasing trends. You’ll learn how to position your expertise so journalists, customers, and AI tools like ChatGPT understand who you are and why you matter.

This is for everyone who missed the first class!  We want you prepared for 2026! 
What are your goals for 2026? Join us for an inspirational and creative class as Sarah Garcia guides us in creating a vision board for our 2026 goals and dreams!

Join us for an inspirational and creative class as Sarah Garcia guides us in creating a vision board for our 2026 goals and dreams!

Let's set your priorities for the new year!  We are carving out a time and place for you to actually sit down and flip through magazines to find images and quotes that embody the future that you want for yourself and your business.

Join Tom Harness of Harness Digital Marketing as he leads this hands-on workshop, Ethical AI Marketing with ChatGPT!

Join Brendan Morgan, CPA of Pathfinder Accounting & Tax, for this hands on workshop that introduces small solopreneur and service-based businesses to no-code automation tools, allowing them to build workflows that help save time and streamline business operations, all without writing a line of code. 

Are you an entrepreneur starting or running your own business? Join us for a free workshop where Martin Parsons will discuss the ten most common legal mistakes entrepreneurs make when establishing and operating their businesses. This session is designed to help you identify potential legal issues and provide practical solutions to avoid them, ensuring your business is on a solid legal foundation.

Join us October 16th at The Little Nashville Cafe for an inspiring hour of community networking & leadership development featuring guest speaker, Kerry Martin.

Join Tom Harness of Harness Digital Marketing as he leads this hands-on workshop, AI-Driven Influencer Marketing with ChatGPT!

Join us September 18th at The Little Nashville Cafe for an inspiring hour of community networking & leadership development featuring guest speaker, Darla Harms, Associate Director of The Salvation Army of Southern Illinois and Facilitator of CollabHERate and LeadHERship Initiative. She’ll be leading a session on “The Leadership Leap: Stepping Beyond Management.”

Join us for a hands-on session designed to help small businesses get smarter about social media. Learn how to create engaging posts, repurpose content across platforms, and use AI tools to save time and boost your reach. Perfect for business owners, side hustlers, and anyone managing their own marketing. Walk away with practical tips you can use right away.

Fan the Flame: Renew Your Passion and Revive Your Leadership. A Retreat for Business, Nonprofit, Church, and Community Leaders. Unplug and reset in the serene setting of Eagles Nest at the Lake. Experience a day of Empowering Teaching, Peaceful Renewal, Guided Experiences, Engaging Connections, and Restful Retreat.

Join us Friday, August 22nd at 6PM for the Fan The Flame: Friday Night Kickoff! Enjoy the sunset, lake breeze, & hear a powerful message. Roast hot dogs & enjoy sides around the campfire!

Join us on Thursday, August 21st, for The Ethos Power Lunch at The Little Nashville Cafe. This will be an inspiring hour of community networking and leadership development featuring guest speaker, Dr. Brooke Jacobs, PsyD of Delve Health Consulting. Brooke will be speaking on the topic: "Culture by Design: Creating Environments Where People (and Work) Thrive."

Are you an entrepreneur starting or running your own business? Join us for a free workshop where Martin Parsons will discuss the ten most common legal mistakes entrepreneurs make when establishing and operating their businesses. This session is designed to help you identify potential legal issues and provide practical solutions to avoid them, ensuring your business is on a solid legal foundation.

Join Brendan Morgan, CPA of Pathfinder Accounting & Tax, for a practical workshop that demystifies small business accounting.

Shortform video is one of the fastest ways to connect with your audience… and you don’t need fancy gear or a film crew to get started. This workshop will help small business owners understand how to plan, shoot, and share short videos that boost engagement and build brand trust. Led by Joe Szynkowski, Owner of The UpWrite Group in Marion.

Join us on Thursday, July 17th, for The Ethos Power Lunch at The Little Nashville Cafe. This will be an inspiring hour of community networking and leadership development featuring guest speaker, Russell Williams.