Chicago Cultural Center Hosts Crain’s Small Business Week Event, October 1

2012-09-14 — /travelprnews.com/ — The Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Randolph) hosts the aptly named “Adventures in Running a Creative Business”, one of the first business development activities of Crain’s Small Business Week.  The seminar featuring Tom Duff, President of Optimus, Inc., Joe Shanahan, owner of Smartbar, Metro and Double Door, and restaurateur Donald J. Madia is Monday, October 1, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Claudia Cassidy Theater.

For more than 25 years, Shanahan has owned and operated such cutting edge music clubs that he presented artists such as R.E. M. and Smashing Pumpkins in their earliest appearances and it is still the club to play an impromptu set for established stars.  His insight and knowledge of talent as well as business operations, clearly contribute to Shanahan’s longevity on the Chicago music scene.

Optimus is a multi-faceted creative services company specializing in film editing and post-production work with locations in Chicago and Santa Monica.   It was voted one of the best places to work in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business and just this spring received the prestigious Hugo Excellence Award for Television Commercials.

Chicago-born Donald J. Madia has demonstrated the value of collaboration in order to execute his singular vision.  His uncompromising attention to detail and sense of unlimited possibility — informs some of Chicago’s most admired restaurants and cocktail lounges including Blackbird, avec, The Publican, the Violet Hour and Big Star.

Topics will range from permits to promotion, attracting and retaining talent, and connecting Chicago to a global creative economy. The Conversation will be moderated by Carol Roth, a business strategist and author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Equation.  Admission is free and the seminar concludes with a Q+A session.

The third annual Crain’s Small Business Week is dedicated to small businesses area-wide, offering a variety of educational and business development activities along with opportunities to create partnerships to grow your business.

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Cindy Gatziolis    312.744.0573

Barbara Koenen    312.744.7649