UK Alumni Volunteer As Free Consultants
To Kentucky Small Businesses And Entrepreneurs
Business Development Executive Director
Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship
UK Office for Commercialization and Economic Development
Stan Key
(859) 257-8907
Director of Alumni Affairs
Executive Director of UK Alumni Association
University of Kentucky alumni
experts are now only a click away for Kentucky small business employers and
entrepreneurs who have a business or technical question. The UK
Alumni Expert Network connects tens of thousands of
Kentucky small businesses with alumni who have expertise in hundreds of areas
from business operations to new product development.
"The UK Alumni Expert Network
is an innovative initiative designed to be a tremendous resource for Kentucky’s
small businesses which are the backbone of our local communities," said UK
President Lee T. Todd Jr. "This is another great example of how UK alumni
are dedicated to giving back to the Commonwealth."
Already, more than 100 alumni, each
with at least 10 years of business experience, have completed an online profile
and been approved to participate in the network. Each expert has agreed to
provide up to 10 hours of free consulting each year with a maximum of two hours
of free telephone and e-mail consulting per business. After the initial two
hours, the expert and the business may enter into an extended agreement.
Any of Kentucky’s small business
employers and owners or any Kentucky-based entrepreneur can find an alumni
expert by searching the more than 2,100 expert topic areas at www.ukyexperts.net and filling out an online request.
"It is critical to the economic prosperity of Kentucky, especially in our
current economic climate, that entrepreneurs who are starting new businesses
and existing small businesses succeed," said Len Heller, UK’s vice
president for Commercialization and Economic Development. "We believe the
UK Alumni Expert Network will be a major component of making small businesses
across the Bluegrass State successful."
According to the latest Kentucky small business profile published by the U.S.
Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Kentucky had 70,785 small
business employers in 2006, representing 97 percent of the state’s employers.
Small businesses in Kentucky created 60 percent of the state’s new net jobs
from 2004-2005.
The UK Alumni Expert Network is a partnership between the UK Office for
Commercialization and Economic Development and the UK Alumni Association.
Stan Key, UK Alumni Association executive
director, said, "It is the role of the alumni association to involve
alumni in support of their university in a variety of ways. The idea for the UK
Alumni Expert Network came from a previous member of our board of
directors."
For Kentucky’s Entrepreneurs and
Small Businesses
The UK Alumni Expert Network
makes it easy to connect with a volunteer alumni expert for free business and
technical consulting. Log on to www.ukyexperts.net:
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1.
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Select an expert topic area.
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2.
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Fill out a request.
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3.
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Connect with the alumni expert.
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For UK Alumni
Any qualified alumni can volunteer as an alumni expert by logging on
and filling out an expert’s profile. Volunteers must have graduated from the
University of Kentucky at least 10 years ago and be willing to provide up to 10
hours of free telephone or e-mail consulting each year.