Have you wondered what resources are out there to start and grow your small business?  Maybe you have heard about the IDRS Acorn Project but are not sure what they do.  Please join us on December 7th as we discuss a wide range of opportunities for small business owners and those looking to start one at Pyramid Lake.  This workshop will be informative for artists, small business owners, those who operate a business online, brick and mortar small business owners, owners in business for more than a year, folks that need help with online marketing for their small business, or for somebody who is interested in doing any of these things.

IDRS will be covering highlighting several of the partnerships and initiatives that it currently has that you may have the opportunity to participate in.  Including is:

• Indigenous Makers Etsy Cohort
• Silver Linings Action Plan
• Affordable Connectivity Program for Indian Country
• Empower by GoDaddy
• Airbnb Academy and Boot Camp
• Google My Business
• IDRS’ Acorn Project Technical Assistance program

Of course, we’ll have food, prizes, exercises and will bring a whole bunch of great information.  Please join us!

The IDRS Acorn Project, in partnership with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, will present Small Business Information Workshop on Thursday, December 7th, 2023 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.  Registration is open to all Pyramid Lake community members and the workshop is free to attend.  To register please click on the “Going” button below and fill in your information.

The workshop will be located at the Wadsworth Community Center at 551 8th Street in Wadsworth.

For more information, please contact the community host, Della John, Economic Development Committee at 775-376-0594 or at momjohn22@gmail.com.   You can also reach out to Mark Thompson, Executive Director, at the IDRS Acorn Project at 916-482-5800 or at mark@indiandispute.com.

About Your Presenters:

Mark Thompson serves the Executive Director of Indian Dispute Resolution Services.  He also guides the IDRS Acorn Project, IDRS’ microenterprise development program, where he provides entrepreneurial training and technical assistance to Native American entrepreneurs and works with businesses operated by Native American tribes to conduct feasibility studies, develop business plans, establish internal accounting procedures and secure grant funding to further economic development through the creation of small businesses in Indian Country.

Outside of his work for IDRS, Mark has formally been involved in several small businesses including a real estate company, a restaurant, and a mobile disc jockey service.  Mr. Thompson received his BS in Business from University of California, Berkeley and completed the Juris Doctorate degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. He lives outside Sacramento, California where he and his wife Mandi operate a small horse boarding facility and are raising two children, Zane and Marina.

Lynn Wilson (Cherokee) serves as the Microenterprise Development Specialist for the IDRS Acorn Project. She has championed small businesses and entrepreneurs for 16 years working with tribal communities across Indian Country. Lynn’s work has focused on entrepreneurial training, business counseling, economic and demographic and social research related to economic development. For nine years she taught part-time for the School of Business and Technology at Rogers State University and she most recently joined the staff at IAIA teaching Advanced Entrepreneurship under the Business and Entrepreneurship certificate program. Lynn received her M.B.A and Professional Certification in Entrepreneurship from Cameron University and is a certified market research specialist through the National Center for Economic Gardening. She lives in Claremore, OK with her husband Clint (also a citizen of Cherokee Nation) and their two sons, Chandler and Quinton.

Camille Koster (Cherokee) serves as the Youth Program Manager for the IDRS Acorn Project. Through the program, she teaches youth how to explore entrepreneurship and create side hustles which provides them the opportunity to make money while continuing to focus on their education . She has worked in youth development and in nonprofit for the last 18 years, both writing and facilitating camps across the nation. She has co-facilitated camps with the Drug-Free Communities National Initiative, Students Working Against Tobacco, Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health, ONABEN, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, and more. Camille dedicated five years of her youth development career as the Chief Operating Officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma. She successfully assisted in one the largest youth entrepreneur programs as she helped build strategy and infrastructure for a cookie sale campaign that led to her local Council selling over 1 million boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in Eastern Oklahoma.
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Camille is a United States Navy Veteran and is proud to have represented the Cherokee Tribe in the military. During the time she served, only 15.4% of the military was comprised of Native American members, likewise, only 4% were female members. She has a Masters Degree in Organizational Management. Camille lives in Jenks, Oklahoma, is married to a Firefighter and has three children.

This workshop is sponsored by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.  It is being funded in part by the USDA Rural Development and the Small Business Administration.