A good friend of the Chicago Nerd Social Club, Adria Richards, is hosting a webinar for any nerd or geek thinking of starting their own company. With lots of nerds out of work, this is a great time to become your own boss and follow your entrepreneurial dream.

Adria is being joined by Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome and Gnomedex to share his insights.

When: Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 7:00pm-9:00pm

Tickets: $35 (plus EventBrite processing fee)

Win one of 2 FREE tickets to the Webinar! To win, from Twitter send out a message declaring what kind of nerd you are, making sure to include @chicagonerds in the message. Winners will be notified from the @chicagonerds account (so please make sure you are following us) via a direct message containing information on obtaining their free ticket.

This webinar will cover:

• What it takes to become self employed
• Setting goals and how to to stay on task
• Recruiting mentors
• Creating a company brand that sets you apart from the crowd
• Identify your customer base or niche
• Do you need a logo?
• What’s a good business name?
• Developing your business network
• Your 30 second pitch
• Finding clients
• Networking for Geeks
• Time tracking
• Invoicing clients
• Why contracts are essential
• PR and exposure to build your credibility

Specific Challenges When You’re a Geek Starting a Company:

• Feeling uncomfortable in groups
• Difficulting promoting yourself
• Matching socks
• When “not” to talk about geek stuff
• Finding unlikely allies

You’ll Leave With:

• New communication skills to help you close with new leads
• Dozens of tips, tricks and exercises to use when starting your business
• Better understanding of common pitfalls new entrepreneurs encounter
• A list of essential business people you need to start your business
• Outline of milestone items you can use to setup your goals
• A sense of relief you don’t have to start from scratch
• Resources online you can turn to for encouragement and guidance