Workshops at SERMACS2008
"Living and Working In A Material World"

Safety Workshop - Wednesday Afternoon, 1-5 Belle Meade.
This workshop is sponsored by the ACS Division of Chemical Health & Safety

"How to have an Award winning Local Section' Thursday, 1-4, General Hood.

REDUCING EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICS: A CRITICAL COMPONENT IN BUILDING HEALTHY and SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES,
Thursday 10:30 AM- 11:30 AM, Belle Meade.
Presented by Robert C. Wingfield Jr., Department of Chemistry, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee 37208

Involving Volunteers - Thursday Afternoon, 1-5 General Thomas.
An ACS Leadership Development Course, this course is designed for emerging leaders in the Society. Involving Volunteers is for those members who are new to leadership roles and need additional guidance in making early leadership assignments successful. We encourage those who are currently leading or who are planning to lead a new project and need assistance in gaining volunteer support to participate in this course. You'll gain skills that are highly transferable in managing projects and leading teams in your professional role.

ACS Career Workshops - Friday 8 am-12:30 pm, General Thomas
George O'Neill, Presenter; Sponsored by the ACS Office of Career Management and Development, these workshops include help for those seeking employment in the chemical enterprise:

High School Teachers Day Workshop - Friday, 9:00 PM-5:00 PM; General Hood.
High School Teachers join us for our hands-on workshop to learn how to integrate instrumental, computer and handheld data-collection technology into your chemistry curriculum. This will be a great opportunity for you to evaluate several lines of products designed for chemistry labs. Whether you are new to using instruments in your classes or an experienced user looking for "what's new", we guarantee you will have an enjoyable experience. The $20 fee includes lunch and a registration badge for the day. Please check both boxes shown for this event on the registration form.

Ethics Workshop, Friday 1:00 PM-4:00 PM; General Thomas

Award Winning SAACS Chapters, Friday 2:00 PM-4:00 PM; Belle Meade

"How to Start Your Own Small Chemical Business for Fun and Profit ” Saturday, 9:00 AM-12:00 AM; General Hood
Sponsored by the ACS Division of Small Chemical Businesses and SERMACS 2008 Workshop Leaders, Larry Evans, Soltec Ventures, Inc. and John Lauterbach. Lauterbach & Associates, L.L.C.
Most chemists are trained to work in laboratories, not run businesses. As their careers progress, some chemists move to the business side of the organization and go into technical management, sales, marketing or even general management. Some even make it to the executive suite. A few chemists find they are too entrepreneurial to work in larger, more mature organizations. They want to be their own boss, or they have an idea for a new product they cannot develop within their current employment, or they have an opportunity to take over a small operation that is being sold. Other chemists cannot find reasonable employment once unemployed or early-retired unless they go into business for themselves. No matter what the reason, those who strike out on their own are by definition entrepreneurs: they assume the financial risk of the initiation; operation, and management of their respective businesses.

Unless chemists have obtained business skills as part of their technical careers, being on their own can be daunting as most skills they need as entrepreneurs are not taught by academic chemistry departments nor learned in the laboratory. Therefore, the main objective for this workshop is to provide an overview for the new or prospective chemist-turned-entrepreneur on how to succeed in starting and running a small chemical business. Topics that will be covered include:
•  Pre-launch planning and business analysis
•  Financial and capital considerations
•  Legal structure for the business and other legal considerations
•  Obtaining and developing your work space
•  Developing marketing plans for your product or service
• Selling your product or service and getting paid