February 14, 2007 | Events

Small Business Leaders, Entrepreneurs Network Feb. 17

Matt Ferguson, chief executive officer of CareerBuilder.com, will share his experience as an entrepreneur in his keynote speech at the Northwestern University School of Law's Small Business Opportunity Center (SBOC) conference.

By Pat Vaughan Tremmel

CHICAGO --- Matt Ferguson, chief executive officer of CareerBuilder.com, will share his experience as an entrepreneur in his keynote speech at the Northwestern University School of Law's Small Business Opportunity Center (SBOC) conference.

The SBOC conference will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the School of Law, 357 East Chicago Ave. Admission is free for those who register online and $10 at the door.

More than 300 leaders from the business and legal communities are expected to attend. Topics to be discussed include financing a small business, developing new ideas and social entrepreneurship. Workshops will assist attendees in honing their entrepreneurship, franchising and cyberspace business skills.

“The conference will provide great opportunities for networking with leaders of the small business community, a vibrant sector of the economy,” said Thomas Morsch, clinical professor at the School of Law. “The leadership that our students have shown in organizing such a conference is unprecedented.”

Keynote speaker Ferguson is an employment expert who regularly appears on national television and radio. CareerBuilder.com is a leader in online recruitment with the company outpacing the industry in traffic, job postings and revenue growth.

The SBOC is a nonprofit, student-based clinical program affiliated with the Bluhm Legal Clinic at the School of Law. It gives law students, working under the supervision of professors, the opportunity to provide affordable legal services to entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations focusing on job creation and economic development in the Chicago area.