Business Report Weekly Planner

The Business Report Calendar is open to events of general interest to the Capital Region business community. Items must be submitted no later than noon the Friday before the event occurs. Email ssanoski@businessreport.com with information.

Today through Wednesday — The Louisiana Technology Council and Louisiana Economic Development will host the 2011 National Small Business Innovation Research Fall Conference in New Orleans at the Marriott Hotel, 555 Canal St. SBIR is a competitive federal government grant program that funds small businesses in developing innovative, high-risk technologies with the goal of increasing private sector commercialization into the marketplace. This fall's conference theme is "Small Business Growth Through Technology: Innovate & Create." Registration is $595 for the full conference, $250 for one-day attendance. Registration and more information are available here.

Wednesday — Congressman Bill Cassidy will host a Small Business Export Conference from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at the Baton Rouge Marriott, 5500 Hilton Ave. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. The conference will inform business owners on how to engage overseas markets, how to transport products, what fees are associated with exports, and what laws would apply to them. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, the Export-Import Bank and other relevant government agencies will make presentations.

Wednesday — The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Office of Conservation will host a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the LaBelle Room of the LaSalle Building, 617 North Third St., to provide information on the state's past and current groundwater resources management practices and the draft recommendations for a state groundwater plan. Public comments will be received during the meeting, and written comments may be submitted until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21. A draft copy of the recommendations document can be viewed here.

Thursday — The annual conference of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Louisiana will take place from 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, 201 Lafayette St. Guest speakers include Division of Administration Commissioner Paul Rainwater, Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Sherri LeBas, political commentator John Maginnis, Governor's Office of Coastal Activities Director Garret Graves, and National ACEC Director of Transportation Programs Matt Reiffer; luncheon speaker is Michael Olivier, CEO of Louisiana Committee of 100 for Economic Development and former secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. For more information, contact Mark Lambert at 225-937-8113 or ACEC/L Executive Director Dan Mobley at 225-927-7704.

Friday through Nov. 18 — The first-ever Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week has a number of events planned in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in the Capital Region, create a sense of community among local entrepreneurs, highlight the assets of the region and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. A full schedule of BREW events can be found here. Business Report, LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute, Entrepreneurs Organization and CMO Accelerator are premier sponsors of BREW.

Friday — The LSU Flores MBA Program's Distinguished Speaker Series will feature Fatrice Tempton at 9:30 a.m. in LSU's Energy, Coast & Environment Building. Tempton, area capital projects manager for ExxonMobil, will discuss multinational topics. The event is free and open to the public. Professional attire is required. For more information click here.

Friday — The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools will feature Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings as keynote speaker at the fourth annual LAPCS Conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. More information is available here.

Friday — The Louisiana Technology Park will host an Emerging Company Bootcamp from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the tech park, 7117 Florida Blvd. The full-day workshop is designed to provide information about the issues companies should consider as they grow in the marketplace. Breakfast and lunch will be served at this free session. Registration is required, and can be done here.

Friday through Sunday — Startup Weekend—a 54-hour weekend event where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups—will be held downtown at The Lyceum, 124 Third St. The winner will compete in the Global Startup Battle, which will pit all worldwide Startup Weekend winners from this month's Global Entrepreneurship Week events against each other in a virtual global battle with online voting. Registration and more information can be found here. Tickets to participate range from $50 to $99. Tickets are also available for those who want only to watch the startup pitches, and they go for $15 to $25. Use the discount code BREW2011 for 20% off any ticket type.

Nov. 15 — Louisiana Entrepreneurship Day at LSU will feature two top student entrepreneurs: Catherine Cook, founder of MyYearbook.com, and Daniel Gomez, founder of a next-generation energy biofuel company, Solben. The LSU Student Business Expo will feature the businesses of current students and recent LSU graduates. Events will begin at 4:30 p.m. and conclude at 9:30 p.m. Admission is free. Sponsors are Entrepreneurs' Organization, LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute and the LSU Louisiana Business & Technology Center. A complete schedule and registration are available here.

Nov. 15 — The Urban Entrepreneur Partnership, a Kauffman Foundation program, will provide 50-minute, complimentary coaching sessions at 327 North Blvd., Suite 101, from 10 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. Pre-registration is required and can be done here.

Nov. 17 — Cajun Industries founder Lane Grigsby is the guest speaker at the Partners in Education business luncheon, to be held at 11:10 a.m. at Juban's Restaurant, 3739 Perkins Road. The topic Grigsby will address is "Public education—increasing the return on investment." Cost of the event is $20. Registration is available here.

Nov. 18 — The Mall of Louisiana holds its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony beginning with a number of events at 5 p.m. Santa will be in the Center Court at 6:45 for a parade down the mall boulevard. Attendees are encouraged to bring a canned food item to benefit The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. The tree lighting is set for 7 p.m.