The PennWest Clarion Small Business Development Center, in partnership with Ben Franklin Technology Partners, is hosting a powerful new speaker series led by entrepreneur and investor Brian Slawin. This monthly series runs through March 2026, offering real-world insights, hard-earned lessons, and actionable strategies for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Each session—ranging from topics like challenging industry norms, raising capital, and scaling innovation to lessons learned from the startup journey—is filled with practical tools and interactive discussions.

Whether you’re launching your first business or looking to take your company to the next level, this series is designed to spark new ideas, build confidence, and provide clarity for your entrepreneurial path.

In this Real Talk Series for Small Business on Commercializing Ideas for Growth, we say Don’t Quit Your Daydream: 

How to Crawl-Walk-Run your way to an entrepreneurial future! 

• The takeaways are:

  1. The Power of Dreams and why actionable dreaming BIG is important
  2. Real-life stories of people who turned their actionable dreams into reality and how you can apply that to your Daydream!
  3. Understanding the difference between wishful thinking and actionable dreaming
  4. How to overcome fear and doubt and the role of resilience and mindset in achieving actionable dreams.
  5. How to reframe failure as a learning experience
  6. Balancing passion and practicality
  7. Taking action . . . from Dreams to Reality

The final session will be held in-person on Thursday, March 19, 2026 and will discuss NETWORKING.

This event will be held at the Northwest Commission located at 395 Seneca Street, Oil City, PA 16301