"I'm honored to have been asked to present," says Baker. "The SBDC program is the crown jewel of SBA programs, the biggest and the best. I'm excited to be able to join with them to celebrate their quarter-century milestone."

Ms. Baker has long been a staunch advocate of the SBDC program and that respect is mutual. In 2003, Ms. Baker was recognized as Small Business Journalist of the Year for the Syracuse, NY District of the SBA on the strength of a nomination by Don Wilson, president of the ASBDC.

At the conference, Ms. Baker will deliver a seminar during which she will present two white papers that were previously published by The MicroEnerprise Journal:

The Entrepreneurial Economy (October 2004)
For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, technology and innovation have combined to change the very meaning and nature of "work." Large corporations have grown more inclined to use contracting and partnering to manage the value chain, while firm size data suggests that small businesses are trending smaller. This combination of trends suggest that the future engine of "job creation" may turn out to be self-employment.

The Microbusiness Way of Growth (June 2005)
The dawn of the Knowledge Economy has brought about significant changes in the mechanics of small business startup and growth. The desire simply and solely to amass wealth has taken a back seat to such qualitative motivators as flexiblity, self-determination and the freedom to find joy and meaning in work. Meanwhile, microbusinesses are innovating new operational efficiencies that allow revenue growth without significant increase in expenditure.

The Small Business Development Center program is the oldest, largest and most successful of the business management training programs offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the program, bringing kudos from SBA Administrator Hector Barreto, Senate Small Business Committee Chair Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Ranking Member John Kerry (D-MA).

About The MicroEnterprise Journal
The MicroEnterprise Journal, the flagship publication of Wahmpreneur Publishing, Inc., is the nation's only business news and policy analysis periodical written specifically for the nation's 22 million microbusinesses — a small business with fewer than five employees and less than $500,000 in annual average revenues. The MicroEnterprise Journal is written and published by award-winning journalist, Dawn Rivers Baker, and has been in publication continuously since 1999.

On the Internet:

The MicroEnterprise Journal — http://www.microenterprisejournal.com
Association of Small Business Development Centers - http://www.asbdc-us.org
U.S. Small Business Administration - http://www.sba.gov