Back on the 5 th of October, I told you about the Microsoft UK Business School Live Meeting sessions that the UK Team here at Microsoft is running to provide you with business related guidance and information to help you succeed. I am happy to let you know that the Microsoft UK Team is also launching another Live Meeting series, this one revolving around the technical side of the business, called “ Technical School .” Technical School is a series of monthly Live Meetings designed for our Small Business

On Wednesday, September 16th, the Greater Seattle Chamber will be holding the Second Annual “Smart & Simple Strategies” for Small Business event at the Microsoft Conference Center here on the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, WA.  The event itself runs from 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (includes breakfast and lunch) and then there is a reception afterwards from 3:30 - 5 p.m., which is a fully hosted networking reception. Here is some info on the event: Location: Microsoft Conference Center (Bldg. #33)

For all of you @WPC09 this week, here’s a quick overview of the agenda for Wednesday, in case you didn’t look it up on Digital WPC : AGENDA 7:00am – 6:00pm Registration Hours 7:00am – 6:00pm Schedule Meetings using WPC Connect on www.digitalwpc.com 7:00am – 8:15am Breakfast 8:30am – 11:00am Vision Keynotes Allison Watson , Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Kevin Turner , Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft - Remember to follow the live Twitter feed from #WPC09 either through

For all of you @WPC09 this week, here’s a quick overview of the agenda for Tuesday, in case you didn’t look it up on Digital WPC : Just a quick reminder, my Contest for FREE STUFF is being continued today (Tuesday).  Have you found me yet?  I will be giving out some free clues on where I am through my Twitter account during the day.  I did already give one clue out for Tuesday in this Blog post . AGENDA Registration Hours: 7:00am – 6:00pm Schedule Meetings using WPC Connect on www.digitalwpc.com

From 5:00 – 6:00 PM on Monday, July 13 th at Worldwide Partner Conference, I have the pleasure of hosting the, “SMB002 Help Your Customers Reduce IT Costs and Risks and Strengthen Your Business” session, which will be in rooms 218 & 219. Joining me will be Andy Trish, founder of NCI Technologies out of the UK, SBS MVP, and SBSC PAL, and Arnold Bogaards, Sr. Marketing Manager at Microsoft. During this session, we will be talking about simplifying client’s IT environment, minimizing network disruptions,

Did you catch the Microsoft Small Business Summit when it aired live back in March? Of not, or if you’d like to view replays of the various sessions run throughout the Small Business Summit, we now have the Small Business Summit replay engine up and running directly on the home page of the Microsoft Small Business Cente r. It looks like this: By simply choosing the session you want to view by clicking on it, you will be able to view that session directly from the comfort of your office on your PC

Starting this morning at 9:00 am PST, we will start streaming the Microsoft Small Business Summit here to the Blog and continue running it until 9:00 pm PST on Thursday, March 27 th . It is four days filled with information, resources, tips, etc. for small businesses and business owners everywhere. Hover over player to the right to expand it: Thank you for viewing. The Summit is now complete. Thank you and have a wonderful day, Eric Ligman Microsoft US Senior Manager Small Business Community Engagement

After my, “ Only 23 days left to the Office Partner Subsidy Promotion! ” post yesterday, I started receiving inquiries about whether or not the SBS Partner Subsidy that we announced at the same time as the Office Partner subsidy was ending at the end of January as well. The answer to that question is, “Yes, the SBS Partner Subsidy is ending then as well.” So, if you are looking to take advantage of the SBS Promotion for your clients, and remember that the SBS Partner Subsidy promotion was expanded

Attention Microsoft Partners, it’s the first day of the New Year and it’s time for the first breaking news announcement of 2008… We are thrilled to announce that on March 3 rd , 2008, Microsoft will be launching the Microsoft Open Value Subscription Program in both the U.S. and Canada. This is an exciting new offering for SMB Partners and customers in these countries! Based on feedback and input we have received from customers and Partners alike, this new offering is one that will offer a solution

Several people have asked if the presentation from the SMB Nation keynote was posted anywhere. Harry and Beatrice have posted a PDF of the presentation on the SMB Nation website and you can download it HERE . Also at this link, they will be posting PDFs of the other presentations from SMB Nation as well, including the " Building an Open License Business " presentation I gave on Monday. Thank you and have a wonderful day, Eric Ligman Microsoft US Senior Manager Small Business Community Engagement