Calendar of Events

Networking is not just “showing up” somewhere. Good networking skills start with individual, personal attributes and discipline. Then an actual plan for enthusiastic, effective, and efficient networking can be built over time. Come to this presentation to learn about what research studies show makes people great at networking, the many varied types of professional/business and casual networking opportunities available in Northwest Arkansas, and specific tips from Martha Londagin- a seasoned networking enthusiast-about how to build your personal networking plan. Martha’s own “Three B’s of Networking” are simple tips to learn in order to grow your skills in community networking. “Networking is more about farming than it is about hunting.”- Ivan Misner, Founder of BNI 

SPEAKER: Martha Londagin is an Executive Consultant with the Startup Junkie Foundation. She consults with small business owners and entrepreneurs in the region regarding all aspects of starting a business or growing their current businesses and maintaining economic viability. She is a community collaborator with multiple NWA groups that support the NWA entrepreneur ecosystem.

She is a former Vice-President small business banker with Legacy National Bank in Springdale, Arkansas where she worked with small business owners seeking loans and lines of credit through the US Small Business Administration loan program and conventional in-house loan products as well. She holds a Secondary Education bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of the School of Law at the University of Arkansas. Martha is a Siloam Springs High School graduate and is a currently licensed attorney in Arkansas and Oklahoma. She actively practiced law in the two-state region in the business law arena for over 15 years prior to her position as a Walton College ASBTDC business consultant. There she served hundreds of small businesses and the public in the NWA eight-county region for four years with public trainings and consulting. She is also a former public high school English, Communications, and Humanities teacher. Her family has lived in Washington and Benton Counties, Arkansas for over 160 years. Martha has been married to her husband Doug for over 30 years and they have owned a small business together for 16 years. She is a sixth-generation small business owner with him. She is an avid distance runner and road cyclist and book worm. This past year she has volunteered to raise funds for the Kendrick Fincher Hydration for Life Foundation, designed a program and provided financial education workshops for residents at the NWA Women’s Shelter, and she volunteers regularly with 7 Hills Homeless Shelter Day Center in South Fayetteville. She is an active volunteer also with several Northwest Arkansas chambers of commerce enthusiastically assisting members with starting and growing their small businesses with education and information about Northwest Arkansas resources for entrepreneurs and business owners.

Startup Junkie is a team of passionate people working every day to empower entrepreneurs and innovators in Arkansas. We help existing businesses and startup entrepreneurs win and thus communities to thrive. I am  available to offer no-cost business consulting services to any regional small business owner wanting to talk about growth needs, potential business loan processes and products, overall business management and practices, issues and worries, or just dreams of the future. I can guide you to other excellent free or low-cost business resource providers like the U of A's ASBTDC, PTAC in Bentonville, the U of A food innovation lab for food product testing and packaging, the Walton College Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, and area chamber of commerce economic development staff in your town. I am always also thrilled to serve potential startup or early-stage entrepreneurs in any way with business plan reviews and discussions about legal structure planning and how to get ready to apply for a business loan. I also often present public seminars and workshops on small business topics throughout NWA. The services of Startup Junkie are provided to the public in part due to grant funding from the Walton Family Foundation, federal grants, and other area economic supportive resources who share our vision of improving lives through entrepreneurship. Call me at (479) 276-7096 or email me at eat0@eau0eav0eaw0 to set a time to meet where you are or visit in our main offices on the east side of the square in Fayetteville in the Pryor Center, or two days a week at the Fairlane Center on Graham Street (just off Emma Avenue) in Downtown Springdale. We also offer office appointments with other consultants two days a week at the Exchange on “A” Street in downtown Bentonville.