By Monica Chen

mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636

DURHAM -- It has been a busy year for Joan Siefert Rose.

The former general manager of WUNC became the new president of the Triangle entrepreneurship booster organization, CED, in August 2008.

In the past year, she has planned three conferences, overseen staffing cuts due to funding, not to mention leading CED in supporting local entrepreneurs in weathering the worst recession in decades.

"There is no question that it was a tight year," Rose said.

In the past year, although the organization has cut back its staff from a high of 20 to just nine, it has kicked up its offering of entrepreneurship seminars to better suit the needs of start-ups struggling with tight credit and an uncertain market in the midst of a recession.

The staffing positions that were cut were mostly in marketing, Rose said, and CED actually hired a director of entrepreneurship. Marketing is being outsourced to MMI Public Relations of Raleigh.

The organization also recently revamped its brand, which had been unchanged since its 10th anniversary, 15 years ago.

"The color was this teal, which very few companies use any more. It looked very 1994," Rose said.

The organization also shortened its name to "CED" from the more wordy "Council for Entrepreneurship Development," and added a new slogan where there had been none: "Start Something."

The new logo by Clean Design Inc. has a swirl of sparks beside CED and conveys the idea of the entrepreneur being at the heart of the organization's mission, Rose said.

"The spark is the entrepreneur and all the great ideas that can come from people who are out there, starting companies," Rose said.

Layoffs from so many big firms in the Triangle have led to more people thinking about starting their own businesses, and Rose said there are bright spots with Web-based businesses, which require less overhead, and green companies, which are drawing on an existing pool of workers with engineering, especially materials engineering, backgrounds.

Green businesses have also benefited from a boost in government funding, such as the N.C. Green Fund, which has quadrupled from a $2 million grant cycle to $8 million this year. The industry is also getting much public support from Gov. Beverly Perdue.

CED also launched a membership drive at its 25th anniversary party in September for 250 new or returning members by Christmas to add to its total of 5,500 active members.

The organization's fiscal year began in June, and Rose said most people sign up between January and June, but the organization wanted to get a head start for the calendar year. CED will also receive $5,000 from an anonymous donor if they meet the 250-member goal.

Membership had increased by 8 percent in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Rose said that in a recession, the basic needs of entrepreneurs are still the same as before:

"They need a good idea, a way to get it to market, adequate financing, experienced management and mentors," she said. "If anything, it's the same basics as before, with more emphasis on understanding the market better and customers who are willing to sign up for the service at an earlier stage."