Technology’s Effect on L.A. Firms to Be Focus of Session

Technology and its impact on small businesses will be a featured topic at the Los Angeles Times Small Business Strategies Conference this fall.

Rohit Shukla, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance, or LARTA, will lead a two-hour session titled “The Impact of New Technologies on the Los Angeles Business Scene.” The panel will meet from 3:30 to 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 17.

LARTA is a nonprofit corporation that provides assistance to fast-growing high-tech companies. Shukla previously served as director of aerospace and high-tech business at the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles.

The LARTA session is part of The Times’ outreach to educational and training institutions that aid small businesses in Southern California. USC and UCLA are also participating in the conference, which will be held Oct. 17 and 18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

More than 10,000 small-business owners are expected to attend. Panels and workshops are planned in seven categories, including technology, financing, planning for growth, managing people, and marketing and advertising.

One track, Ask the Experts, will feature informal question-and-answer sessions that will enable small-business owners to get free advice from consultants in finance, human resources, taxes/accounting and marketing. Another track--Entrepreneurship 101--will cover business basics such as how to decide what business to start and how to set up a company.

Registration is $70 for one day, $99 for both days.

For more information, call (800) 350-3211 or go to http://stats.nohib.com./sbsc.