FOCUS on Business Planning -- A 10-Week Course

Whether you have a clear and definite idea of your new or existing business or not, this course will help you formulate one! This ten-week course focuses on the mechanics of building a business plan that meets the needs of the participants. To that end, each session will be two hours in duration and will comprise activities such as reviewing business plan segments to prepare students to write these segments. Class activities will include reviewing student work to elicit comments from classmates and learning from each other. There are no prerequisites for the course but students are highly encouraged to attend How to Start a Business seminar prior to attending this course. Students are required to have a computer available to work on their plans and are encouraged to have and bring a laptop to class.  Course cost includes materials. Call or write for cost. Advance registration required.

FOCUS On Starting A Business

How to Start a Business

Do you have a great business idea but don’t know where to start? This workshop provides a comprehensive overview of the basics that all entrepreneurs need to know in setting up their business. The topics covered include trade name registration, licenses and permits, legal entity selection and the elements of business planning. Call or write for cost.

Como Empezar un Negocio

¿Alguna vez has pensado en ser dueño de un negocio propio y dejar de trabajar para otra persona? Mucha gente ha echo exactamente esto y han tenido éxito alcanzando esta meta. Si tu tienes una idea para formar un negocio propio y quieres saber como empezar, este discurso va a repasar los pasos básicos para empezar un negocio propio. Temas que se van a discutir incluyen las diferentes clases de estructuras legales, licencias y permisos requeridos, procedimientos para registrar una marca, elementos fundamentales de un plan de desarrollo, y metas requeridas para abrir el negocio. Call or write for cost.

FOCUS On Marketing

No-Cost Advertising

Use this workshop to create the no-cost, most powerful marketing tool you can apply in your business—the elevator speech. You will use a step-by-step checklist for creating a well-crafted and versatile personal ad that will draw others to your business. Call or write for cost.

Results-Based Marketing

Most business owners do not have a Master’s degree in marketing, nor do they have the deep pockets that their competition or the big box businesses have for advertising and promotion. Learn how to make the most with a small budget as well as the basic principles of marketing in a practical and informative workshop.

The ultimate marketing seminar for non-marketers! You do not need the training or the money to create flashy marketing campaigns. Learn the secrets of the big companies that save time and money while getting maximum impact for a small or no marketing budget. Call or write for cost.

Market Study: A Small Business Treasure Map - Parts I & II

Most of us know, or think we know, what we want our business to be and do—the products or services we want to sell. Few of us, however, base that knowledge on the what the customer wants to purchase! Knowing our trade area—its profile of demographic, psychographic and competitor characteristics—is fundamental to defining the “gap” between supply and demand for our products or services. Participants in this workshop learn the techniques for researching the market place to forecast sales, inform your marketing plan and determine your ideal financing mix. Call or write for cost.

How to Sell Anything to Anyone - Seminar and Workshop

Do you hate sales but can’t hire a sales staff? Do you want to upgrade the selling skills of your sales staff? Do you want to be a sales powerhouse without coming off as the typical “salesman?” This seminar will give you the skills you need that will boost your confidence in your ability to sell ice to Eskimos. We've even taught these techniques to cavemen! You will be given the techniques that successful sales people do not want you to know—techniques that give anyone the ability to sell anything to anyone without having to have years of training or experience. A prerequisite for attending the workshop (Part 2) is attendance in Part 1 or attendance in the former Power Selling seminar. Call or write for cost.

FOCUS On Finances

Today’s Bookkeeping Basics

This workshop is uniquely designed for the entrepreneurs, with little or no bookkeeping background, who freeze up or “glaze over” when the topic of bookkeeping arises. Topics are approached from a visual graphics perspective rather than pouring through pages and pages of accounting practices and forms. Participants gain the fundamental knowledge of bookkeeping basics and the skills required to apply these basics in their business. Call or write for cost.

Financial Statements: Your “Money Story”

The financial reports of a business tell a story. All too often, however, the business owner lacks the skill required to “read” that story. This workshop is uniquely designed for entrepreneurs with little or no accounting background who wonder, when they stare at their financial reports, just what all those numbers mean! Participants read the business’s financial story by recognizing connections and trends. Learning to read your financial story is easier than you think, and more important than you can imagine! Call or write for cost.

Budgeting for Success

The long-term success of a small business begins with its ability to sell products or services at a profit. But that is only the beginning. Participants learn how to prepare and use a budget to manage the business, rather than simply run the business, and how the budget assists in strategic decision-making. Call or write for cost.

Manage Your Cash Flow

Cash comes in and cash goes out. That part we know. Will I have enough to pay the bills? Can I expand? Take on new lines? Serve new clients? How much can I afford to borrow? What if sales increase? What if they decrease? Participants learn the difference between an income statement and a cash flow statement and how an understanding of cash flow is critical to purchasing, staffing, capital, financing decisions, and all facets of managing their business. Call or write for cost.