Events/Workshops

Have you been told you need a business plan for a loan? Not sure how to start putting your ideas into a plan? Come learn how to get started! Mohave Economic Development Department and Mohave Community College SBDC are in partnership to provide NxLevel for Entrepreneur Business Plan Courses. Our first session is Planning and Research. Topics covered: The importance of Business Planning and Feasibility Studies, Business Plans and Tools Available, Conducting Market Research. Location: Mohave Community College, Room 401

Have you been told you need a business plan for a loan? Not sure how to start putting your ideas into a plan? Come learn how to get started with NxLevel for Entrepreneur Business plan courses. Our first session is Planning and Research.

In this 2 hour class, students will learn: the structure of a website; how, where and why to buy a domain name or use the hosting site domain; types and levels of hosting available; types of templates available for their site; and what is required to create a website (content, pictures).

This is a four week course held on: October 4, 6, 11 and 13, 2016 Location: Estrella Mountain Community College Southwest Skill Center, Room SWSC 128 3000 North Dysart Road Avondale, AZ 85392 This program is designed to help owners and managers of small business better understand financial management and maximize earnings through a better understanding of your financials. In this hands-on workshop you’ll cover: *Overcoming common business problems *Understanding your financial position *Making effective pricing decisions *Evaluating cost patterns *Making your business bankable *Avoiding cash crunches Other topics: • How does your business compare with others in your industry? • Will increasing your sales actually improve or worsen your financial outlook? • Do you think it’s possible to have an open and enthusiastic relationship with your banker, through better communication? All of these topics and questions can be answered by understanding your financials and listening to what they are telling you. Our Profit Mastery program does all this and more. It’s a fun and educational workshop structured specifically to understanding your financials. This program is designed for existing business owners who have at least 2 years of business history and financial reports.

Speaker: Mike Pineda, SBDC Business Analyst

Social Media Timesavers: Find Time to Save Time Advanced Social Media Tips & Tricks Social media marketing is here to stay and many of your customers are on it daily! So how do small businesses and non-profits find the time to stand out and compete on social media when you can’t afford (and don’t want) to be on it all day? Luckily, there are tools out there to help manage the daily tasks of participating and managing social media activity for your brand. We’ve put together an advanced social strategy for you in this seminar that will help you save time on social media marketing and find extra time for you. In this seminar we'll be covering: 1. Curating content 2. Social media management tools 3. Creating content at events 4. What apps can help you 5. The art of not over-thinking 6. Next steps We hope you can join us for this advanced social media seminar!

This class will go through the business planning, financial modeling & financial assumptions steps needed to be prepared to present to a bank in order to obtain a loan. It will also focus on type of loans available and what banks are considering fundable deals.

Have you been told you need a business plan for a loan? Not sure how to start putting your ideas into a plan? Come learn how to get started! Mohave Economic Development Department and Mohave Community College SBDC are in partnership to provide NxLevel for Entrepreneur Business Plan Courses. Our first session is Planning and Research. Topics covered: The importance of Business Planning and Feasibility Studies, Business Plans and Tools Available, Conducting Market Research.

Have you been told you need a business plan for a loan? Not sure how to start putting your ideas into a plan? Come learn how to get started! Mohave Economic Development Department and Mohave Community College SBDC are in partnership to provide NxLevel for Entrepreneur Business Plan Courses. Our first session is Planning and Research. Topics covered: The importance of Business Planning and Feasibility Studies, Business Plans and Tools Available, Conducting Market Research. Free Location: Mohave Community College, Room 203C

This is a four week course held on: October 4, 6, 11 and 13, 2016 Location: Estrella Mountain Community College Southwest Skill Center, Room SWSC 128 3000 North Dysart Road Avondale, AZ 85392 This program is designed to help owners and managers of small business better understand financial management and maximize earnings through a better understanding of your financials. In this hands-on workshop you’ll cover: *Overcoming common business problems *Understanding your financial position *Making effective pricing decisions *Evaluating cost patterns *Making your business bankable *Avoiding cash crunches Other topics: • How does your business compare with others in your industry? • Will increasing your sales actually improve or worsen your financial outlook? • Do you think it’s possible to have an open and enthusiastic relationship with your banker, through better communication? All of these topics and questions can be answered by understanding your financials and listening to what they are telling you. Our Profit Mastery program does all this and more. It’s a fun and educational workshop structured specifically to understanding your financials. This program is designed for existing business owners who have at least 2 years of business history and financial reports.

Speaker: Mike Pineda, SBDC Business Analyst

Two-week Series October 6 and 13, 2016 8:30 am - 12:00 pm The Rocket Your Business Workshop Series provides the essential building blocks for growing your business. In this two week series participants will address the critical elements such as: Customer Relations, Organization, Marketing, and Business Strategy. The target audience for this program is small business owners who are currently launching a new business or are in an advanced pre-launch phase. Course sessions are designed to be highly interactive with participants using GrowthWheel worksheets to capture information specific to their new business. October 6, 2016 Session 1. Business Concept = value proposition, product description, business description, business model October 13, 2016 Session 2. Customer Relations = target market, marketing, sales, customer service, PR

Speaker: Katie Boddy, SBDC Business Analyst and Jenny Herschaft, SBDC Business Analyst

Business 101: How to Start a Small Business Thursday, October 6, 2016 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Estrella Mountain Community College 3000 N Dysart Road Avondale, AZ 85392 Room: Business Institute located in Estrella Hall Have you been considering starting your own small business but are unsure of where to begin? Don’t miss out on this This NO COST seminar that is designed to help entrepreneurs understand what it takes to start a business! You will be provided with information about Startup Fundamentals, Marketing and Business Planning, Financing, Licenses, Business Structures, Regulations and more. Once you have successfully completed this session, you will be better able to decide if your business idea is worth pursuing, and you will be armed with the information necessary to continue onward with your business endeavor!

Speaker: Mike Pineda, SBDC Business Analyst

Whether you wrote a hilarious humor article or the next Great American Novel, your task is to get it published. From a published author and publishing industry insider, find out how to market your work to magazine and book publishers and get paid for writing. Now there's a novel concept!

This 3-hour workshop is a hands-on workshop. Students will be at a computer creating, with assistance of the instructor, their own 5-page website using Wordpress. Students will then publish their website on their own purchased domain.

This is a four week course held on: October 4, 6, 11 and 13, 2016 Location: Estrella Mountain Community College Southwest Skill Center, Room SWSC 128 3000 North Dysart Road Avondale, AZ 85392 This program is designed to help owners and managers of small business better understand financial management and maximize earnings through a better understanding of your financials. In this hands-on workshop you’ll cover: *Overcoming common business problems *Understanding your financial position *Making effective pricing decisions *Evaluating cost patterns *Making your business bankable *Avoiding cash crunches Other topics: • How does your business compare with others in your industry? • Will increasing your sales actually improve or worsen your financial outlook? • Do you think it’s possible to have an open and enthusiastic relationship with your banker, through better communication? All of these topics and questions can be answered by understanding your financials and listening to what they are telling you. Our Profit Mastery program does all this and more. It’s a fun and educational workshop structured specifically to understanding your financials. This program is designed for existing business owners who have at least 2 years of business history and financial reports.

Speaker: Mike Pineda, SBDC Business Analyst

PTAC Presents: Laying the Groundwork Learn the basics of how government contracting work. Very basic introduction to government contracting and the services PTAC offers. We follow a Who, What, Why, When and How format followed by a group discussion. This course is for small business owners who know very little or nothing about government procurement. To register for this event please contact: Nora Plonsky, Arizona PTAC Progam Assistant Nora.plonsky@domail.maricopa.edu or at (623)845-4700.

Speaker: Kate Hoy, AzPTAC Counselor, Maricopa County

Back by popular demand! Help people in our local area find you by getting your business on Google Search and Maps. Join us for a free workshop to help you get started. People in the Gila Valley are looking for what you offer - and they're looking online. That's why we're teaming up with Google to host a free workshop to help you and your fellow businesses get online and on the map. Join us and invite anyone you think would benefit!

This is a four week course held on: October 4, 6, 11 and 13, 2016 Location: Estrella Mountain Community College Southwest Skill Center, Room SWSC 128 3000 North Dysart Road Avondale, AZ 85392 This program is designed to help owners and managers of small business better understand financial management and maximize earnings through a better understanding of your financials. In this hands-on workshop you’ll cover: *Overcoming common business problems *Understanding your financial position *Making effective pricing decisions *Evaluating cost patterns *Making your business bankable *Avoiding cash crunches Other topics: • How does your business compare with others in your industry? • Will increasing your sales actually improve or worsen your financial outlook? • Do you think it’s possible to have an open and enthusiastic relationship with your banker, through better communication? All of these topics and questions can be answered by understanding your financials and listening to what they are telling you. Our Profit Mastery program does all this and more. It’s a fun and educational workshop structured specifically to understanding your financials. This program is designed for existing business owners who have at least 2 years of business history and financial reports.

Speaker: Mike Pineda, SBDC Business Analyst

Two-week Series October 6 and 13, 2016 8:30 am - 12:00 pm The Rocket Your Business Workshop Series provides the essential building blocks for growing your business. In this two week series participants will address the critical elements such as: Customer Relations, Organization, Marketing, and Business Strategy. The target audience for this program is small business owners who are currently launching a new business or are in an advanced pre-launch phase. Course sessions are designed to be highly interactive with participants using GrowthWheel worksheets to capture information specific to their new business. October 6, 2016 Session 1. Business Concept = value proposition, product description, business description, business model October 13, 2016 Session 2. Customer Relations = target market, marketing, sales, customer service, PR

Speaker: Katie Boddy, SBDC Business Analyst and Jenny Herschaft, SBDC Business Analyst

Have you been considering starting your own small business but are unsure of where to begin? Don't miss out on this This NO COST seminar that is designed to help entrepreneurs understand what it takes to start a business! You will be provided with information about Startup Fundamentals, Marketing and Business Planning, Financing, Licenses, Business Structures, Regulations and more. Once you have successfully completed this session, you will be better able to decide if your business idea is worth pursuing, and you will be armed with the information necessary to continue onward with your business endeavor!

Many business people think that Twitter is for the birds and think that this is the social media channel on which someone posts that they had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, where they ate said sandwich, from which direction the breeze was blowing, and all manner of relate pseudo-facts. Come learn the secrets of how to successfully increase your followers in no time at all.

This 3-hour workshop teaches students how to customize and add more functionality to the Wordpress website that was developed in Website Design Part II. Learn about social media integration; adding a contact form; adding a shopping cart; link building; meta tags, google analytics; blogging; and more! Must have a Wordpress website to participate.

If you've got a great idea, logo, business name, or even an invention, you need to protect it. The steps involved in filing for patents, trademarks or copyrights will be covered in this class, with additional resources that can help you safeguard your intellectual properties, such as having employees or vendors sign non-disclosure agreements. This 3-hour class will address: 1) Understand Intellectual Property and How to protect Your Business: This business guide from STOPfakes.gov is an essential starting point for understanding your intellectual property rights and finding the right protection for your business. 2) Applying for a patent: Learn more about how to apply for a patent through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). 3) Registering a Trademark or Service Mark: Find out how to file for trademark or service mark protection of your business name, symbols and logos. 4) Copyright Your Work: Books, movies, digital works and music recordings are all examples of copyrighted works. Refer to this guide from U.S. Copyright Office for more information on what protection copyright affords and the process of copyrighting your work.

Business 101: How to Start a Small Business Thursday, October 20, 2016 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Estrella Mountain Community College 3000 N Dysart Road Avondale, AZ 85392 Room: Business Institute located in Estrella Hall Have you been considering starting your own small business but are unsure of where to begin? Don’t miss out on this This NO COST seminar that is designed to help entrepreneurs understand what it takes to start a business! You will be provided with information about Startup Fundamentals, Marketing and Business Planning, Financing, Licenses, Business Structures, Regulations and more. Once you have successfully completed this session, you will be better able to decide if your business idea is worth pursuing, and you will be armed with the information necessary to continue onward with your business endeavor!

Speaker: Mike Pineda, SBDC Business Analyst

The following topics will be discussed: * Security: The importance of how and how to's. What to do if hacked; how to thwart hackers; common mistakes that leave a site vulnerable. * HTML: Just a brief overview as CSS is dependent on HTML (or another mark-up language). * CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): Just the basics, including how to add classes, change colors, margins, etc. * PHP: Only the concept and how to spot common issues. * Pluggin and Theme Modification: Basic theme and plugin modifications (all handled through HTML, PHP and CSS).

Have you been considering starting your own small business but are unsure of where to begin? Don’t miss out on this This NO COST seminar that is designed to help entrepreneurs understand what it takes to start a business! You will be provided with information about Startup Fundamentals, Marketing and Business Planning, Financing, Licenses, Business Structures, Regulations and more. Once you have successfully completed this session, you will be better able to decide if your business idea is worth pursuing, and you will be armed with the information necessary to continue onward with your business endeavor! Location: Sun Lakes Center, Room 108

Speaker: Katie Boddy, SBDC Business Analyst

In this 1.5 hour class, students will learn: the structure of a website; how, where and why to buy a domain name or use the hosting site domain; types and levels of hosting available; types of templates available for their site; and what is required to create a website (content, pictures).

You don't need a background in accounting to use QuickBooks for your business?! Learn how to use QuickBooks (Desktop Version) for all your business needs in just three nights! **This event will take place at the EAC South Campus, Room #5, on College Ave., across from the EAC Guitteau Gymnasium in Thatcher, AZ. Contact the SBDC office for further directions at (928) 428-8590.

Speaker: Petrea Kunz, Certified Advanced Pro Advisor for QuickBooks & Enrolled Agent & Owner of "You Can Relax Tax & Accounting Service"

This 3-hour workshop is a hands-on workshop. Students will be at a computer creating, with assistance of the instructor, their own 5-page website using Weebly. Students will then publish their website on their own purchased domain.

Have you been considering starting your own small business but are unsure of where to begin? Don't miss out on this This NO COST seminar that is designed to help entrepreneurs understand what it takes to start a business! You will be provided with information about Startup Fundamentals, Marketing and Business Planning, Financing, Licenses, Business Structures, Regulations and more. Once you have successfully completed this session, you will be better able to decide if your business idea is worth pursuing, and you will be armed with the information necessary to continue onward with your business endeavor!

Speaker: Katie Boddy, SBDC Business Analyst

This 3-hour workshop teaches students how to customize and add accessories to website on Weebly that was developed in Website Design Part II. Learn about social media integration; adding a contact form; adding a shopping cart; link building; meta tags, google analytics; blogging; content marketing; and more! Must have website on Weebly to participate.

Your blog is powerful tool you can use to build a community of friends/fans who convert into being your customers. In this 3-hour workshop, you will learn about creating a comprehensive concept for your blog as well as the secrets to creating great content. Come and learn how you can succeed in the blogosphere from someone who has actually done it!