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Descriptions |
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Business
Development for Prospective and Existing Business Owners
The
New Business Development Series is designed for individuals
considering starting a new business. Upon completion of
this series, participants should be able to conduct research,
determine the feasibility of their business idea, and develop
a formal business plan with the assistance and guidance
of their SBC counselor.
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Seminar
Topic
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Description
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| Introduction
to the North Carolina Small Business Network |
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The
Small Business Center is part of a statewide network designed
to promote and support small business ownership and success.
The SBC is committed to assisting in the development of new
businesses and the growth of existing businesses by being
a community-based provider of free and low-cost training,
counseling, and resource information. This PowerPoint presentation
can be easily customized for individual colleges, and is available
to all Small Business Center Directors at no charge. |
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| How
to Start a New Business / 500 Home Based Ideas |
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Starting
a small business requires determination, motivation, planning
and know-how. One of the safest ways to start a new business
is to start out working from home. Not only will your overhead
be low, it gives you an opportunity to try out your idea before
plunging in. This seminar is designed to help you determine
if you are ready to start your own business, and if so, learn
just what it is going to take. |
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| How
to Write a Business Plan - - - the most important part of
starting a business |
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The
most important task in starting a new business or growing
an existing business is the business plan. No lender will
discuss financing without one. Without a well thought-out,
written business plan many small businesses may be doomed
to failure. This seminar is designed to explain exactly what
goes in to a business plan, why, and how to properly manage
from it. For those who decide to continue, your Community
College Small Business Center counselor will work with you
on a one-on-one basis until the plan is complete. |
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| How
to Finance a Small Business - - - and not running out of money |
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You
have decided that your idea is sound, but you need money to
get started; or, you might need additional capital to finance
growth. The business plan will tell you how much you need,
and for what it will be used. This seminar is designed to
show both prospective and existing small business owners how
to determine how much they need, plus how and where they might
get it. |
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| How
to Improve Your Credit Score - - - so you can get a loan |
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In
order to qualify for financial assistance, a small business
owner must have acceptable credit. And a good credit score
can save thousands in interest costs. This seminar is designed
to explain the mystery of credit reports and scores to small
business owners and others, and give ideas of improving them.
No matter what your score, there is always room for improvement.
If you desire, your small business center counselor will assist
you in understanding your report and beginning to improve
your score. |
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| How
to Market a Small Business - - - attract customers and clients |
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You
can have the best products and services in the world, but
unless prospective customers and clients know about you, your
business will fail. This seminar is designed to assist new
and existing business owners in learning ways of identifying
and reaching their target markets, in creative and cost-effective
ways. Different businesses require different tactics. Find
out what will work for yours. |
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| Introduction
to Social Media Marketing - - - the new way of communicating |
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While
many believe that social media networking actually started
in 2002 with Friendster, it was several years later before
business owners recognized the value of using such social
networking sites to promote their products and services. Today,
there are virtually hundreds of social media sites. This seminar
will explain this new marketing phenomenon, and show participants
how to determine which ones might be right for promoting their
businesses, and how to go about setting up a social media
marketing plan. |
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| Licenses,
Recordkeeping and Tax Issues for Small Businesses - - - the
most boring part of owning a business |
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Many
businesses require permits and licenses from local, county,
state and even federal agencies. Federal and State tax requirements
are not the only reason to keep good, up-to-date records in
your business. While the last thing you want to do is have
the IRS or State Department of Revenue hassling you, good
recordkeeping habits will allow you to focus on generating
revenue rather than worrying about catching up on your bookkeeping.
Both new and existing business owners will benefit from this
seminar. |
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| Introduction
to Nonprofits and Grant Writing - - - serving yourself and
others |
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Setting
up and managing a nonprofit organization is very different
from a for-profit business. There are literally millions of
dollars available through both government and private agencies
and foundations for non-profit entities. Identifying those
that might apply to your specific business is important. Understanding
and following their individual requirements, however, are
essential to successful presentations. This seminar is designed
to explain and prepare you not only setting up a nonprofit
business, but also for the grant proposal process. Anyone
new to the grant writing process should attend this seminar. |
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Personal
Development for Small Business Owners
Can
management skills and leadership really be learned? The
answer is YES! Superior leadership in managing and developing
others is very important for small business owners. Not
only will they strengthen employee morale, but also increase
productivity and resulting profitability. These seminars
are designed to give small business owners the tools they
need to deal with people and situations in both business
and life.
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Seminar
Topic
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Description
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| Leadership
Development for Small Business Owners |
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Everyone
is a leader - - - most just don't realize it. Small business
owners must be good, effective leaders if they want to maximize
the performance and development of their employees. This seminar
will help participants recognize the leadership qualities
that they already possess - - - and those they may not - -
- and how to develop and utilize them effectively to maximize
the performance of both their associates and business. In
addition, it addresses such topics as dealing with difficult
people, managing conflict, motivating and team building and
more. |
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| Empowerment
Through Coaching |
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Coaching
is the activity of developing the abilities of others. A successful
coach will not only stimulate others to define challenges,
but to develop their own options for meeting them - - - and
become effective leaders themselves. In this free seminar,
small business owners will learn the techniques for successfully
developing their employees' confidence and performance. |
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| Time
and Stress Management for Small Business Owners |
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Some
of the greatest drains on productivity occur when time is
spent on insignificant tasks or trying to figure out what
to do. Also, experts estimate that eighty-percent of meeting
time is wasted on non-relevant topics. This seminar will expose
small business owners to methods of recognizing time wasters
and making better use of the time that they have available.
Time pressures can often result in considerable stress, too
- - - both physical and mental; and it can affect the performance
of employees and associates also. Participants will also learn
methods of handling and reducing stress. |
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| Attaining
Business Excellence |
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Business
excellence occurs when a business consistently executes effective
and strategic steps that lead to goal achievement. A business'
success is dependent on the leader understanding that to attain
true excellence, he/she must include management, employees,
customers, clients and supplier interests in this quest. This
seminar is designed to show business owners how other successful
firms successfully attain excellence in their organizations.
This seminar is combined with "Ethics in the Workplace"
below. |
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| Ethics
in the Workplace |
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Workplace
ethics refer to choosing the options that are determined to
be the moral or legal "right" choices, even if other
alternatives are very attractive, and even if you can "get
away with" less ethical choices. Organizations that support
ethics initiatives consistently show more productivity and
employee retention than organizations that consider company
ethics merely an issue of compliance. This seminar explains
the meaning of business ethics, the cost of abuse, and ways
for companies to avoid such breaches. It can also be formatted
for employees and associates who need to understand their
employer's position on this important issue and the possible
consequences of abuse. This seminar is combined with "Attaining
Business Excellence" above. |
