We offer a one-day workshop on Starting a Business, and a half-day "Developing a Marketing Strategy" workshop. New three-hour afternoon workshops have also been developed on Web Site Design and QuickBooks. We are now offering a Quick Start Business Strategy & Planning Series offered on four successive Tuesday evenings from 6:30-9:00 pm. See the Workshop Descriptions below for more information.
A special benefit offered to all our workshop attendees is the opportunity to ask questions of SCORE counselors during the sessions, thus getting a head start on our free counseling services. We have SCORE counselors present during workshops just for this purpose.
The enrollment fee is $39 per person for the "How to Start & Manage Your New Business" workshop, including lunch. The other workshops on "Developing a Marketing Strategy", "Web Site Design", and "QuickBooks" are $29 per person; the QUICKStart Business Strategy & Planning Series given on four consecutive Tuesday evenings is $79 per person per series. The individual sessions are not being offered separately.
•How to Write a Business Plan
Know yourself and requirements for business success; goal setting; planning•Business Organization and Record Keeping
Laws; regulations; forms of business organization; financial statements and controls•Risk Management
Factors and coverage for insurable risks that each business owner should consider•Marketing and Sales
Key elements for a marketing plan, and sales techniques•Financial Factors and Sources of Capital
Determining capital needs; obtaining capital•The Library and Other Resources
Helpful hints on using your library, the Internet, SBA, and other business associations•Answers to Your Questions
This overview workshop offers keys to starting and managing business from senior SCORE® counselors and distinguished business professionals. Persons considering starting a business as well as newly established business owners should find this workshop helpful.
This workshop is a great introduction to the additional four-part Quick Start Business Strategy & Planning Series which is described in the following section.
Go to our Workshop Schedule/Registration page for information about when and where workshops will be given and for registration instructions.
QuickSTART Business Strategy & Planning Series
This four workshop Series may be the best action you can take to strengthen an existing business or to start up a new one with the right strategies in place to achieve success. Four evening sessions of 2 & ½ hours each. The workshops help you with:
The concepts involved with creating a business plan
Marketing your product or service
Understanding business financials and how they work
How to finance your business.
This four part series helps you evaluate your existing business or new business idea. It also gets you started writing your business plan.
The Series will be offered four times each year (April, June, October, and February). Each session in the series will be given on successive Tuesday evenings from 6:30-9:00 pm at the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation, 2660 Riva Road, Room 200, Annapolis, MD 21401. The registration price is $79 for the entire series; sessions are not available separately. Seating is limited so advance registration is strongly recommended.
QuickSTART Business Strategy & Planning Series Session Descriptions:
QuickSTART Session #1 “Business Concept”
This SCORE workshop session brings all basic business processes together to show how to define your business, its goals and the strategies to achieve the goals. This workshop focuses on how to develop a good business plan to guide your business startup and to access funding. Existing small business owners can also benefit by learning proven concepts and tools to improve planning and discipline.
QuickSTART Session #2 “Marketing Plan”
The second session provides valuable lessons about marketing basics such as customer identification, product-service positioning, competitive differentiation, and sources of market information. You will receive excellent handouts to help help guide you through creating your own marketing plan.
QuickSTART Session #3 “Creating Financial Forecasts”
The third session uses interactive exercises to help you better understand financial concepts. You learn how to use a financial model to forecast sales revenue, and to build pro-forma financial forecasts. You will also learn the basic elements and inter-relationships between a Profit & Loss Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. Also, you will learn how to create a Breakeven Analysis.
QuickSTART Session #4 “Funding Your Business & Feasibility Checklist”
The fourth workshop session offers information on how to finance a small business. Learn about funding sources and the important criteria in funding approval. Evaluate the feasibility of your business strategy/plan.
Go to our Workshop Schedule/Registration page for information about when and where workshops will be given and for registration instructions.
Tailored Workshops
"Developing a Marketing Strategy"
Find out the answers to the following and other questions at this workshop given by an expert in marketing:
• Do you know where to find demographic data and information about your customers?
• Are you sure your planned business fills a specific market need?
• Do you know your target market?
• Do you know how to prepare a marketing strategy for your business?
• Do you know how to learn about your business competitors?
• Do you understand marketing trends in your business industry?
• Do you have a customer service strategy in mind or in place?
"Web Site Design"
This workshop gives a comprehensive introduction to proper web site design. Included are discussions of the importance of the home page, the use of colors and graphics, choosing what information to include, and where to place it, along with the length of the page. Also covered are design features to make the web site easy to navigate such as placement of icons, font size and type, and the ability to navigate back to the home page from any location on the site.
In addition, information will be presented on increasing the chances that your page will be found in a search (search engine optimization) using Google or other search engines. Advertising on the web will be introduced including: "pay per click", "pop-up" ads, and the importance of including links to other web sites.
The use of social networking techniques such as Face Book, LinkedIn, and Twitter will also be introduced, including their importance in marketing your firm and its products or services.
Also, what to look for in the use of web site development firms and web site hosting companies will be discussed along with how decide what service offerings are appropriate for you.
"QuickBooks"
This workshop presented by a well recognized, local, small business accounting firm will introduce participants to the advantages of using QuickBooks to save time on bookkeeping tasks and paperwork. You will learn the importance of properly setting up accounts and the advantages you'll enjoy from being able to generate reports with the information you need. These tools will enable you to know where your business stands and whether or not you are making money. QuickBooks can also help you design a business plan for securing loans, lines of credit, or to plan for the future.
You will learn how to save typing time and errors by sharing data between QuickBooks and many popular office programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and more. Information about the popularity, scalability, and ability to customize QuickBooks to work to meet your business needs will also be be presented.
You will also learn the advantages of using QuickBooks to manage billing and payments. This can also be done online, and a QuickBooks Merchant Account Service can be used to accept credit card or bank account transfers that are integrated into the program. This will enable your business to save time on billing and payments which will improve your cash flow.
Go to our Workshop Schedule/Registration page for information about when workshops will be given and for registration .
Please E-mail us or call our SCORE® office at (410) 266-9553 if your have any questions about workshops.
SBA programs and services are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis. Arrangements for persons with disabilities require at least a 30 day notice. For more information call SCORE at (410) 266-9553 or E-mail us.
Comments to Webmaster Bill CrabbsLast Modified June 20, 2010
