Is Starting a Business Right for You? SCORE Workshop Series 2-5 ($150)

Session 2: Business Concept – March 6

The first workshop focuses on your business concept and step-by-step guidance in researching your idea, your market, and your competition. At the end of the Business Concept Workshop, you are able to identify your target markets, describe your products and services, and collect key competitive information to support your feasibility plan.

Session 3: Marketing Plan – March 12

The second workshop provides you with an introduction to marketing communication methods and tools to maximize your customer reach. The discussion in the Marketing Plan Workshop covers pricing strategies, positioning, the difference between features and benefits, and different marketing strategies. At the end of this session, you will know how to outline your marketing strategy, test your marketing message, choose the right sales channel, and exercise your marketing strategy.

Session 4: Financial Projections – March 19

The third workshop uses exercises to help you better understand financial concepts. This session reviews sales and prices, financial risks and rewards, true start-up costs, ongoing operating expenses, setting benchmarks for tracking progress and the organization of all your financial information. Using a hands-on approach, you learn how to use our financial model to forecast sales revenue and build solid pro-forma financial forecasts.

Session 5: Funding Sources and Next Steps – March 27

The final workshop offers information on how to finance your small business. In this session, discussions include sources of funds, accounting the six C’s of credit, banking relations, ratio analysis, and monthly preparation and review of financial statements. A bank loan officer will give an inside view of how a banker assesses the merit of business plans and loan application. At the end of the series, you have all the tools necessary to decide whether or not to launch your small business.

Attend all four sessions for $150.00 (A second person from the same company is an additional $50.00)

The Workshop Series is presented by SCORE Certified Mentors. Free one-on-one counseling is part of the workshop process.

Description

If you have always wanted your own business website, it doesn’t get any easier than this. This interactive course will guide you through setting up your own website using WordPress. Learn how to customize the look and feel of the site, add widgets, drive traffic, and more.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Understand the basics of website design
• Build and maintain a WordPress website for their small business
• Edit and upload images and content to their website

En este seminario de usted aprednderá sobre las herramientas y tendencias actuales para hacer un análisis de mercado y desarrollar una estrategia efectiva para su mercado target y así incrementar las ventas de su negocio.

Description

Stand out from the crowd as a QuickBooks® Certified user. The exam prep will provide you with  a review if you have completed QuickBooks Levels 1 and 2 and will prepare you for success on the exam. The exam validates your knowledge of QuickBooks Pro financial software, and if you score 80 percent or above, you will earn the industry recognized “QuickBooks Certified User” designation. The credential is ideal to add to your résumé or to gain instant credibility as a bookkeeper, office manager or business owner.

Prerequisite: Students seeking to sit for the examination are required to have completed SBX7440 and SBX7460.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:

• Work efficiently and effectively within QuickBooks Pro financial software
• Demonstrate QuickBooks Pro capabilities to current and future employers
• Receive an official QuickBooks Certified User certificate upon scoring 80 percent or above on the exam
• Identify themselves as a QuickBooks Certified User on their resume

Certification Test must be taken between 3/39/19-4/28/19 only available at the CPCC Testing Center.

All information will be given during this class to student.  

A workshop to help start-ups and established entrepreneurs examine the feasibility of their small business idea in the current market. The discussion centers on steps to devise a business plan, entity formation, managing risk, and your regional small business resources.

Description

Baffled with the thought of grants and not sure where to begin.  This class helps you learn how to do the research, weigh the options, build relationships, incorporate what is needed in the proposals, and submit for funding.  With step-by-step guidance you will become an effective grant seeker and will be on your way to writing a winning proposal.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the overall process of grant seeking and writing
• Know the information that should be included in their proposal and financial section
• Know how to build relationships
• Understand how to communicate financial needs to prospective funders
• Evaluate their reasons for wanting to submit for a particular grant
• Identify the variety of funding resources and opportunities

This is a dual seminar you can attend in person or online.

Is Starting a Business Right for You?

Session 1: Start-Up Basics – FREE SCORE Charlotte Workshop

This introductory workshop focuses on the basics of testing your business idea and identifying the key factors that influence start-up success. The Start-Up Basics Workshop provides you with an overview of the skills and tools you need when deciding to start a business.

In this session, you learn about the advantages and disadvantages of owning a business, the most profitable form for your business, and the fundamentals of formation, organization, marketing, cash flow and funding sources.

Presented by SCORE Charlotte Certified Mentors at no cost to you.  

TO REGISTER, GO TO https://charlotte.score.org/local-workshops-4

Webinar: Starting a new venture can be daunting. Everything from managing payroll to garnering customers can be challenging. A first step to launching on the right foot involves picking the right entity type to incorporate your business. This decision can affect everything from future fundraising plans to the level of risk you may personally face. Once incorporated, the business has certain filings and responsibilities it is required to maintain. The N.C. Secretary of State provides many resources including online forms, resource guides, and e-mail alerts to assist small business owners and entrepreneurs with incorporation. In this session, a representative from the N.C. Secretary of State’s Office will provide general rules of the road on Incorporation and Filings and Responsibilities.

Description

Baffled with the thought of grants and not sure where to begin.  This class helps you learn how to do the research, weigh the options, build relationships, incorporate what is needed in the proposals, and submit for funding.  With step-by-step guidance you will become an effective grant seeker and will be on your way to writing a winning proposal.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the overall process of grant seeking and writing
• Know the information that should be included in their proposal and financial section
• Know how to build relationships
• Understand how to communicate financial needs to prospective funders
• Evaluate their reasons for wanting to submit for a particular grant
• Identify the variety of funding resources and opportunities

This is a dual seminar you can attend in person or online.