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Western Dairyland Business Center August 2009 Newsletter |
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Join Us Online
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Greetings!
New this month, the Western Dairyland Business Center is offering three FREE one-hour webinars on Business Web Sites and Internet marketing. See below for details. Each interactive webinar is limited to the first 20 participants, so register soon!
August Events (details below):
08.11.09 7 Steps to Starting a Business, 1-4pm, Eau Claire
08.13.09 T.E.A.M. Women's Business Network Meeting, Western Dairyland, Eau Claire
08.13.09 Jackson/Buffalo/Trempealeau County Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club, Black River Falls
08.14.09 My First Web Site, 9-10am, Online
08.21.09 Web Site DIY, 9-10am, Online
08.25.09 Business Basics 101, 6-9pm, Galesville
08.28.09 Internet Marketing, 9-10am, Online
Looking ahead:
09.12.09 Using QuickBooks in Your Business, 9am - 4pm, Saturday, Eau Claire
For more information on any of these events or to register, continue reading below or feel free to contact me directly at kbriggs@westerndairyland.org.
Sincerely,
Karman Briggs
Business Center Manager |
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Boost Your Business's Online Presence
FREE Webinars to Discuss Internet Marketing for Small Business
Thinking about taking your business online, but don't know where to start? Or, do you have a business web site that needs some help? Attend any or all sessions in the Western Dairyland Business Center's August webinar series on web sites and Internet Marketing. Each webinar will take place from 9-10am.
August 10: My First Web Site - Registering a Domain
Name and Finding a Web Host
August 17: Web Site DIY - Free & Cheap Tools for
Building and Maintaining your own Web Site
August 24: Internet Marketing - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how to optimize
your web site for better search engine placement
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7 Steps to Starting a Business
Learn the Basic Steps in Building a Successful Business Plan
Tuesday, August 11, 1 - 4 p.m.
Western Dairyland EOC
418 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire
This training session teaches participants how to start a business by assembling the pieces of a business plan. Topics covered include feasibility, proving your market, funding your business, writing a business plan, marketing, business legal structure and more.
After the class, attendees may apply for free, one-on-one assistance from Western Dairyland's Business Development Specialists to determine the feasibility of their business idea and identify sources to prove their market. Business Development Specialists may also help with the preparation of business plans and financial forecasts which could be presented to lenders.
Tuition is $25 for individuals and $40 for business partners. Class materials are included. Scholarships are available for eligible individuals. There are three easy ways to register and pay for the class: online at www.SuccessfulBusiness.org/eventschedule/, by phone at (715) 836-7511 ext. 171, or in person at the Western Dairyland office in downtown Eau Claire. Registration and payment must be received by Friday, August 7th. Arrangements for persons with special needs will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. |
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Business Basics 101
Businesses don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan. In the Business Basics 101 class, you will learn the basic steps in building a successful business. Topics covered are: feasibility, proving your market, funding your business, writing a business plan, marketing, business legal structure, and more. Don't miss this essential overview of what is necessary to properly plan and start your business. This month's Business Basics 101 class will be:
August 25th, Galesville Public Library Community Room
16787 S Main St, Galesville, WI, 6-9pm After attending this event, you can apply for FREE, one-on-one assistance from Western Dairyland's Business Development Specialists to determine the feasibility of your business idea and to identify sources to prove your market. Business Development Specialists may also help with the preparation of business plans and financial forecasts which could be presented to lenders. Tuition is $10 which includes a meal and all class materials. Registration deadline is August 21. For more information or to register, go to http://www.successfulbusiness.org/eventschedule/ or call (715) 836-7511, ext. 171. Arrangements for persons with special needs will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. |
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T.E.A.M. - Women's Business Networking Meetings
The Teaching, Education And Mentoring (T.E.A.M.) Women's Business Network Meeting on August 13 will feature a special presentation by Heather Rothbauer-Wanish of Feather Communications and Globe University.
"Maintaining Professional Business Communication
in an Age of Texting and Emoticons"
Meetings take place Noon-1pm at Western Dairyland, 418 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire. Feel free to bring your lunch. And, do not forget your business cards!
This month's guest speaker is Heather Rothbauer-Wanish, freelance writer, owner of Feather Communications and an instructor at Globe University where she was recently named the Eau Claire Campus Faculty Member of the Year.
Heather will be presenting on the importance of maintaining professional business communication, both oral and written. She will also be identifying common pitfalls and providing tips specifically for business owners striving to improve their communication skills.
T.E.A.M meetings take place the 2nd Thursday of each month from noon to 1pm. For more information about the Women's Business Network, get in touch with Karman at kbriggs@westerndairyland.org or (715) 836-7511 x 174.
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Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club
The next I&E Club meeting is Thursday, August 13 at the Black River Falls Area Chamber of Commerce at 120 N. Water St., Black River Falls. Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30pm. This month's featured speaker is Steve Lubahn, General Manager of Supreme School Supply in Arcadia.
"Improving Your Internet Marketing Effectiveness"
Steve Lubahn, General Manager of Supreme School Supply in Arcadia learned from his experiences with the Supreme School Supply website and e-commerce store - including the process of a complete site redesign with the launch of a new site in June, 2009. Lubahn will discuss website traffic reporting and compare results before and after the new website was launched. Search engine optimization tracking and methods to track conversion rates for online orders will be covered. In addition, results of several recent email marketing campaigns for driving traffic to the website will be reviewed.
Open counseling sessions are available prior to each meeting. Contact Jackie at 715-836-7511 ext. 171 to schedule an appointment.
Meetings are FREE to attend and open to anyone in Western Wisconsin who would like to learn from experienced professionals and discuss their ideas with other local inventors and entrepreneurs.
Connect to other Inventors and Entrepreneurs like you at LinkedIn. Click HERE
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Using QuickBooks in Your Business
September 12, 9 am - 4 pm Saturday
Western Dairyland, 418 Wisconsin St, Eau Claire
QuickBooks is the most widely used accounting software among small business owners, and Western Dairyland is offering hands-on training in this popular and useful program. By the end of the training, attendees will have set up an individualized company file, which they will be able to import to their own business computer system.
Laptops will be provided, but each attendee must either bring a flash drive, or borrow one ($20 deposit required) to transfer the file they have created to their own computer system. In addition, each attendee must bring to the first session at least three business cards for vendors and three for customers to be used in setting up their QuickBooks company file.
Tuition is $149; scholarships are available for income-eligible individuals. All trainings will be held at Western Dairyland, 418 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire. Classes are limited to 15. There are three easy ways to register: on-line at http://www.successfulbusiness.org/eventschedule/, by telephone at (715) 836-7511 ext. 171, or in person at the Western Dairyland office in Eau Claire. Registration and payment must be received by Wednesday, September 9. Arrangements for persons with special needs will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. |
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 Wisconsin Common Market
Wisconsin Common Market welcomes Blue Feather Store to the site. Located in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, Blue Feather Store offers original American Indian artwork printed on to cotton t-shirts for the whole family.
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News and Events
Selling to the Government and Other Prime Contractors
August 5 & 6, Camp Douglas
The Western Dairyland Business Center is co-sponsoring the 3rd Annual State-Wide Conference, "Contracting with Government and Prime Contractors," at Volk Field in Camp Douglas on Wednesday, August 5 and Thursday, August 6, 2009. Businesses interested in learning how to sell directly to federal and state government agencies or how to subcontract to prime contractors are invited to attend. Small, Minority, Native American, Woman, Service Disabled Veteran and Veteran Owned Businesses are especially encouraged to attend. For more information, download the flyer and registration form at: http://www.successfulbusiness.org/pdf/2009GovConf.pdf or register online at http://www.wispro.org/eventdetail.asp?ID=109.
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Business Finance Panel, presented by SCORE
August 22, Menomonie
A panel consisting of a banker, representatives from the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, the Small Business Administration, and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority will explain how hey each
can be of help to local area business people in time of economic depression. The panel will be followed by a question and answer period and a presentation by SCORE of cash flow and several key financial reports.
Cost: $22.00 for the first person and $16.00 for additional members of one business.
Place: the new Royal Credit Union building, 2615 Hils Ct, Menomonie. Royal Credit Union is located on the north side of Menomonie just off from Highway 25.
Time: 9 a.m. - noon.
During coffee break, several SCORE counselors will be available to help answer questions. To register: go to http://www.score-eauclaire.org and click on "Workshops"
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"Regenerating for Generations to Come" Synergy Conference 2009 September 16-17, 2009, Rice Lake
Reserve the dates on your calendar today. For more infomation visit:
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Distance Education and Counseling Tools for Service Providers
September 22, Eau Claire
Western Dairyland will be providing a free one-day event September 22, 2009
in Eau Claire for economic development professionals and service
providers interested in learning how to harness the power of distance
education tools to train and cousel clients remotely. For more
information, contact Jackie at 715-836-7511 ext 171 or jbdassist@westerndairyland.org.
--------------------------------------------------------Ideas to Profits Conference
October 1-2, Wisconsin Dells
More than 18 experts speaking on IP licensing, innovation, global business entry, government funding, search engine optimization, Wisconsin Angel network, contract engineering, rapid prototyping, social networks, marketing/public relations, how to launch new product/idea and many more helpful and informative topics! Registration fee only $99
2nd Annual Juried Inventors' Showcase & Competition
October 1, Wisconsin Dells
This competition is held in conjunction with the 2009 Ideas to Profits Conference and is sponsored by the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center. $50 entry fee. Deadline to enter is August 3, 2009.
For more information go to:
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Business Resources
Free Online Business Courses
The Small Business Training Network (SBTN) is a virtual campus
providing quality and targeted online training to meet the information
needs of prospective and existing small business owners. Available courses are identified by topic, such as Starting a Business, Surviving in a Down Economy and Business Management. In general, the courses are all self-paced and should take about 30
minutes to complete. Most of the courses require a brief online
registration.
http://www.sba.gov/services/training/onlinecourses/index.html
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Partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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