Are you considering starting a business in Illinois? Put yourself ahead of the curve and gain the knowledge you need to assist with a successful launch. This workshop will address if business ownership is right for you, the transition from being an employee, volunteer, homemaker and/or independent contractor to business owner and more.
Are you an established business owner seeking to grow your business through government and corporate contracting? Don't miss this opportunity to learn from WBDC business counselors how to
write dynamic capability statements to improve your chances of winning contracts in an interactive, small group format. Each
session is limited to 5 participants.
July 12: Connection Points: Networking with Accountants, Attorneys, Mediators and Financial Advisors
This networking event is for accountants, attorneys, mediators and financial advisors who are looking to meet new contacts for referrals or teaming opportunities. Discover how professionals in these industries are employing innovative strategies to attract new clients and increase revenues. Learn how forming strategic professional alliances can help you grow your business.
July 12: Reach Your Market Strategically (Part of Jumpstart Series)
Once you know who your target market and ideal clients are, you need to figure out how to reach them. You will learn how to distinguish between selling and marketing, identify features and benefits of your products/services, develop at least three strategies for marketing and more.
July 17: Crowd Funding: Other Alternative Sources of Funding
Are you thinking about starting a new business or offshoot of your current business that needs creative funding? This workshop will discuss non-traditional sources of funding including crowd funding and other sources of micro-capital. Learn about alternative funding resources such as Kickstarter, ACCION and angel investors and what they fund that might get your project up and running.
July 17: Building Your Brand Through Twitter (Part of Social Media Series)
Twitter is a social media platform designed for conversation. It's time to get serious about the world's largest micro blogging site! This interactive workshop will teach you the tools to register a Twitter account, find and connect with potential collaborative partners, become familiar with third party applications like Hootsuite, Twellow, etc and more.
July 18: Online Group Business Counseling: Improve Your Contract Opportunity Searches on CTA, Higher Education Procurement Bulletin and Cook County
Learn how to improve your contract opportunity searches on CTA, Higher Education Procurement Bulletin and Cook County. This is a not to be missed session for businesses interested in doing business with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Illinois universities or Cook County.
July 19: Financial Smarts for Business Starts (Part of Jumpstart Series)
Learn to analyze costs and revenues for your business. This workshop will address the importance of decreasing risk by employing monthly record keeping, the critical role of the tax professional/accountant, how financial analysis (record keeping) and marketing work together and the difference between cash flow and profit and loss. Learn to apply five types of financial statements and know the purpose of each statement.
July 24: Building Your Brand Through LinkedIn (Part of Social Media Series)
More than nine out of ten B2B businesses say they conduct social media marketing to some extent and cite LinkedIn as their most important platform. If you're looking to start a B2B business or already have one, this workshop will provide you with hands-on experience to develop your LinkedIn presence.
July 26: Are You Ready for a Government Contract?
This workshop focuses on determining if your business is at the right stage to pursue opportunities with government agencies, and how to market your business to them. Learn the steps to identify contract opportunities including which website to visit to find bid opportunities.
July 26: Financial Analysis: Building Your Financial Muscle with the Expert (Part of Jumpstart Series)
Dig deeper into understanding the financial pieces of running your business with insight from a WBDC finance specialist. Learn how to determine cash flow projections, create revenue assumptions and sales projections prior to listing business expenses, develop sales projections utilizing a variety of strategies, utilize financial ratios and what is essential in managing business banking relationships.
July 31: Building Your Brand Through Google+ and YouTube (Part of Social Media Series)
The newest social media platform to hit the broadband waves is Google+. With over 100 million active users already networking on the site, it's time to pay attention. Creating videos can help your customers put a face to your business, whether you're big or small. YouTube is the video sharing site to work through, and we'll show you how to do it! In this workshop you will learn how to how to create a Google+ profile for you and your business, determine the feasibility of Google+ for your business, create a YouTube profile, and more.
