CCEC Class Schedule for Oct. 22-26th

Greetings!

The students will be making sales calls this week for the Nov. 7th Coles Connected Community Leaders Breakfast tickets featuring Mike Yager, the 20 Under 40 recipients and the Jefferson Award winners. They will also be selling table sponsorships that include: an ivy centerpiece, a table tent with your name on it, a 3' x 5' reusable banner that will be displayed at the breakfast and the option of having your promotional giveaways on your table. This entire promotional package will cost your business only $75. Any extra profts will go towards seed money for the students to start their businesses in the Spring.

Please consider stopping by and visiting the class on your way to work. We meet daily from 7:30-9 am. The class's home base for this quarter is the LifeSpan Center on Loxa Road. Everyone is welcome! Below is next week's schedule.

Monday, October 22nd - LifeSpan Center Tour

With Dee Braden

LifeSpan Center, 11021 E. Co. Rd. 800N, Charleston

Tuesday, October 23rd - City of Charleston Tour

With Scott Smith

520 Jackson Ave, Charleston

Wednesday, October 24th - Time Management/Logo Development

LifeSpan Center

Thursday, October 18th - Mattoon Precision Manufacturing Inc. Tour

With Bob Shamdin

2408 S. 14th Street, Mattoon

Friday, October 19th - No Class!

How to Succeed in Sales

With Bob Jones, Marketing By Jones

Bob Jones, chair of the Coles County Entrepreneurship class advisory board, started off the week with a lively talk about his experience in business. He started out in banking and moved into insurance. and ran the Checkley agency for year. discussed his background in insurance and sales. Some sales advice imparted was: it is not about you; it is about the client's needs. Mirror the person's style. Never burn bridges or criticize the competition. Handle rejection by not taking it personally, and when you are on a roll, keep selling. The student's then roleplayed and did their sales pitches for breakfast table sponsorships to each other.

Working With Excel

With Katherine Johnson at the LifeSpan Center

Katherine Johnson, an Eastern Illinois University student volunteered to teach Excel to the class. The students learned that taking time to set up formulas and learning how to sort correctly can save you hours on budgets, pro-formas, record keeping and other lists. Cathy Sowa also volunteered her time to help with the training. Thank you both for a great learning experience.

Gilbert, Metzger, & Madigan Tour

With Joyce Madigan

Joyce Madigan, chair elect of the CCEC board, hosted the class at Gilbert, Metzger, and Madigan Certified Public Accounting firm. She shared with the class what new business owners need to know when starting a business. This was their first introduction to the basics of business legal structure, accounting methods, tax forms, and deductible business expenses. She let them know what records to keep and how long to keep them. This was all very useful information for the students as they begin to think about what business they plan to create this next semester.

The Millionaire Next Door Book Discussion

Student: Ted Myers

Ted Myers was the brave student who was the first to facilitate a book discussion. He chose to discuss The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko. This book profiles people who have already become millionaires and their habits, where they live, what they drive and even what they eat. Many people earning high incomes are not rich because they are spending their money as fast as they earn it. In order to accumulate wealth, and be rich, one must not only earn a lot but also develop frugal habits. Most millionaires save 15% or more of their income and can live comfortably for 12 years if no new income is generated. Great job Ted!

Eastern Illinois Properties

With Jim Zimmer

Jim has a passion for farming, but there was no opportunity on his family farm near Neoga, so he explored other agriculture related businesses. He found opportunity in the fertilizer industry and by focusing on outservicing his competition,he made a name for himself and moved up the corporate ladder in ag sales and marketing.

Retiring in 2010, he now owns his own farm, EIU Properties & Bio - Enzyme. Jim also evaluated the proposed class names and gave suggestions. The next step in the process is to create logos for the top two names and re-evaluate.

Class Investors

Adams Memorials

Advanced Digital Solutions

Anonymous (2)

Bella Vein Laser Center Medical Spa

City of Charleston

City of Mattoon

Coldwell Banker Real Estate

Commercial Electric

Consolidated Communications

Corrie Appraisal & Consulting, Inc.

Curry & Co.