Event Notices From May 10
June Business Workshops Offered by Oakland County
Business owners and entrepreneurs who need assistance are invited to attend seminars in June offered by the Oakland County Business Center. Business Basics workshops are now offered in the evenings on alternating months.
Tuesday, June 5: FastTrac NewVenture is an intensive, 10-week program that helps you evaluate business opportunities and develop an action plan for owning your own business. Written by entrepreneurs for aspiring entrepreneurs, FastTrac NewVenture offers essential business information to help you develop your entrepreneurial skills and build your business on a strong foundation. FastTrac® NewVenture provides the opportunity to objectively evaluate your concept and plans for moving forward, begin building an infrastructure for your business operations and processes, understand how to access the human, financial and business resources, and build an actionable business plan. The class will be held for 10 consecutive sessions through Aug. 14 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $140 per person. No refunds.
Tuesday, June 5: Michigan Get Your Business Online, Build Your Free Web site is a Google-Intuit event to provide easy-to-build Web sites, a customized domain name and Web hosting for one year. This workshop is part of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.'s Pure Michigan Business Connect Tool Kit. Create and publish a site for your business using Intuit Sitebuilder. The workshop, using the computer lab, will walk you through setting up your free Web site account, registering a domain name, selecting a Web site template and learning how to customize it, and pPublishing your Web site. The event begins with registration at 9:30 a.m., a welcome at 9:45 a.m. and the session from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The venue is the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. This workshop is free but pre-registration is required.
Wednesday, June 6: Fundamentals of Marketing Your Business - Marketing is an essential of business success. All products/services must be sold to well-targeted audiences with a wide-ranging marketing mix. Our staff/SCORE counselors can guide you through successful techniques and marketing principles helping you to promote your products and services to the most promising customers-your target audience. Presented by The Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center (MI-SBTDC). The session runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $40 per person. No refunds.
Thursday, June 7: Small Business Loan Workshop – Getting a small business loan can be a challenging process. Learn the "5 C's of Credit," how to develop a winning loan proposal and what you need to know to position your business to be "bankable" before you meet with a lender. Presented by The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Oakland County Business Center. The session runs from 9 a.m. to noon at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $20 per person (Please make checks payable to SCORE). Includes: Handouts and SBA Source Book. No refunds.
Thursday, June 7: Business Research: Feasibility to Expansion – Are you thinking of starting your own business and want to research your business idea? Are you a business owner who wants to benchmark your profit margin and other measures against similar size businesses in your industry? Do you want to know about market trends and opportunities to grow your sales? Are you looking for new customers or to diversify your market base? Business Research will show you ways to find your ideal customers, find your competitors, perform competitive analysis and more! Presented by Oakland County's Business Center, Market Research Division and an Oakland County Public Library business reference librarian. The session runs from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Ferndale Public Library, 222 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar or call (248) 858-0783. This workshop is free but pre-registration is required.
Wednesday, June 13: CEED Microloan Orientation – Many small business owners face obstacles when trying to obtain a business loan. The recognition of the serious need for working capital for existing businesses, start-up or expansion, equipment purchases, and job creation is not the priority it once was. If you have a need for alternative financing consider the MicroLoan Program. Discover the requirements and process necessary to apply and obtain a microloan. Program presented by the Center for Empowerment & Economic Development (C.E.E.D.) The session runs from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar or call (248) 858-0783. This workshop is free but pre-registration is required.
Wednesday, June 13: LinkedIn for Business (Beginner) - Introduction to Social Media Marketing and using LinkedIn for Business. Millions of people are using LinkedIn and social media for fun and to find jobs, but it is also a powerful business tool that can connect you with your customers, potential customers and the world. You will learn how to create your own as well as a Company Profile on LinkedIn, how to set up your account and profile, how to optimize your profile, how to navigate LinkedIn, LinkedIn culture and more. The session runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $40 per person. No refunds.
Thursday, June 14: Fundamentals of Starting a Business is a seminar for anyone thinking about going into business. Participants examine their entrepreneurial skills, learn how to implement their ideas and receive a list of pitfalls to avoid when starting a business. The session runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $30 person. No refunds.
Wednesday, June 20: LinkedIn for Business (Intermediate) - Create your LinkedIn Strategy. In this intermediate session of LinkedIn you will learn how to establish your social media objectives and goals for LinkedIn, create your LinkedIn social media marketing strategy and schedule, integrate LinkedIn into your marketing strategy. You will also learn the core strategies and tactics businesses are using to get customers talking through LinkedIn, how to use social media management tools for LinkedIn, how to schedule updates in advance, and more. Prerequisite for this session is LinkedIn for Business (Beginner). The session runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $40 per person. No refunds.
Thursday, June 21: Fundamentals of Writing a Business Plan – A workshop for small business owners who are developing a plan to serve as their road map to success. Workshop participants learn what elements are commonly found in effective plans and work on developing each of these for their own business. Assistance in the process as well as information on resources is provided. The session runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar or call (248) 858-0783. Fee: $40 per person. No refunds.
Wednesday, June 27: LinkedIn for Business (Advanced) - Create your LinkedIn Strategy. In this intermediate session of LinkedIn you will learn how to establish your social media objectives and goals for LinkedIn, create your LinkedIn social media marketing strategy and schedule, integrate LinkedIn into your marketing strategy. You will also learn the core strategies and tactics businesses are using to get customers talking through LinkedIn, how to use social media management tools for LinkedIn, how to schedule updates in advance, and more. Prerequisites for this session are LinkedIn for Business (Beginner) and LinkedIn for Business (Intermediate). The session runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar, or call (248) 858-0783. The fee is $40 per person. No refunds.
Thursday, June 28: QuickBooks Essentials – This introduction to small business financial management provides an overview of accurate recordkeeping, report interpretation and utilization, and management of the variety of tools provided in this system. Presented by Kildal Services, LLC. Session I, from 9 to 11:30 a.m., covers basic accounting terminology, new company file setup, customizing forms and letters and working with bank accounts. Session II, from 12:30 to 3 p.m., covers invoicing cusotmers, receiving payments and making deposits, entering vendor bills and paying vendor bills, and using credit card accounts. The venue is the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford Township. For pre-registration and location specifics, visit www.oakgov.com/peds/calendar or call (248) 858-0783. Each session is $40, or $75 for both. Laptop highly recommended.
