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Western
Dairyland Business Center
August 2009 Newsletter
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Join Us Online
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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.
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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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