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Western
Dairyland Business Center
September 2009 Newsletter |
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Join Us Online
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Fall is here. School is
back in session. From recordkeeping to Internet
marketing, we have you covered! Check out what we
have scheduled this month!
September Events
(details below):
09.10.09
T.E.A.M. Women's Business Network Meeting, Western Dairyland, noon Eau
Claire
09.10.09
Jackson County Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club, 6:30pm Black
River Falls
09.11.09
Webinar: My First Web Site, 9am
09.12.09 Using
QuickBooks in Your Business, 9am - 4pm, Saturday, Eau Claire
09.15.09 7 Steps
to Starting a Business, 6-9 pm, Independence
09.17.09
Buffalo/Trempealeau County Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club,
6:30pm Independence
09.18.09 Webinar:
Web Site DIY, 9am
09.22.09
Distance Education and Counseling Tools for Service Providers. Eau
Claire
09.22.09 7 Steps
to Starting a Business, 6-9pm, Eau Claire
09.25.09 Webinar:Internet
Marketing, 9am
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.
September
11: My First Web Site - Registering a Domain
Name and Finding a Web Host
September
18: Web Site DIY - Free & Cheap Tools
for Building and Maintaining your own Web Site
September
25: 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
Classes Offered in Independence and Eau Claire
Learn
the Basic Steps in Building a Successful Business Plan
Tuesday, September
15, 6 - 9 p.m.
Westerndairyland EOC
23122
Whitehall Rd, Independence
or
Tuesday, September 22, 6
- 9
Western
Dairyland EOC
418 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire
These training sessions teach 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, 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 836-7511 ext 171, or in person at the Western Dairyland office
in downtown Eau Claire.
Registration and payment must be
received by the Friday before class.
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 Thursday, September 10
will feature a special presentation by Jeanne
Gates:
"Marketing
Savvy (on-the-cheap) for 2009"
Jeanne, a former executive with
major media companies such as Gannett and Knight Ridder and
founder/owner of two companies - a wholesale gift and gourmet product
business distributed nationally and into 8 foreign countries PLUS a
marketing and web design business. Gates will have gifts,
ideas and solutions for marketing small business products and services
in a challenging economy.
Throughout Gates' career, she has
had the opportunity to market with budgets under $1,000 per year and
budgets over $5 million. From mixing music and cutting TV
spots with large New York ad agencies to running classified ads in
trade magazines and display ads in weeklies to buying and
designing billboard and bus bench campaigns, Gates marketing
experience spans the full spectrum.
T.E.A.M. meetings are free and take place Noon-1pm at Western
Dairyland, 418 Wisconsin St., Eau
Claire. Feel free to bring your lunch.
And, remember to bring your business cards!
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Inventors & Entrepreneurs
Clubs
Jackson County
The
next Jackson County I&E Club meeting is
Thursday, September 10, 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 Heather Rothbauer-Wanish,
freelance writer and owner of Feather Communications.
"Freelance
Writing and Entrepreneurship"
With recent
changes in the printing industry and self-publication becoming more
accessible to small, local authors, Heather Rothbauer-Wanish
will explain how she successfully entered the world of
freelance writing and entrepreneurship. She will share her
experiences of marketing her writing and developing new markets. Other
topics include finding the time to devote to your writing and overall
business management.
Heather has a
BBA in management from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an
MBA from Lakeland College. In business, she enjoys researching new
topics, interviewing people, composing articles, developing copy and
proofreading. Heather is also an instructor at Globe
University where she was recently named the Eau Claire Campus Faculty
Member of the Year.
Buffalo/Trempealeau
Counties
The Buffalo/Treampealeau I &
E Club launches its fall schedule on Thursday,
September 17 at
6:30 p.m. at the Western Dairyland Community Action Agency, 23122
Whitehall Rd., Independence. The featured speaker is Tom
Pearson, former Vice-President of Marketing at Ayres
Associates.
"Rainmakers:
Meeting the Need"
Through this
interactive and enlightening presentation, individuals with business
and product ideas at all stages of development will learn how to evoke
trust from potential clients, discover the needs of their clients and
eventually close the sale.
Open business
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
For more information about the I
& E Club call: Karman Briggs at 715.836.7511 ext.
174. You can also email IandE@westerndairyland.org
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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. Attendees will learn the basics, create a
company file, learn how to bckup and restore data, create transactions
with vendors (accounts payable) and customers (accounts receivable),
and will explore QuickBooks features that will save time, reduce erors
and produce customized reports.
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, Western
Dairyland's e-commerce site, welcomes Angel's Kiss Alpaca
Yarn. The yarn is MADE IN THE USA and primarily in Wisconsin!
It is a luxurious blend of 60% alpaca fleece, all from U.S. farms, and
40% merino wool. Alpaca fleece is purchased directly from U.S.
farms, sorted and scoured at their Wisconsin alpaca
farm/workshop, sent to a mill in PA to be spun, and upon its return,
they kettle-dye it in exciting colors at the
workshop.
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News and Events
MARKETPLACE 2009
Governor's
Conference on Minority Development
September 16, Pewaukee
MARKETPLACE 2009 is
the premier MBD business capacity building conference of the year and
an excellent opportunity for minority business entrepreneurs to make
deals, build business capacity and network with buyers and supplier
diversity managers. For more information or to register go to: www.marketplace.wi.gov
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"Regenerating
for Generations to Come" Synergy Conference 2009 September
16-17, 2009, Rice Lake
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Entrepreneurial
Training Program
Wednesdays,
Sept. 16 - Nov. 19
SBDC,
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
In 10 consecutive Wednesday evening
sessions you"ll receive real-world advice from business professionals
and free coaching sessions by SBDC advisors. They'll provide you with
all the tools and resources you need to complete your business plan.
Each session is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. on the UW-La Crosse Campus.
For more information go to:
http://www.uwlax.edu/sbdc/ETP-Lax.htm
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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 additional information
contact Jackie at 715.836.7511 ext 171 or jbdassist@westerndairyland.org.
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Entrepreneurial
Training Program
Tuesdays,
starting Sept. 29
SBDC,
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Understanding the full scope of what
it takes to start and run a small business is like climbing the
proverbial mountain. We understand the necessary steps to success,
that's why we developed the Entrepreneurial Training Program. It's an
efficient set of classes designed specifically to help you develop a
valued business plan and recognize what it takes to build a thriving
business!
For more information
go to:
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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
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12th Annual Midwest Value Added Agriculture
Conference
January
20, 2010
4th
Annual Wisconsin Local Food Summit
January
21 & 22
Visit www.rivercountryrcd.org
for more information about each event
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2010 Government Contracting Conference
August
25 and August 26 at Volk Field
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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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