Business Workshops 2007
WORKSHOP TOPICS
Is Your Bright Idea an Apple or an Edsel?
Workshop 1A - (Friday 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Eloise Vitelli - Director of Program and Policy, Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community
You have a great idea for a business - but how do you find out if you'll succeed? This session will show you how to do research and planning that will help you avoid many costly mistakes and how to build a plan that will guide you to successfully launching a new business or expanding an existing one.
How to Connect with Technical Assistance to Start or Grow Your Business
Workshop 1B - (Friday 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
Ruth Cash-Smith - Women's Business Counselor, Women’s Business Center at CEI
Georgiana Kendall - Washington County Coordinator, Women, Work, and Community
Janet Toth - Business Development Specialist, Eastern Maine Development Corp., DECD
Elizabeth Sprague - Small Business Coordinator, WHCA/Down East Business Alliance
Do you need help finding assistance to start or expand your business? This workshop will introduce you to the wealth of resources available right here in Washington County. Business owners will learn how to work with local resources to start or expand their own businesses.
How to Identify and Match Financing Resources
Workshop 1C - (Saturday 9:15 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.)
Herb Thomas - Senior Area Manger, Small Business Administration
Lou Esposito - The First
Ron Gardner or Scott Peasley - Machias Savings Bank
Karl Anderson - Bangor Savings
Charley Emmons - Finance Authority of Maine
Joe Migliaccio - Maine Technology Institute
Business owners, technical assistance professionals, venture capital representatives, and a commercial banker explain business financing: grants, small business loan programs, and capitalization - and the advantages and disadvantages of each. When do you infuse the business for growth and/or prepare business for potential sale? How do lenders evaluate an application for a business loan? What can you do to overcome past credit problems or other credit issues? You will have lots of time to ask these and other questions of the panelists.
Determining Your Position in the Marketplace
Workshop 2A - (Friday 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Tracy Stutzman - Executive Director, Maine Highlands Guild
Cynthia Fisher- VP of Marketing & Quality Assurance - Look's Gourmet Food Company
Want to organize, focus, and plan your marketing? In this workshop you'll learn about developing the key components of an effective marketing plan. You'll learn where to find primary and secondary marketing data that you can use to develop your marketing plan. Presenters will pass along tips and tools that will help you do a better job reaching your potential customers with a message that will translate into sales.
How to Develop and Manage Your Collaborative Business Relationships
Workshop 2B - (Friday 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
Martha Broderick - Broderick & Broderick Attorneys
Meg McGarvey - The Commons, Eastport
Collaborations are the answer for small businesses willing to work together to expand their offerings and respond to increasingly demanding customers. You'll learn how to engage in collaborative marketing along with opportunities discovered, lessons learned, and challenges encountered. You'll learn about the opportunities collaborative marketing offers and the challenges that must be overcome. Ample time will be provided for questions.
Marketing & Promoting Your Tourism-Based Business or Non-Profit Organization
Workshop 2C - (Friday 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
Nancy Marshall - Owner, Nancy Marshall Communications, Augusta
The program will include information on trends in tourism marketing and how you can tap into those trends in order to generate publicity for your business. Also covered will be the skills involved in writing a press release, organizing a special event, putting together a press kit, welcoming travel writers to your business, and handling crisis communications. Please come prepared to share your own successes and challenges with PR and Marketing. You will receive an information-packed workbook to take home with you.
Marketing at Home and "Away"
Workshop 2D - (Saturday 9:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.)
Grace Cleaves - Cleaves Marketing
David and Jo-Ann Caron - Cobscook Bay Designs
Heather Perry - Heather Perry Fine Jewelry
Karen Raye - Raye's Mustard Mill
You're always looking for the best ways to market your product or service here at home and to potential customers around the state and the world. This highly interactive workshop will feature real world ideas and tools that you can incorporate immediately into your marketing and promotion strategy. Presenters will show you how to use low-cost or free tools to generate high-impact publicity and marketing that will help you make the most from print and electronic media. Learn strategies that work from those who have used them. Participants are encouraged to bring their own promotion materials for an honest critique.
Ten Simple Improvements to Increase Your E- Commerce Traffic
Workshop 2E - (Saturday 10:35 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Rafi Hopkins - Rafi Hopkins Consulting
Monique Bouchard - Independent Consultant
A web site developer and a programmer will identify specific improvements and easy fixes you can implement to improve and increase your e-commerce capability and generate sales. You'll tour several web sites and pinpoint the features that make them highly effective - or not.
Coming to Terms with Financial Statements
Workshop 3A - (Friday 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Steve Richard - Business Counselor, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
If you want to know how to turn your financial reports into tools you can use to diagnose problems and discover the source of problems you didn't know you have, then this is the session for you. You will understand the information you already have and how to use it.
What a Small Business Needs to Know to Make Taxes Easier
Workshop 3B - (Friday 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
Shawn Savage - Small Business/Self Employed Division, Internal Revenue Service
Electronic options available for researching tax matters are increasing every year and can be overwhelming. You'll tour the IRS.gov to learn just how much information is available for your business. You'll understand how to make your way around the web site and how to search for the latest electronic products and services using Electronic IRS.gov. Shawn will introduce small business news and information, employment tax resources, and other resources. Even if you have a tax professional working with you, you'll learn where to find tax information that will help you save valuable time and increase the accuracy of your return. You'll have plenty of opportunity to ask questions in this highly interactive workshop.
Breaking Through the "Micro" Barrier
Workshop 3C - (Saturday 9:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.)
Cynthia Fisher- VP of Marketing & Quality Assurance - Look's Gourmet Food Company
Janet Toth - Business Development Specialist, Eastern Maine Development Corp., DECD
Jennifer Peters - Sunrise County Economic Council
How do you move from a micro-business with a few employees to a bigger operation? How can you engage large grants, government contracts, and other funding to make the leap? How do you ramp up production in order to meet increased demand? In this session, you'll find out what you have to put into place and how to increase capacity to make your move.
Avoiding Calamity: How to Make it Through Audits, Foreclosures, Insufficient Insurance, Business Interruption and Other Setbacks
Workshop 3D - (Saturday 10:35 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Len Bard - Bard's Insurance
Jane Bell - Tide Mill Farm
Carly DelSignore - Tide Mill Farm
Kryston Lemay - CPA
Lou Esposito - The First
Contrary to popular opinion, business owners are not risk takers. They want to reduce their risk as much as possible. This workshop will address the steps you can take to be ready for business interruptions like ice storms or building damage, employee embezzlement, financial setbacks, and other business risks. Ample time will be available for questions.
Building the Yellow Brick Road:
How to Develop Plans and Projections for Growing Your Business
Workshop 3E - (Saturday 10:35 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Steve Richard - Business Counselor, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
How They Did It: Case studies reveal how business owners have used financial reports and cash flow projections to diagnose and forecast business growth.
Building a Winning Workplace
Workshop 4A - (Friday 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Various Presenters
Great employees are out there and they are crucial to the long-term success of any business. This workshop will introduce you to proven strategies and programs used by many businesses throughout the county to recruit high quality employees and reduce turnover. You'll learn how to identify the reasons for employee turnover and how to implement financial and non-financial motivators that help to retain good employees. This workshop will feature employers that have been successful recruiting and keeping a high quality workforce.
Strategies for Managing Workers' Compensation
Workshop 4B - (Friday 2:00 pm. - 4:00 p.m.)
Colleen Hart - Compensation Specialist, MEMIC
Paul Sighinolfi - Attorney, Rudman-Winchell
Jill Culver Jameson - Mediator, Workers' Compensation
A panel consisting of a mutual insurance carrier, a defense attorney, and a workers' compensation mediator will explain record keeping, documentation, and communication practices that will result in the most effective claim management and lower claims costs. Workshop participants will learn how to be more proactive about preventing claims, and how to make wise decisions when claims do occur.
