Calendar

Overview of the Live Webinar

The following will be covered during this live webinar:

• Power of SEO and social media for attracting customers, including local SEO to precisely target your market.
• Website optimization for lead generation. How personas, message maps, and content calendars help to make your website and social media footprint more attractive when integrated.
• Social selling as an amplifier of your existing sales and marketing strategy. Learn to build an omni channel presence and customer journey for faster wins.
• What your digital channel strategy needs, to be effective in terms of content, technology and investment.
• How to effectively use paid media and advertising. Cost savings of optimizing your website and SEO to maximize paid media spend and ROI.

Speaker: Hussain Shah, Subject Matter Expert – Digital Marketing, Mason SBDC & Timm Johnson – Director, Mason SBDC

Co-sponsor(s) & Partner(s): Prince William County Department of Economic Development & Prince William Chamber of Commerce

Cancellation Policy: Contact the Center regarding cancellation 24 business hours prior to the event. Kindly email – help@masonsbdc.org (preferred) or call 703-261-4105 to notify the team.

Special Instructions: This live webinar will be presented via Zoom. Webinar access details (Zoom invitation) will be provided after registration.

Navigating the New SBA Veteran Owned Small Business/ Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB/SDVOSB) Certification

The SBA has recently taken over the certification of Veteran Owned Small Business/ Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB/SDVOSB) for set-aside opportunities with the government. This class will walk you through the new application and give you advise on how to properly submit your application. In this class you will learn:

• Where to access the portal for application submission

• How to manage the required data

• What documents will be needed

• Eligibility guidelines

Speaker(s): Lisa Wood is the Statewide Director of the Virginia PTAC, hosted by George Mason University where she is also an Adjunct Professor of Management. Prior to that, she served as the Statewide Director with the Connecticut and Ohio PTAC programs and was also Director for the Northwest Commission PTAC in Pennsylvania.

There may be no more enjoyable way for a craft beverage company to grow their audience than a collaboration project. Whether the partner is a fellow producer, a top account, or a favorite artist, a well-designed collaboration can be a fun and mutually beneficial project.

In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance Manager Chris Van Orden will ask Philip Runco about some of the best practices for teaming up.

SPEAKER: Philip Runco has written about beer and music since 2009, contributing to publications such as Timeout, Thrillist, Brightest Young Things, and DC Beer. He currently oversees social media and coordinates special projects for one of the DC area’s leading breweries, while also handling communications and written works for a pioneering “nomadic” beer company. In 2022, the North American Guild of Beer Writers designated his article “Little Fish, Big Tale: How Fast Fashion Caught Its Own Hop” the year’s best profile.

A confirmation email with the Zoom login information will be sent after registration – a day before before the event – please be on the lookout for it.

Diane McCarthy conducts office hours at the Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce office on the second and every other fourth Tuesdays of each month. This drop-in event will provide business owners and entrepreneurs and opportunity to learn more about the SBDC resources available to them. To make an appointment, contact Diane via email or call 540.568.3227.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS WORKSHOP.
PLEASE VIEW OTHER DATES ON OUR CALENDAR.

• Do you reside in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia and are thinking about starting a new business?
• Do you have questions about how to move forward?
• Are you considering moving your hobby into a more structured business form?
• Have you already started your small business and now realize you may have missed a few things?

Your Shenandoah Valley SBDC has answers, information, and resources to help!

In our Start Smart Workshops, we discuss the path to good decisions and a successful start. You’ll learn to take a thorough 360° approach to your business and all its components – from product development to target marketing to financial projections and bookkeeping. We also cover the regulations and registrations you need to know.

Follow-up appointments are then available with SBDC business advisors to focus on your individual business growth needs.

Thank you for your registration to Start Smart Workshop. Please let Rosie know if you are unable to attend or have questions via email to rigglerc@jmu.edu

Thank You! Barry Henderson, Shenandoah Valley SBDC

Having a good landing page is the foundation of digital marketing. Without a well-crafted landing page, potential leads have no way to access or learn more about your business online.

In this webinar, you’ll learn the basics of digital marketing, the key components of a landing page and how to turn your landing page into a funnel that turns leads into sales.

What we’ll cover:

• Finding and registering a domain
• Creating a landing page
• Understanding marketing funnels
• How to get traffic to your site
• How to measure the success of your landing page

Live attendees will receive free business resources and a link to this webinar recording.

Overview of this Live, webinar (Unmasking the Threat: How Hackers Exploit AI to Target Small Business Owners)

Attention all small business owners!

Navigating the blurred lines between reality and deception is increasingly difficult given recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Join us for an engaging live webinar where we delve into the intricate world of cyber threats. Witness firsthand sophisticated AI tactics used by malicious actors to exploit small business owners. In this session, you will:

• Gain a Deeper Understanding: Explore real-life instances showcasing the fusion of AI and cybercrime.
• Arm Yourself with Knowledge: Discover emerging dangers that could impact your business.
• Strengthen Your Defenses: Learn effective strategies to safeguard your company against AI-fueled scams.

Who should attend: Small business owners who want to avoid being scammed by attacks targeting their company.

Speakers:

• Dr. Teresa Piliouras, CEO and Founder, Technical Consulting & Research, Inc., is an IT consultant, educator, inventor, and author. She holds a BS from the University of Illinois, an MBA from Iona College, a PhD from NYU Tandon School of Engineering.
• Pui Lam (Raymond) Yu, Executive Vice President Engineering at Technical Consulting & Research, Inc., has over 20 years of industry experience in Cybersecurity, Software Engineering, and Systems Engineering. He received his BEEE and MSEE from Stevens Institute of Technology and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, respectively, and his MSCS from New York University Tandon School of Engineering.
• Curtis Rowe II, Cybersecurity Analyst, Technical Consulting and Research, Inc., holds a BS in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Co-sponsor(s) & Partner(s): Prince William County Department of Economic Development & Prince William Chamber of Commerce

Cancellation Policy: Kindly send an email to help@masonsbdc.org (preferred) or call 703-261-4105 to notify the team.

Special Instructions: This live webinar will be presented via Zoom. Webinar access details (Zoom invitation) will emailed after registration.

Speaker(s): Carl Knoblock, SBA District Director of the Virginia District Office. Carl Knoblock currently works for the Small Business Administration and prior to becoming District Director, Knoblock owned a couple of small businesses from manufacturing to service industries. He served as C-Level executive for several innovative startups. Carl started as the district director for Virginia in June 2014.

If you need further assistance or have a question, please contact us at (540)654-1383

Join us for an empowering webinar dedicated to supporting and guiding women entrepreneurs on their journey to securing funding for their businesses.

Whether you’re just starting out or scaling your business, this webinar will help you understand the different funding options available to women entrepreneurs, how to pitch your business vision effectively and how to overcome gender biases and create a supportive network.

In this webinar, you’ll learn:

• Understanding the different funding pathways
• Building a Compelling Funding Pitch
• Overcoming Gender-Specific Challenges

Live attendees will receive free business resources and a link to this webinar recording.

Speaker(s): Charese Chambers