- 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
Don’t let the lack of capital stop your entrepreneurial dreams. Join us and discover cost-effective strategies and innovative approaches that allow you to turn your vision into reality.
In this webinar, SCORE Mentor and Executive Consultant Cynthia Rhodes will guide you through the essential steps of starting a business without relying on external funding. You’ll also learn how to craft a business strategy that positions your venture for long-term profitability. Finally, we’ll teach you how to access capital once your business has gained traction.
Learning Objectives:
- Understanding the system of business
- How to Develop a Winning Profit Strategy
- How to Build Profit without Access to Capital
Live attendees will receive free business resources and a link to this webinar recording.
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.
Join us for a discussion about what all entrepreneurs, small businesses, and start-ups should know about trademarks. We’ll discuss what trademarks are, the benefits of federal trademark registration, and the basics of the registration process. We’ll also talk about why it’s so important for any new business to select a trademark that is both federally registrable and legally protectable.
We’ll direct you to free resources from the USPTO and close out the discussion with a question-and-answer session.
Speaker: Christina Calloway, attorney with the USPTO
Webinar presented in collaboration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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.
Please join Senior Business Counselor, and Adjunct GMU Professor George Siragusa, as he guides you through a step-by-step process of building your Value Proposition Design which is invaluable to startups, early stage companies, growth, or even mature businesses!
The Value Proposition Design (VPD) is a framework that enables businesses to develop and solidify their foundational ideas for how they will create, communicate, deliver and then extract marketplace value for a differentiated product or service intended to solve a specific problem aligned with a specific customer need while delivering tangible benefits, for an intended potential customer segment in a domain space or industry sector. It lives inside something called the Business Model Canvas, another important foundational business framework.
Are you a solo entrepreneur looking to strategically grow your business? In this session, small business columnist and popular SCORE presenter Steve Strauss will delve into proven strategies and practical tips tailored for business owners looking to scale their solo businesses.
From leveraging technology to mastering digital marketing, our expert speakers will share valuable insight and guide you on how to take a one-person business to the next level!
In this webinar you’ll learn:
- How to get clients to seek you
- How to leverage technology to make your job easier
- How to level up your digital marketing
- How to save valuable time by getting the help you need
Live attendees will receive free business resources and a link to this webinar recording.
Participants will learn free and low cost ways to market their business and increase sales.
Topics will include:
*Getting the most out of social media
*Using email marketing effectively
*Free resources to make your business look great
*Participants will receive tips and ideas they can begin implementing right away
Speaker(s): Hope Gayles, Associate Director, Communications & Outreach & Public Information Officer at Southern Virginia Higher Education Center
Co-Sponsor(s): LSBDC, GMU, SBA, VSBDC, SVHEC, GoVA
Are you ready to take control of your career and transition from being an employee to becoming a successful business owner?
Join us for an insightful webinar where we’ll explore the different types of business ownership models to determine which one aligns with your lifestyle and goals. Whether you’re considering starting your own venture, purchasing an existing business, or exploring the world of franchising, we’ll help you understand all your options.
You’ll learn:
- Start-up benefits and challenges
- The pros and cons of buying an existing business
- Exploring the world of franchising
- Aligning business ownership with your personal goals
Live attendees will receive free business resources and a link to this webinar recording.
Join us if you’re interested in pivoting more of your efforts to ONLINE SALES
This session will cover:
- The variety of websites available, the possibilities for upgrading yours to better accommodate online sales and the estimated costs to accomplish this!
- The various e-commerce platforms available and how to select the best based on your specific business needs.
- How to setup and manage your online storefront or service portal and how to use data and marketing to maximize returns.
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.
Instructor: Cameron Nelson, Chief Digital Advisor, Central VA SBDC
Mr. Nelson has over 18 years experience in technology, and as a senior tech consultant in Silicon Valley helping Fortune 500 companies improve their digital marketing and eCommerce. At the same time he founded several tech companies, including a SaaS website for tree preservation and a blockchain platform for nonprofits. Cameron is accomplished in language, culture, has an MBA and MA and believes new technology products have the ability to help shape our world for the better.
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.
Learn specific threats to look out for this holiday season & how to keep you and your small business protected.
Speaker: Quiana Gainey, Virginia SBDC Cyber Industry Expert
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.
Please join Senior Business Counselor, and Adjunct GMU Professor George Siragusa as he guides you through a step-by-step process of building a business performance dashboard, complete with relevant metrics, that is invaluable to meet your strategic and tactical goals and objectives. This webinar is extremely useful for early stage companies, growth, or even mature businesses! During this NO-COST webinar you should be able to: :
- See what business dashboards look like
- Understand why a “scorecard” is important
- Become familiar with the principles that guide your 1st dashboard draft
- Know how to get started and begin building a dashboard for your business
- Decide on a group of simple but important key metrics
- See what software is available, making scorecard development easier
- Learn how and when to use these new business metrics with your business team
- See how dashboard insights can make a positive impact on your business performance
- AND… hear answers to many of your business briefing questions in real time!
THERE IS NO COST to ATTEND; but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
This one-hour webinar is designed for small business owners to learn more about credit card optimization, including reducing fees on credit cards and gifts cards.
Learning Outcomes:
- Choosing a Processor – What to look for when picking a company to process credit cards.
- Visa/MC Interchange – Find out how the processors get charged and how it affects you.
- Gift Card Programs – Will setting up a gift card program for your business help? If so, learn how to set one up.
- Cash Discounting – Find out how to pass the fees to the cardholder in a way that doesn’t break Visa/MC compliance.
By registering for this seminar, you grant UMW SBDC permission to share your contact information with the speaker.
Speaker(s): Ed Hopper is the CEO of Altor Processing Systems, founded in 1999. In January 2018, he led his company in a new direction. They launched Altor/50 and now donate half of their net profits to over 20 charities. Ed says “We can usually help merchants save money and help charities at the same time. It’s a Win/Win!” Ed spends his free time in the summer as a Supervisor for Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service and is a previous member of the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad. He sits on the board for both the Virginia Beach Minority Business Council and the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum. Ed and the company focus on serving SWaM and Veteran owned businesses. They currently teach this course for the City of VA Beach SWaM office as well as the VBOC (Veteran’s Business Outreach Center) in Norfolk which services Virginia and West Virginia.