Every craft beverage producer in America, no matter its size, structure, or stage, will come into contact with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the lead Federal agency overseeing the production and sale of alcohol. In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance Manager Chris Van Orden will ask TTB Investigator Len Lee about the key regulations governing the safe and responsible manufacturing of beer, wine, and spirits, from pre-launch licensing to label approvals and beyond.
Speaker: Len Lee, Investigator, Southeast District, Trade Investigations Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
Len Lee is an investigator with TTB’s Trade Investigations Division in the Southeast District. He has a total of 32 years of Law Enforcement experience. Len works on a variety of alcohol – and tobacco-related cases, including tax, product integrity, and permit investigations. He began his career with TTB in 2008. He has a BS degree in Criminal Justice from Mountain State University and lives in Jacksonville, Florida.
Alcohol distribution in the United States is governed by the three-tier system, which means that distributing craft beverage producers’ success requires healthy working relationships with their wholesalers. In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance Manager Chris Van Orden will ask Craft Beverage Strategic Advisor Julie Rhodes about the tools and strategies that breweries, wineries, cideries, and distilleries can employ when working distribution partners towards mutual success. Speaker: Julie Rhodes, Owner, Not Your Hobby Marketing With over 2 decades of experience on the business side – supplier sales, digital marketing, and distribution management – of the craft beverage industry, Julie provides strategic sales and marketing advice to small- and medium-sized beverage alcohol brands through webinars, whitepapers, digital courses, one on one consulting, and group coaching programs.
A confirmation email with the Zoom login information will be sent after registration, please be on the lookout for it.
Have you made it easy for strangers to hijack your brand?
It’s often said that branding is storytelling, and it’s a dead-on statement. You wouldn’t ask a stranger with bad intentions to tell the story of your business. But that may be what you’re doing if you don’t take steps to protect your brand identity. Your trademark – the embodiment of your brand – is the place in the mind of a consumer that links your brand to your business. If the brand is not protected, this connection can be lost or needlessly muddled. High stakes indeed.
In this fast-paced session, we’ll discuss –
- what a trademark is (and isn’t),
- how to start out a business on a solid trademark footing,
- what it means to register a trademark – and how to do it,
- steps to take to be vigilant about infringement,
- ways in which brand value can be corroded from within,
- how domain names fit into the brand equation,
- what brand protection means in a post-pandemic world that’s driven by e-commerce and affected by social media influences,
- five brand protect takeaways to start your Friday.
About the Presenter: Jared Burden, a Harrisonburg-based Partner in the Virginia law firm GreeneHurlocker PLC, is a hands-on transactional business attorney whose practice over several decades has always been focused (whether directly or indirectly) on assuring that business owners maintain the value of their brand. Jared has served as inside and outside general counsel to mature middle-market companies with tens of millions of revenue as well as individual entrepreneurs taking their first steps to actualize their big idea. Jared is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Virginia School of Law, and has lived with his wife Jenny Burden and family in Harrisonburg for 20 years.
Join Jennifer Huffman, Solutions Banking Manager, and Josiah Rider, Business Branch Manager, from Atlantic Union Bank for a discussion on using business capital wisely.
Participants will leave with an understanding of the different types of capital, when to use them, and how each can help drive your business to success.
- Business Capital
- Relationship Capital
- Talent Capital
$10 for Chamber Members $15 for Non-Chamber Members
Many employers are currently facing recruiting challenges. Veterans and the military community face employment challenges regularly. In fact, in a recent survey, 90% of veterans indicated there were obstacles in obtaining employment. In this session, we explore ways to help break down the barriers to employment opportunities for transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses and promote inclusive policies and practices. The presentation, developed by USAA and the SHRM Foundation will help promote inclusive policies and help employers understand the importance of communicating their desire to be inclusive and welcoming. We will also explore unique strategies for recruiting, onboarding, and retaining veterans and military spouses.
Sheri Bender, Pulse HR Solutions, LLC serves as a USAA/SHRM Foundation Veterans Ambassador. She has over 25 years of practical HR/Training experience and enjoys working with organizations and military veterans to bridge the gap and help translate skills. In her experience, there is a big language barrier and it is enlightening to have true conversations about what a candidate has to contribute and watch them flourish when matched with the right role. That’s why she believes this program is so valuable.
$10 for Chamber Members $15 for Non-Chamber Members. Coffee & donuts provided.
In today’s digital age, it is essential for you to Know Your International Customer to win the battle against fraud. Fraudsters’ tactics are increasingly sophisticated, and you need to bolster your defenses to fight off their onslaught.
In this in-person training, Louise M. Kern, President, GloBIS will teach you how to defend against their attacks by highlighting scammers’ vulnerabilities, teaching you to recognize telltale signs of a scam and introducing you to federally funded programs to help you find the right international business partners and succeed in winning new markets for your goods or services. Participants will leave knowing how to identify scamming emails and vet your potential business partners to ensure that you are working with legitimate companies.
ABOUT THE EXPERT: Louise Kern founded Global Business Information Services, Inc. (GloBIS) in 2003, initially with a China due diligence focus, but its coverage quickly became global. Today, GloBIS provides Credit Reports and Due Diligence on any company, any size, any industry, anywhere in the world. GloBIS is a Strategic Partner of the U.S. International Trade Administration and since 2004, has been a supplier of International Company Profile (ICP) reports on companies in multiple countries to the U.S. Commercial Service. GloBIS is the source of the U.S. Export Import Bank’s foreign credit reports for EXIM’s Export Credit Insurance program.
The SBDC reserves the right to cancel a workshop/event/program for insufficient enrollment, weather emergencies, and other unforeseen circumstances. Should a cancellation occur we will use the email you provided to contact you. Pre-registration is highly recommended. If an event is canceled or postponed and you have not pre-registered we will not be able to contact you.
All programs of the Virginia SBDC are open to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.