Events/Workshops

Free Seminar. Please pre-register so we can prepare for your attendance. Phone (337) 475-5529 or email lsbdc.msu@lsbdc.org. This seminar will be held in Moss Bluff at the Calcasieu Parish Library.

Learn the basic uses and features of QuickBooks including: • Setting up & Getting Started, • Print Forms/Checks/Invoices • Create Bank Accounts • Receive Customer Payments • Creating Monthly Reports • Learn AP and AR • Create Customers and Invoices • Receiving payments, • Create Vendors and Bills • Print Checks This class is most suited to daily use of QuickBooks to record transactions and maintain the business accounting system

Speaker: Richard Melancon, Business Consultant

This workshop is highly recommended for all individuals interested in determining the feasibility of their business idea, planning to start or have recently started a small business, seeking a small business loan, or wanting to learn more about business planning. Topics of discussion will include writing a business plan, sources of funds for start-up and expansion, small business resources, and required licenses.

Speaker: Louisiana SBDC at Southeastern Louisiana University

This workshop is highly recommended for all individuals interested in obtaining funding and determining what documents to take to the bank. Understanding the loan process will improve your chances of meeting lender expectations, therefore increasing your chances of obtaining a loan. Topics of discussion will include: -Key Questions the Bank Wants Answered -Documents Most Lenders Require -Writing a Business Plan -Developing Financial Projections

Speaker: Mike Pennison, Business Consultant

An overview of the purpose of budgeting, the types of budgets, and the elements of a successful budget. The program includes a process for creating a budget, ways to analyze and compare budgets, and important guidelines to apply during the budgeting process. Learn: • 5 Purposes of Budgeting • Various Types of Budgets • Steps of the Budgeting Process • Elements of a Successful Budget • 5 Methods for Analyzing Budget Information • Guidelines to Remember During the Budgeting Process

Speaker: Richard Melancon, CPA, Business Consultant

Learn what to do before approaching a lender. This seminar will help identify and assess business' financial needs, identify sources of capital, and prepare the essential documents for a lender or investor. Knowing what the lender is looking for and the questions the lender wants answered may improve the chances of obtaining the financing that the business needs. Participants will receive helpful forms to use in preparing a financial package • Key Questions Lenders Want Answered • Worksheets to Determine Start-up Costs, Personal Financials, and Budgets

Speaker: Michael Pennison, Business Consultant

Do you need to improve your credit? Wish that you could feel more in control of your money? Want to grow your business, but need some advice on how to do so? Congratulations! We have just the workshop for you. Money Smart, a three-part financial literacy training series, will help you enhance your financial skills and create positve banking relationships by providing you with tips on: * applying for a business loan * understanding and improving your credit * improving your chances of securing a loan Monday, May 1 Understanding Your Credit Do you know what it takes to have excellent credit? Our experts will share the do's and don't's of managing your credit report: learn to start, grow or fix your own credit. Accion Louisiana will show you how. Thursday, June 2 Presenting Your Business to Bankers First impressions are everything! If you're looking to make a great first impression on a local banker we've go a session for you. Find out what lenders are looking for in a client and how you can stand out from the crowd.

Learn what to do before approaching a lender. This seminar will help identify and assess business' financial needs, identify sources of capital, and prepare the essential documents for a lender or investor. Knowing what the lender is looking for and the questions the lender wants answered may improve the chances of obtaining the financing that the business needs. Participants will receive helpful forms to use in preparing a financial package • Key Questions Lenders Want Answered • Worksheets to Determine Start-up Costs, Personal Financials, and Budgets

Speaker: Sarah Burch, Business Consultant

Learn what to do before approaching a lender. This seminar will help identify and assess business' financial needs, identify sources of capital, and prepare the essential documents for a lender or investor. Knowing what the lender is looking for and the questions the lender wants answered may improve the chances of obtaining the financing that the business needs. Participants will receive helpful forms to use in preparing a financial package • Key Questions Lenders Want Answered • Worksheets to Determine Start-up Costs, Personal Financials, and Budgets

Speaker: Michael Pennison, Business Consultant

Women-owned small businesses can begin taking steps to participate in the federal contracting program. Come prepared to complete your application on site. During this session, we will walk you through completion of the online certification applications. For more information on Women-Owned Small Business Certification, visit www.sba.gov/wosb .

Speaker: SBA

The 8(a) Business Development Program helps small, disadvantaged businesses compete in the marketplace.The 8(a) Program offers a broad scope of assistance to socially and economically disadvantaged firms. Come prepared to complete your application on site. During this session, we will walk you through completion of the online certification applications. For more information on 8(a) Certification, visit http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/contracting/contracting-support-small-businesses/8a-business-developme

Speaker: SBA

The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. Come prepared to complete your application on site. During this session, we will walk you through completion of the online certification applications. For information on Hubzone Certification, visit http://www.sba.gov/hubzone/ .

Speaker: SBA

This workshop is designed for small business owners and managers with 2 or more employees ready to increase their staff size and grow. Whether you decide to hire employees or independent contractors, you have certain legal requirements. You need to find out what these requirements are and what you need to know about the people who work for you. Topics include: -How to determine the difference between an independent contractor and a salaried employee -Your legal responsibility for your employees -What you need to do when you hire an employee -How to terminate an employee

Speaker: MaryJo Roberts, Phelps Dunbar & Alex Glaser, Phelps Dunbar

Finding a home for your business can be a challenging experience. Learn from the experts how to navigate the world of commercial leasing along with tips to help you along the way. This workshop will include discussions of: The anatomy of a commercial lease How to negotiate those difficult provisions Successfully working with lessors, brokers and agents to achieve the result you want

Speaker: Philip Claverie, Jr, Phelps Dunbar

Are you interested in? *Improving Quality & Reducing Defects *Reducing Lead Time & Improving On Time Delivery *Improving Customer Satisfaction *Improving Profitability This workshop examines the primary elements contained in the lean process, beginning with the origin of lean. It is essential for anyone looking to provide higher quality products and services, reducing waste, and maintaining a competitive advantage into today’s market. During this workshop, you will not only examine the individual elements of Lean Manufacturing, rather you will apply these principles in a hands on simulation.

Speaker: Dane Gross, MEPoL

Our lives have become busier and busier. It seems we take our work with us everywhere we go. Teams often never see each other and sometimes have never even met face to face. In order to keep up this pace we must stay organized. Thankfully there are some great, and often free, tools to help us along the way. You may have heard of cloud based tools such as Evernote, Dropbox, Basecamp, HootSuite, Constant Contact and others but you just don’t really know what they are. In this session we will cover many of these tools and you will likely ask yourself how you have been getting along without them. Feel free to bring your laptops and tablets to get started exploring these tools right away.

Speaker: Brian Walker - 5 Stones Media

What are the leading mobile, social, and digital media trends? Find out at the Digital Marketing Forum and connect with digital media experts who can help you fine tune your multi-media strategy! This high energy forum will address common questions asked by small businesses, such as: - why should I invest time and money in online marketing? - what is a multiscreen customer and why do I care? - how do I collect, understand and quickly cut through all that data about online consumers? - how do I make time for social media, prioritize it and know if I’m doing it right? - what should I post on social media? - how long does it take for social media to pay off?

Speaker: Dan Russell, Senior Director - Mixpo; Jeanne Hurlburt Ph.D, Consultant/CEO - MySurveyExpert.com; McKenzie Coco, President/Owner - FSC Interactive and Beth Crotty, Cox Media Atlanta - Product Portfolio Director

Join us at this special event, Constant Contact and Social Media Marketing Made Simple. The buzzword in marketing is social media and the 800lb gorilla in social media is without a doubt Facebook. It is commonplace today for most businesses to have a Facebook page but once you create the page, what do you do with it? Join us as we look at some advanced techniques for using Facebook as a marketing tool. We will learn about insights, strategies, best practicies, contests and more!

Speaker: Kim Walker - 5 Stones Media

What are the leading mobile, social, and digital media trends? Find out at the Digital Marketing Forum and connect with digital media experts who can help you fine tune your multi-media strategy! This high energy forum will address common questions asked by small businesses, such as: - why should I invest time and money in online marketing? - what is a multiscreen customer and why do I care? - how do I collect, understand and quickly cut through all that data about online consumers? - how do I make time for social media, prioritize it and know if I’m doing it right? - what should I post on social media? - how long does it take for social media to pay off?

Speaker: Dan Russell, Senior Director - Mixpo; Jeanne Hurlburt Ph.D, Consultant/CEO - MySurveyExpert.com; Stafford Kendall, Owner/Chief Strategist - Covalent Logic and Beth Crotty, Cox Media Atlanta - Product Portfolio Director

What are the leading mobile, social, and digital media trends? Find out at the Digital Marketing Forum and connect with digital media experts who can help you fine tune your multi-media strategy! This high energy forum will address common questions asked by small businesses, such as: - why should I invest time and money in online marketing? - what is a multiscreen customer and why do I care? - how do I collect, understand and quickly cut through all that data about online consumers? - how do I make time for social media, prioritize it and know if I’m doing it right? - what should I post on social media? - how long does it take for social media to pay off?

Speaker: Dan Russell, Senior Director - Mixpo; Jeanne Hurlburt Ph.D, Consultant/CEO - MySurveyExpert.com; Stafford Kendall, Owner/Chief Strategist - Covalent Logic and Beth Crotty, Cox Media Atlanta - Product Portfolio Director

What are the leading mobile, social, and digital media trends? Find out at the Digital Marketing Forum and connect with digital media experts who can help you fine tune your multi-media strategy! This high energy forum will address common questions asked by small businesses, such as: - why should I invest time and money in online marketing? - what is a multiscreen customer and why do I care? - how do I collect, understand and quickly cut through all that data about online consumers? - how do I make time for social media, prioritize it and know if I’m doing it right? - what should I post on social media? - how long does it take for social media to pay off?

Speaker: Dan Russell, Senior Director - Mixpo; Jeanne Hurlburt Ph.D, Consultant/CEO - MySurveyExpert.com; Stafford Kendall, Owner/Chief Strategist - Covalent Logic and Beth Crotty, Cox Media Atlanta - Product Portfolio Director

Learn the 10 simple marketing principles to build success. Know how to build your brand, develop your “Elevator Pitch”, target your market, and more. These are the things you need to attract and then work to retain a large base of satisfied customers.

Speaker: Dianne Sclafani, Business Consultant

This seminar is designed for persons who are interested in learning what it takes to start and run a successful business. Topics include business idea or concept feasibility, financial projections, sources and types of financing, required licenses, small business resources, and more.

Speaker: Leighton Bryant - Sr. Business Consultant

The SBA and AARP will again host National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Month in April 2014. The goal of this effort is to help entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs who are 50+. The seminar will provide encore entrepreneurs with a comprehensive overview of the steps to be taken to start a business, the essentials of business planning, and how to determine funding needs for the start-up. Seminar covers: • Items you want to know before starting a business • Preparing for business success • How to start a home-based business • Financing options • Resources for your business

Speaker: Mike Pennison, Business Consultant

This workshop is highly recommended for all individuals interested in determining the feasibility of their business idea, planning to start or have recently started a small business, seeking a small business loan, or wanting to learn more about business planning. Topics of discussion will include writing a business plan, sources of funds for start-up and expansion, small business resources, and required licenses.

Speaker: Cooper Cochran, Business Consultant

This workshop is highly recommended for all individuals interested in determining the feasibility of their business idea, planning to start or have recently started a small business, seeking a small business loan, or wanting to learn more about business planning. Topics of discussion will include writing a business plan, sources of funds for start-up and expansion, small business resources, and required licenses.

Speaker: LSBDC at Southeastern Louisiana University

This seminar will provide entrepreneurs with a comprehensive overview of the steps to be taken to start a business, the essentials of business planning, and how to determine funding needs for the start-up. Seminar covers: • Items you want to know before starting a business • Preparing for business success • How to start your business • Financing options • Resources for your business

Speaker: Mike Pennison, Business Consultant

This workshop is highly recommended for all individuals interested in determining the feasibility of their business idea, planning to start or have recently started a small business, seeking a small business loan, or wanting to learn more about business planning. Topics of discussion will include entrepreneurship readiness, writing a business plan, sources of funds for start-up and expansion, and small business resources.

Speaker: Heidi Melancon, Interim Director, LSBDC at UL Lafayette

Proper licenses and permits are necessary to operate a business. This seminar teaches how to obtain tax ID numbers, permits, and licenses. The seminar examines the differences between "C" and "S" Corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships, and LLC's. Elements that business structures are based on are discussed such as taxes, ownership, responsibility, control, risk, operations, and employee requirements. -Advantages & Disadvantages of each Legal Structure -Legal Structure Quiz -Filing Forms for Selecting an Organizational Structure are Provided

Speaker: Al Overman, LSBDC Business Consultant Mark Jeanfreau, Phelps Dunbar

This workshop is highly recommended for all individuals interested in determining the feasibility of their business idea, planning to start or have recently started a small business, seeking a small business loan or wanting to learn more about business planning. Topics of discussion will include writing a business plan, sources of funds for start-up and expansion, small business resources, and required licenses.

This workshop is highly recommended for all individuals interested in determining the feasibility of their business idea, planning to start or have recently started a small business, seeking a small business loan, or wanting to learn more about business planning. Topics of discussion will include writing a business plan, sources of funds for start-up and expansion, small business resources, and required licenses.

Free Seminar. Please pre-register so we can prepare for your attendance. Phone (337) 475-5529 or email lsbdc.msu@lsbdc.org. This seminar will be held in the SEED Center, Room E at 4310 Ryan St., Lake Charles, LA 70605

Google Training: -AdWords and AdWords Express -Analytics

Speaker: Google experts from the Community Leaders Program