Maui County Business Resource Center Announces Workshops

The Maui County Business Resource Center is located at the Maui Mall, across from IHOP.

By Maui Now Staff

The County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development will offer free workshops in September. Workshops are presented at the Maui County Business Resource Center, a County of Maui facility, located in the Maui Mall across from Pizza Hut in Ste. B-9.

Seating for all workshops is limited, and all workshops are subject to change or cancellation.

Workshops are free unless noted otherwise. To reserve a seat, call the center at 270-5770.

The following workshops are available:

Becoming a Best-Selling Author: Leveraging the World’s Greatest Marketing Secret by Writing, Publishing and Promoting Your Book to Better Market Your Business
Instructor: Patrick Snow
Tuesday, Sept. 1 and Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015 • noon to 2 p.m.

Are you looking for a better way to market your business? Do you have a burning desire to become a best-selling author? Attend this seminar and learn how to make your publishing and business goals come true. If you want to stand out from your competition, strengthen your credentials and get free publicity, then writing and publishing book is your best marketing strategy.

Let international best-selling author, Patrick Snow, guide you through the process. In this two-hour seminar you will learn your three publishing options, top five requirements for becoming a best-selling author and 18 mistakes to avoid. Most importantly you will learn how to monetize your passion and even better market your business, or start a new business using your book as a platform from which you can launch.

Come early, and stay late for his Q & A session that will answer all questions on your book project.

Patrick Snow is an international best-selling author of Creating Your Own Destiny, The Affluent Entrepreneur and Boy Entrepreneur has sold between 250,000 and one million copies of his three books in five languages and 108 countries.

As a professional speaker, he has given more than 2,500 speeches on three continents. As a publishing, book marketing and speaker coach, he has mentored more than 750 clients worldwide to achieve their publishing goals.

He has been featured as a cover story in USA TODAY, The New York Times and Forbes. When he is not traveling the world presenting, he lives in Wailuku.

For more information visit www.PatrickSnow.com or www.ThePublishingDoctor.com.

The ABCs of a Business Plan
Instructor: Craig Swift
Wednesday, Sept. 2 • noon to 1 p.m.

Maui Economic Opportunity Business Development Center’s Core Four Business Planning is a 36-hour course on how to write a business plan while providing the information needed in order to start, operate and grow a business. This workshop is a one-hour introductory workshop which will provide you with a better understanding of the course outline for the Core Four Business Planning.

Craig Swift, director of the MEO Business Development Center, will discuss the numerous reasons for writing a sound business plan. He has more than 35 years of experience in owning, managing and lending to small businesses. Participants will receive an outline of the business plan taught by MEO’s Core Four Business Plan Course.

Business in the Think Tank with MBB Members (Free)
Tuesday, Sept. 8 • noon to 2 p.m.

Maui Business Brainstormers invites you to bring your business challenge to our Brainstorming Segment or, if you want to feature your business (or business concept) in our “Think Tank” segment (that’s 20 minutes just for you), submit a form on the MBB meet-up site, or come along to brainstorm and be showered with ideas.

To attend, RSVP online. Non-members need first to join MBB (free of charge).

Features:

• Mingling, introductions
• Get to Know Your Neighbor: An opportunity to interact with new faces and strengthen your own ability to communicate succinctly with others in fast-paced situations
• Featured Business in the Think Tank: A 20-minute segment in which a selected business is featured for focused brainstorming with the group. Owners of startups and small businesses benefit from this activity. You are qualified if you have a business concept fully researched and planned but with questions or obstacles remaining, or if you are a business already in operation with sales, but facing challenges to achieve further growth. The business owner needs to be an MBB member. To be featured in the 20-minute case-study “Think Tank,” fill out and submit the online form describing your business challenge. On the day of the meeting, the candidate chosen presents a five-minute overview of the business, including the current challenges. The audience then brainstorms on ideas to address the problem area with the “build it, measure it, learn from it, improve it!” spirit.
• Five-minute Think Tank: Attendees have the opportunity to present a challenge they are experiencing in their own business for ideas and suggestions from the group. No prior submission is required—just come to the meeting with your ideas and questions, to help others and be helped toward your own success.

Improve Your Bottom Line: Sell More—Do Less
Instructor: Marc Levine
Thursday, Sept. 10 • noon to 1:30 p.m.

Do you desire to convert more prospects into clients? Do you want a simple and honest approach to sales?  Do you want to help a prospect feel less defensive and more empowered to buy?

There are proven powerful techniques that have helped others increase sales from 20 to 50%.

These techniques are based on the foundational ideas of improvisation. In improvisation actors create scenes and a shared world without either one knowing what the other is thinking or about to say. They utilize principles that allow for discovery, heightened listening, laughter and agreement. These principles work beautifully in sales. We will breakdown these principles and use them in real world scenarios to help you sell more with ease.

In this fun, highly interactive workshop, you will:

• Do less talking, more problem solving, and provide more solutions which equals sales for your business.
• Learn how to relieve the pressure of decision-making and empower people to buy. (People love to buy but hate to be sold).
• Have questions to ask to get to their real needs to create a common vision together.
• Practice two simple words that will immediately reduce the skepticism of any objections.

For over 20 years, Marc Levine has impacted the bottom line of organizations as a sales director, trainer and coach. His clients range from entrepreneurs, nonprofits and small businesses to Fortune 500 organizations, such as Citibank, Sony Pictures and Best Buy. He receives raving reviews as a speaker at international industry conferences. Marc teaches simple, proven and powerful techniques that create results. He does so in a light and humorous way, where new ideas are easy to absorb and apply. He integrates his background in improvisational comedy into business to accelerate success.

Get the Facts About Reverse Mortgages
Instructor: Mel Ito
Thursday, Sept. 10  • 3 to 4:30 p.m.

A reverse mortgage may be a good stress reliever for some and for others it could be a nice addition to an already sound financial plan. The old cliché “get the facts” has never been more appropriate when considering a reverse mortgage. A program which began in 1989, has evolved into a very sound option for those who are age 62 or older and live in their home as a primary residence. Common false rumors and myths about reverse mortgages will be addressed. Sample illustrations and case studies will be used to explain the various programs and options. Whether you have an outstanding mortgage or not, age 62 or not, have heirs or not, the presentation may change your perspective on reverse mortgages.

Mel Ito is a State of Hawai‘i Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator (HI-457461) and has done reverse mortgages since 2008. He has been in the banking/mortgage lending profession since 1983 and feel that now is a good time to educate the community about the benefits of reverse mortgages.

Rock Your Holidays with Tried and True Marketing Strategies
Instructor: Mckenna Hallett
Tuesday, Sept. 22 • noon to 1:30 p.m.

It’s that time already! Do you realize that when this workshop takes place on Sept. 22, it will be less than 10 weeks until Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday? Can you say “time flies”?

Selling “momentum” must start now. Some people have already started putting lists together and mapping out their holiday purchases. You want to be on their lists, right? What do you plan to promote and how do you plan to promote it? Why should they buy from you instead of your competition?

You will leave this workshop with a multitude of ideas and practical advice that you can put to work immediately—including everything you need to have a free (yes, free) shopping cart up and running in a matter of hours using the free handouts.

Bring your thinking caps. Bring your challenges. Leave your excuses home. You are going to have a rocking fourth quarter!

Mckenna Hallett is a sales and marketing consultant who collaborates as an Authorized Local Expert with Constant Contact. She has over two decades of experience with her own small business and many more decades of experience in sales and marketing roles with large and small businesses.

Setting Up Facebook for Business
Instructor: Nicole Fisher
Wednesday, Sept. 23 • noon to 1:15 p.m. (Q&A until 1:30 p.m.)

By building a great Facebook page, you’re building a mini-website with all of your online connections in one place. In this workshop, you will learn how to connect with past clients, grow your mailing list, connect your website or sale pages, or grow your online business.

This workshop is being presented by Nicole “Nico” Fisher, an energetic entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience as a marketing strategist, social media consultant and trainer. She is passionate about taking businesses from good to great through various marketing avenues.

QuickBooks for Small Business
Instructor: Richard Kehoe, CPA.
Thursday, Sept. 24 • 5 to 8 p.m
Cost: $45

Learn to set up your company’s QuickBooks in a small class setting with personalized tutoring. This class is for new users and will teach you how to record sales, receive payments, prepare invoices and balance your checkbook.

Instructor Richard Kehoe, CPA is a lead SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) counselor. Follow-up appointments are offered at no cost.