Business-owning tips offered during free webinars for Maui County entrepreneur week

Maui Office of Economic Development invites the public to participate for free in six events planned for the Maui County 2023 National Entrepreneurship Week.

For more information and to register, visit this website.

Starting Monday, the following events will be offered at no charge for participants:

• Monday, Feb. 13, 9 a.m.: “The Eccentric Entrepreneur” webinar with Jerry Houston and Kathy Huska, who will be presenting live from Arizona state. If you identify with any (or all) of the following three statements, then this event will be a good investment of your time. You are thinking about going into business for yourself and have some concerns. You are currently an entrepreneur and may not be achieving 100% of the results you desire. You have achieved some success as an independent business owner, but find yourself struggling to manage the growth of your business (underwhelmed or overwhelmed).

• Tuesday, Feb. 14, 10 a.m.: “Pricing Your Art” webinar with Martha Zlatar, who will be presenting live from California state. Putting monetary value on your art can be a very triggering process for visual artists. How do you put a price tag on your personal creative expression? Well, it’s not easy that’s why many artists tend to price their art emotionally (most favorite to least favorite) which can be quite detrimental to their sales not to mention very confusing to potential buyers. There are no strict rules on how to price your art just right but there are general guidelines that can make this daunting process more systematic, consistent and less emotional.

• Wednesday, Feb. 15, 9 a.m.: “How to Start a Food Truck (and make money running one)” webinar with Mary King, who will be presenting live from Vermont state. In this seminar, learn the brass tacks of starting a food truck, from permitting to menu planning and basic operations. We’ll also explore various strategies for food truck profitability and identify solutions to some common food truck challenges.

• Thursday, Feb. 16, 10 a.m.: “Selling Your Art Online.” The series about art business with guest speaker Zlatar continues, because selling your art can feel very daunting for many artists and if you add to the equation the world of e-commerce, social media platforms, online galleries and market places, this whole process can feel even more overwhelming and confusing.

• Friday, Feb. 17, 11:45 a.m.: “A-Ha’s from the Early-Entrepreneur Phase,” an engaging, in-person gathering with complimentary pupu, featuring peer entrepreneurs who will share their “a-ha” experiences and their “OMG!” Realizations.

• Wednesday, March 29, 10 a.m.: “Selling Your Art Offline,” the close of the series by Zlatar, who will be presenting live from California. This class will teach you how to handle conversations with potential buyers at an event so you can start selling your work with more confidence. Selling your art does not have to be hard. There are stages to the sales process and if you learn and practice these stages you will start to see results.

All times are Hawaii Standard Time.

National Entrepreneurship Week is a 2006 non-partisan congressionally-chartered week dedicated to empowering entrepreneurship across the United States. The annual initiative was relaunched in 2017 as NatlEshipWeek to bring together a network of partners from Maui to Miami to educate, engage and build equitable access to America’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.