Workshops Offered at Maui Business Resource Center

Maui County Business Resource Center is located at the Maui Mall in Kahului across from IHOP. File photo.

The County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development will hold free workshops in April.

Workshops are presented at the Maui County Business Resource Center, a County of Maui facility located in the Maui Mall across Pizza Hut in Ste. B-9.

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

Workshops are free unless noted otherwise.

To reserve a seat, call the Maui County Business Resource Center at 270-5770.

Business in the Think Tank with MBB Members (Free)
Tuesday, April 12, 2016 • noon to 2 p.m.

Maui Business Brainstormers invites entrepreneurs to bring their business challenge to a Brainstorming Segment. Or if entrepreneurs want to feature their business (or business concept) in MBB’s“Think Tank” segment (that’s 20 minutes just for you), submit a form on the MBB meetup site, or come along to brainstorm and be showered with ideas. To attend, RSVP at www.Meetup.com/MauiBusinessBrainstormers. Non-members need first to join the free membership of MBB.

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!

Leveraging the World’s Greatest Marketing Secret by Writing, Publishing and Promoting Your Book to Better Market Your Business
Instructor: Patrick Snow
Monday, April 18, 2016 • noon to 2 p.m.
Thursday, April 28, 2016 • 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 bestselling 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 bestselling 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. 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.

Get the Facts about Farm Loans and Farm Record Keeping
Instructor: Richard “Buddy” Nichols
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 • noon. to 1 p.m.

USDA, Farm Loan Programs, available for many years, have numerous types of loans available to a farmer, from beginning to seasoned farmers. The importance of good recordkeeping increases the success of any business, including farming. Whether you apply for a loan or not, you will need to know the productivity of your farm and whether it is improving every year.

Buddy Nichols is a USDA, Farm Loan Program manager on Maui. He previously has a BA in animal science as well as an MBA. He owned/managed a dairy, raised cattle and fruits/vegetables. He understands the aspects of farming from production to financial recordkeeping.

Mind the Gap – Engaging Baby Boomers and Millennials through Social Media
Instructor: Nicole “nico” Fisher
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 • noon to 1:15 p.m. (Q&A to 1:30 p.m.)

Have you heard that the two largest groups in our current population are Baby Boomers and Millennials? In this workshop, you will learn the differences between these two groups. For instance, you will find out what is unique about the Boomer world view and their impact on our economy.

So, who are the Millennials? Why all this Millennial fuss? This workshop presented by Nicole Fisher will help you to navigate through the Millennial minefield.

Nicole Fisher is an 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 avenue.

Promotions: Planning & Design Strategies. Creating Offers that Work!
Instructor: Mckenna Hallett
Tuesday, April 26, 2016 • noon to 1 p.m.

When planning email marketing and other advertising strategies for your small business or nonprofit, there is a world of ideas to explore. This workshop will help you engage with your audience to maximize your impact. This workshop will also help you identify the different types of offers and promotions that will work for your organization, and you will learn how to run a successful promotion, from goal-setting to measuring your results.

Workshop topics include:

· How to identify your goals and develop your marketing strategy;
· Tips for identifying your audience, choosing the campaign type for you, and when to send your promotional emails;
· The best practices for sending high-impact, great-looking emails about your offer, and painlessly sharing the details on social media; and
· Tips on measuring the results of your promotion and using the results to plan future offers.

Mckenna Hallett is a sales and marketing consultant, author and public speaker. She also partners as an authorized local expert with Constant Contact. She has over two decades of experience with her own small business, and a few decades more in sales and marketing for large and small businesses before that. Join her for this quick tour of the best ways to grow your business in the current marketplace using a variety of tools. A free handout will be given to all attendees. The hour-long presentation will be followed with a Q&A session.

The ABC’s of a Business Plan
Instructor: Craig Swift
Wednesday, April 27, 2016 • 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 you need to know in order to start, operate and grow your 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.

SPECIAL EVENING WORKSHOP • $45 PER SESSION
QUICKBOOKS FOR SMALL BUSINESS • Hands-on computer training for beginners
Instructor: Richard Kehoe, CPA
Thursday, April 28, 2016 • 5 to 8 p.m.

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. Get customized answers and schedule a follow-up appointment at no cost to discuss your solutions.

Sponsored by SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and presented by Richard Kehoe, CPA, and lead SCORE counselor.

Free counseling sessions with experienced SCORE and Small Business Development Corp. counselors are held every week on Thursday and Friday mornings from 9 to 11:30 a.m.