Isothermal Community College Small Business Center

Foundation Building

Spindale N.C.

This is a "soup-to-nuts" course that covers all the important issues you DON'T want to overlook when starting your business. This course covers legal forms of business, naming your business, licenses and permits for new businesses, choosing a location, franchises, purchasing an existing business, types of risk businesses face and insurance issues, various tax issues, challenges of managing a business, family owned business issues, common mistakes new business owners make, and more.

Speaker: Russ Seagle

Did you know that LinkedIn has surpassed Facebook as the preferred place for providing small business content? With over 380 million users you can’t afford to ignore this powerful eCommerce tool. In this seminar, you will learn how to create a compelling “Online Presence” that will attract customers to you. You will lean the five most important things to do on LinkedIn so that you can be found. We will discuss how to position yourself as an expert and how to increase your visibility on LinkedIn. • Create a LinkedIn profile that stands out and positions you as an expert. • How to get 500 connections and expand your network. • How to stay in-front of your audience and position yourself as an expert with status updates and LinkedIn publishing. • Harnessing LinkedIn groups to grow your visibility and establish your expertise. • Build your personal plan to quickly get result with LinkedIn in only 15 minutes, 2 days a week. • LinkedIn can be a tremendously powerful tool to grow your small business and finally get noticed.

Speaker: Nick Hawks

A great seminar for the “beginner” or the entrepreneur wanting to make eBay a primary business tool. During this fast-paced session, learn best practices to use when setting up an account, listing items for sale, taking payments, and shipping. Topics will include eBay appraisals and research, registering on eBay and starting a seller’s account, choosing formats & categories, writing descriptions that sell, submitting photos, feedback, starting up and using a PayPal account, shipping tips and pricing philosophies that will make you an eBay Top Rated Seller!!

Speaker: Nick Hawks

Pricing your goods or services properly is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Your price must be both attractive to customers and profitable for you. Your price also communicates your value to the market. This seminar will show you a method for pricing that considers your cost structure and profit targets, as well as competitive pressures and market preferences. You'll walk away with a formula for pricing that you can use to become more profitable the very next day.

Speaker: Russ Seagle

Financing continues to be a challenge for many small business owners. Questions range from, Who will give me money for my business idea and what do they need from me? to, How will this business make money and will it be enough to pay back a loan or attract an investor? Get to the heart of business financing in this seminar that answers your questions. Explore the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of funding sources and how to choose the right one for your needs. Discover the keys to financing success.

Speaker: Harry Ponder

Did you know that LinkedIn has surpassed Facebook as the preferred place for providing small business content? With over 380 million users you can’t afford to ignore this powerful eCommerce tool. In this seminar, you will learn how to create a compelling “Online Presence” that will attract customers to you. You will lean the five most important things to do on LinkedIn so that you can be found. We will discuss how to position yourself as an expert and how to increase your visibility on LinkedIn. • Create a LinkedIn profile that stands out and positions you as an expert. • How to get 500 connections and expand your network. • How to stay in-front of your audience and position yourself as an expert with status updates and LinkedIn publishing. • Harnessing LinkedIn groups to grow your visibility and establish your expertise. • Build your personal plan to quickly get result with LinkedIn in only 15 minutes, 2 days a week. • LinkedIn can be a tremendously powerful tool to grow your small business and finally get noticed.

Speaker: Dan Thomas

QuickBooks is the software of choice for the small business owner. It allows the owner/manager to account quickly and accurately for business dollars. Our QuickBooks expert will give you a complete introduction to the QuickBooks Desktop product including: setting up a company file and chart of accounts, navigating the home page, and using QuickBooks lists and forms to record sales and manage expenses. After you complete this class, you will have a basic understanding of the QuickBooks process and capabilities.

Speaker: Jeffrey Weathers