The workshop series was designed based on business’ expressed needs. The most significant need from businesses was marketing.  Business owners continued to struggle with the significant loss of revenue as their business model had changed. The use of Social Media was foreign to many business owners and there was a growing need for tax planning as businesses anticipated receiving assistance through the JumpStart Business programs.

 

In virtually all cases, workshop presenters were owners of flood affected businesses.

 

Month

Topic

Organization

People

2010

Feb

Informational Session:  Explanation of new funding programs & introduction of Business Case Management Program and Team

– 2 sessions

Theresa Bornbach, JumpStart2Biz and Chamber Business Case Management Team

195

Apr

How To Easily Size Your Market & Assess Your Chances for Survival:  A simple process to evaluate the size of the customer base.

Greg Tomsic, Chair, SCORE

21

Oct/Nov

Informational Session:  Explanation of funding program changes & promotion of Case Management Services

– 3 sessions

Theresa Bornbach, JumpStart2Biz and Chamber

Business Case Management Team

119

2011 Joint BSI/Chamber Academy events began in April

Jan

Tax Planning – Jumpstart Awards – Keep More Money in Your Pocket:  Purpose was to raise the level of awareness about the tax impact of the funding awards.– 2 sessions

Jim Moore, ,Director, McGladrey

48

Feb

PREVAIL (motivational event - Nationally recognized speaker, Garrison Wynn, talked about the messages in his book called The Truth about Success)

Garrison Wynn, Author & President, Wynn Solutions

200

Mar

Five Keys to Improve your Bottom Line: Focused on new trends, budgeting, communications, web presence, customer targeting

Heather Smith Friedman, Owner – de Novo Alternative Marketing

27

Apr

Growing Sales:  The pivotal item necessary grow and/or grab market share

Greg Tomsic, Chair, SCORE

17

May

Demystifying Search Engine Optimization:  Five steps to boost your website ranking:

John Osako, Vice President, Informatics

21

Jun

Preparing for the Unthinkable - Natural Disasters:               A hands-on workshop using a planning template

Gary Ficken, Pres., Bimm Ridder, Scott Loggins, Case Mgr & Jami Haberl, Dir., Safeguard Iowa

18

Jul

Seven Steps to a Powerful Sales & Marketing Funnel:  Define ideal customer, product uniqueness & value, key promotional messages

Jim Tebeau, CEO, Henry Russell Bruce

28

Aug

Marketing – Doing It Right & Getting Results: Evaluate product value, leveraging staff, why people buy, pricing, promotional techniques

Julie Hein, General Manager, KZIA Z102.9 & 1600 ESPN Radio

21

Sep

Measuring the Value of Your Business: Explanation of the concept of economic value added, building value and exit strategies

Steve Hammes & Jim Schmitt, Managing Directors, INTEGRUS Consulting

9

Oct

Employment Law Updates: Topics included hiring, social media, legislative update, ADA/FLMA

Vern Squires, Partner, Bradley & Riley PC

10

Oct/Nov

Social Media Series:  Six workshops covering strategy and specific tools like Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Shannon Appleby, Owner, 3ChipMedia

31

Nov

Investment in Excellence:  Practical guide to cultural transformation both in organizations and the community.

Travis Christopher, Leslie Wright, Community Leaders – Pacific Institute

4