Tag: business planning

Critical Questions & Information Needed to Do Proper Business Planning

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You have decided to start a business and fulfill your entrepreneurial spirit and dream of working for yourself. Starting a business is a tough decision and needs proper planning.

Believe it or not, there are several ways to methodically ask yourself the proper questions to determine if you are ready and what you need to do.

Join this hands-on webinar session, led by SCORE Mentor John Tile, which will cover:
• The basics of a business plan and will provide a few samples
• A step-by-step process to develop the key information for your business plan
• What you will need in order to do a simple business plan for yourself and a more detailed business plan if you need a bank loan
• Upon completion of this webinar, you will have the key information that you will be able to use with your SCORE mentor in follow-up sessions to develop your formal business plan.

November Small Business Legal Clinic

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Communities Rise and Ventures have partnered to offer pro-bono legal services for your business. Small business owners can make an appointment for a one hour consultation to meet one-on-one with an attorney to answer legal questions about their governance and business law needs. The clinic is a great opportunity for general questions on the following:

  • Business Entity Formation – Advising on choice of entity (LLC/PLLC, Sole Proprietor, Partnership, C-Corporation, Social Purpose Corporation) and creation of corporate entity.
  • Advice on Corporate Governance
  • Maintenance and Compliance with State and Federal Law
  • Taxes – Advising on federal, state, and local taxes.
  • Contracts – General advice on business contracts.
  • Employment – General advice on personnel policies, independent contractor agreements, vendor agreements, employment contracts, and confidentiality agreements.
  • Real Estate – General advice about property leases, purchase and sale agreements.
  • Risk and Liability Assessment – General advice on risk and liability assessment, and insurance coverage.

This clinic is exclusively for small businesses, and does not provide services for individual or personal concerns. Consultations are by appointment only and often fill up quickly. To be eligible, household income must be less than 80% of the 2020 HUD King County median income.

These services are available by appointment only for Washington based small businesses. Email contact@communities-rise.org with questions or to schedule. All clinics have been moved online until further notice.

Large Employer Vaccine Mandate- What Employers Need to Know

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President Biden announced that all employers with 100 or more employees will be required to ensure their workers are either vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested weekly.

During this session, Christine Thelen with Lane Powell will discuss the requirements of this vaccine mandate, including:

-Pay and paid time off for testing and vaccination
-Vaccination verification
-Testing issues
-Reasonable accommodation & recordkeeping considerations
-Possible impacts of the inevitable legal challenges to this mandate.

October Small Business Legal Clinic

Communities Rise and Ventures have partnered to offer pro-bono legal services for your business. Small business owners can make an appointment for a one hour consultation to meet one-on-one with an attorney to answer legal questions about their governance and business law needs. The clinic is a great opportunity for general questions on the following:

  • Business Entity Formation – Advising on choice of entity (LLC/PLLC, Sole Proprietor, Partnership, C-Corporation, Social Purpose Corporation) and creation of corporate entity.
  • Advice on Corporate Governance
  • Maintenance and Compliance with State and Federal Law
  • Taxes – Advising on federal, state, and local taxes.
  • Contracts – General advice on business contracts.
  • Employment – General advice on personnel policies, independent contractor agreements, vendor agreements, employment contracts, and confidentiality agreements.
  • Real Estate – General advice about property leases, purchase and sale agreements.
  • Risk and Liability Assessment – General advice on risk and liability assessment, and insurance coverage.

This clinic is exclusively for small businesses, and does not provide services for individual or personal concerns. Consultations are by appointment only and often fill up quickly. To be eligible, household income must be less than 80% of the 2020 HUD King County median income.

These services are available by appointment only for Washington based small businesses. Email contact@communities-rise.org with questions or to schedule. All clinics have been moved online until further notice.

September Grant Writing Clinic

A joint venture between Communities Rise and the Puget Sound Grantwriters Association (PSGA) brings you a free service to increase your chances of receiving grant funding!

This grant writing assistance program from Communities Rise is designed to support community-based organizations that serve communities impacted by systemic oppression and do not have the internal capacity to hire a grant writer or have staff dedicated to grant writing.

Up to 2 members from an organization may bring a request for proposal (RFP), application guidelines, draft proposal, a proposal not funded, or questions about grant searching, and an experienced grant writer will give you individualized guidance. Preference is given to orgs led by communities of color or other communities impacted by systemic oppression.

These services are free of charge and available by appointment only. Email grantwriting@communities-rise.org questions or to schedule!

Can’t make this one? Grant writing consultation happens at CR on the first Monday of each month (except holidays), contact us today to schedule for a future date.

*Please note that all clinics have been moved online until future notice*

How to Optimize Your Pricing Strategy to Maximize Profits

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Small business owners continue to navigate many challenges. Now more than ever, it is important to maximize your business’s pricing strategies to drive profit and help ensure sustainability. From gross margin per item (al a carte strategy) and quantity/size combinations (component pricing strategy) to the applicability in both product- and service-based businesses, every business owner can realize valuable takeaways from this innovative webinar.

In this webinar you will learn:
  • The two functions of price and their effects on customers
  • The different pricing strategies and how to leverage those which work best for your business and industry
  • How to increase revenue, maximize profit, and build customer loyalty through effective pricing strategies

 

Speaker Shawn Palmer, is the Business Advisor for the Washington Small Business Development Center located at OneRedmond. A decorated Navy veteran accredited small business consultant and professional mentor; Palmer will share his expertise on pricing strategies based on his 21 years of entrepreneurial experience. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Central Washington University with his BS in Business Administration, and from WGU with his Masters in Management and Leadership.

We will host a Q&A session as time allows – feel free to submit your questions in advance when registering. If you are unable to attend the live webinar, please register to receive an email link to the recording.

How to Write a Business Plan

Register here: https://pxlme.me/2WD8gXn5

Do you want to start your own business? Are you wondering what steps you need for a successful start? Join us in this webinar to learn all about writing a business plan. Business plans are the blueprints of your business. Whether you need a loan or plan to self-finance, business plans should be on every start up’s list to do. We will review topics included in standard business plans such as executive summary, business structure, management, marketing, and financials. You will come away from the webinar with solid ideas of how to get started on your business plan.

 

You will learn:

  • The information needed for a solid business plan
  • Why business plans are integral for a business loan
  • How a business plan will serve you no matter your industry

 

Instructors:

Mia Johnstone is a Washington Small Business Development Center Advisor. She loves copywriting, customer relationships, solid branding, and beautiful photography. She has an MBA and serves Mason, Pacific, and Grays Harbor County small businesses with Washington SBDC advising services.

Julia Lara is a Washington SBDC Certified Business Advisor and an experienced retail business owner. She graduated from the University of Washington where she studied American History and Political Science, with an emphasis is Economics. She has an MBA from EWU.

 

Instructions: 

Zoom security protocols now require each participant have a Zoom account and be signed into their account from their computer or mobile device. https://zoom.us/ Test zoom at https://zoom.us/test

How to create video for small business marketing

Register here: https://pxlme.me/d3gHl6eA

Have you wanted to do more video for your business but are camera shy? Are you overwhelmed by the tech? Do you freeze up and don’t know what to say?

You have everything you need to create successful business videos now. Your cellphone is a powerful tool for creating videos. Social media is a key outlet for using videos to connect with your audience. Join us and learn tips for getting started with video for business. Your audience is wanting stronger connections with you and video is the key!

What you will learn in this webinar:

  • How to use your cell phone to create marketing videos.
  • The benefits of Live video for social media.
  • Script tips for your video.
  • Basic home ‘studio’ setup.
  • Tips for being camera ready (and overcoming the jitters).
  • How video can help you create better relationships with your customers.

Instructions:
A Zoom link for the webinar will be sent prior to the event to those who register.

Our Zoom security protocols now require each participant have a Zoom account and be signed into their account from their computer or mobile device. https://zoom.us/

Reopening in the New Normal: Using the Smart WA Decision Tool to Increase Consumer Confidence in Customer-Facing Industries

Register here: https://pxlme.me/smartwa1

 

Washington state’s economy fully re-opened on June 30, but businesses continue to be impacted by the ongoing pandemic. A new tool can help businesses see which health protocols such as employee vaccination, cleanliness measures, and safety certification are likely to increase consumer confidence and foot traffic in customer-facing industries, like restaurants, retail, and personal services.

View the SmartWA Decision Support Tool

Click here to watch an informational video

Speakers will provide a demo of the tool and show how it can be used to inform business re-opening policy. 

About the Smart WA Decision Tool

The SmartWA tool uses data and artificial intelligence to provide small businesses most impacted by the pandemic with real-time outlooks about public health, economic and community conditions by county and industry. The tool is currently available in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, and French.

The Washington State Department of Commerce launched the SmartWA tool, which was developed by Restart Partners and its partners ChoiceFlows and Tanjo.ai. The state Departments of Health and Labor & Industries also contributed to its development.

 

Speakers include:

Sandra O. Archibald 

Founding Member, Restart Partners 

Dean Emerita and Professor, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington

 

Lisa Goodman

Founding Member, Restart Partners

Are you Ready to Start a Business?

Register here: https://pxlme.me/n_rSU3-O

Are you looking to start up a business but have no experience running one? Do you have an idea you are excited about and want insight into how to get started? Join Washington SBDC Certified Business Advisor, Mia Johnstone, to hear about the basics of starting a business.

 

Topics that will be covered:

  • Identify reasons for starting a business
  • Self analyze your readiness for running a business
  • Understand the conditions of running a business (ie possible long hours, stress management…)
  • Brick and mortar business vs consulting/online business and their different levels of risk.
  • Financial basics for starting a business

 

Instructors:

Mia Johnstone is a Washington Small Business Development Center Advisor. She loves copywriting, customer relationships, solid branding, and beautiful photography. She has an MBA and serves Mason, Pacific, and Grays Harbor County small businesses with Washington SBDC advising services.

Julia Lara is a Washington SBDC Certified Business Advisor and an experienced retail business owner. She graduated from the University of Washington where she studied American History and Political Science, with an emphasis is Economics. She has an MBA from EWU.

 

Instructions: 

A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants before the event. Zoom security protocols require each participant have a Zoom account and be signed into their account from their computer or mobile device. Create a Zoom account at https://zoom.us/. Test zoom at https://zoom.us/test