SBC Course Schedule

You may register for our seminars up to 30 days in advance.
To learn more about the Small Business Center click here. 

How to Start a Small Business

Learn key strategies for start-up, financing, and marketing as well as important information about legal issues, licensing, zoning, operations, and more. Discover the resources available to help you start and successfully operate your business. Presenter: Jim Ensor. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Writing a Business Plan

Success in business begins with a plan. By committing your idea to paper, you face tough questions and identify strengths and weaknesses. Business plans are not just for financing purposes; they are working documents to guide your business. For new and established small business owners, this seminar will start you down the path of small business success. Presenter: Jim Ensor. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Writing a Marketing Plan

Learn to create a marketing plan that focuses on your goals for your business, your target markets, implementation planning, and evaluation of results. You will take home an outline to prepare your plan with. Presenter: Jim Ensor. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Finding the Money for My Business

This workshop will give an overview of the lending process and how to make it work for you. Discussion will cover what lenders look for and expect with regards to your personal credit, cash flow coverage, collateral requirements, capital injection, and character. Presenter: Robbie Dunbar. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Financing Your Business

We will explore finding and securing funding for small businesses including: loans, venture and angel capital, grants, and crowdfunding. You will learn which sources of funding are the best fit for your business and the next steps to secure funding. Presenter: David Mayo. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Tax Essentials for Small Business

This seminar will provide an overview of important topics that new business owners should consider including choosing the correct business entity, employee vs. independent contractor, and basic record keeping requirements. Presenter: Karen Spruill. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Sales Tax – Tips for Compliance

We will examine key aspects of the NC sales tax laws including which businesses must collect taxes, how much to collect, how to remit the funds to the State, nonprofits, and out of state sales. Presenter: Karen Spruill. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Hiring Championship Performers: 7 Steps for a Winning Team

Learn the areas that are a MUST in order to build a championship team. We will focus on: The People Powered Performers model that takes candidate expertise, traits, and character into consideration; The risks and challenges of hiring in today’s work environment; Understanding the job’s essential activities; 7 steps of hiring prospective employees or inviting board members to the team; and Action plans. Presenter: Brian Kennedy. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

7 Principles for Small Business Success

Join us as we explore the behaviors of successful people and organizations that thrive in any economic situation. These include: Know Your Purpose; Adopt a Lifetime of Learning Philosophy; Plan, Do, Review, Then Do Again; Communicate to Connect; Lead! Don’t Follow; Network; and Develop Customer for a Lifetime. We will also discuss action steps for implementing these principles. Presenter: Brian Kennedy. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Google Tools for Business

In this session, we will discuss several of the free Google Apps for work and how they can help your business. We will cover Google Docs and Google Drive (including some great tips and shortcuts), Gmail and Hangouts (plus tips for productivity), Google Alerts and Google Trends, and additional resources including mobile apps, YouTube and the Google Marketplace. Presenter: Melanie Diehl. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Email Marketing

With the amount of email being delivered to your target market, it’s crucial to design an email that stands out from the rest. Make sure when your audience opens your email, they have a memorable experience and want to open again in the future! Presenter: Melanie Diehl. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Creating Your Brand

Your brand is not just a logo. It’s the customer’s overall perception of your business. Small businesses often are competing against big brands with devoted customers and unlimited marketing budgets. It’s important to find ways to stand out with a solid brand-building process of your own. Join us to learn how to create a successful brand that is consistent in communication and experience across many applications. Presenter: Melanie Diehl. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Beginning QuickBooks for Business

Get introduced to the QuickBooks accounting software! You must have basic computer skills – how to use a mouse, etc. Instructor: Connie Haithcock or Leigh McOmber. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Beginning QuickBooks for Business Online

Are you interested in QuickBooks Online? This class will guide new users through the set up of a QuickBooks Online account and teach experienced users how to resolve common issues and avoid common mistakes. Learn tips and tricks to make bookkeeping easy! Who should attend? Both experienced and non-experienced users are welcome! Instructor: David Campbell. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is a new version of the popular accounting software. This seminar will guide new users through the setup of a QuickBooks Online account and teach experienced users how to resolve common issues and avoid common mistakes. Learn tips and tricks to make bookkeeping easy! Presenter: Anne Dorsey. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

QuickBooks Desktop

Learn the basics of navigating QuickBooks desktop accounting system. Seize the opportunity to see if QuickBooks is for you before you buy it! Presenter: Anne Dorsey. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Marketing Your Small Business

So you have an idea for a product or service that’s bound to capture the hearts and minds (and wallets) of consumers everywhere! Wait a minute! Have you really determined whether there really is a market for your product or service? This course will give you the means to determine your market and your competition, saving you from a death sentence for your product or service. Presenter: Shareen Berkowitz. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Make the Most of Facebook & Instagram for Your Business

Facebook and Instagram are the world’s two most popular social media networks, and there’s no doubt your audience lives here. However, your business might not have all the know-how to manage these platforms, create engaging content, or analyze your results. This seminar will guide you through each step from defining your goals, creating and managing your platforms, to how to utilize video and more! Presenter: Melanie Diehl. 1.5 hours. Cost: FREE

Create Stunning Graphics with Canva

First impressions are lasting! Learn to create stunning graphics so your business stands out from the rest. It’s easier than you think using Canva to create powerful graphics. This step-by-step session will demonstrate how to create professional looking graphics you can upload to your website, all social media platforms, and use in email marketing, Facebook Ads and more. You will leave this workshop feeling confident in your ability to create those stunning graphics. This is a hands-on session where you will able to use the software and create designs in class. Presenter: Melanie Diehl. 1.5 hours. Cost: FREE

Effectively Marketing the Benefits of Your Products & Services

Do you want to win more business and make more money? This interactive workshop will help you identify your client’s needs, wants, or problems. It will also show you how to present your product or service so that the customer buys from you and not your competitor! Presenter: Corey Brown. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Social Media Mastery: Track to Find Your Target Market

Join us as we explore the fundamentals of Social Media Marketing and Management. You will learn about creating an integrated Marketing Plan as well as gain knowledge of how to maximize positive reviews and deal with the negative ones. This seminar takes a look at Facebook for business as well as some Facebook Ads. We will look into Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat for business success as well as YouTube, Streaming Video and Podcasting to gain more clients. Lastly, we will discuss the fundamentals of Google Adwords and basic Google Analytics. Presenter: Martin Brossman. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Maximizing Your Exposure During a Downtown Event/Festival

Downtown Events are an excellent opportunity for local downtown brick and mortar businesses to showcase themselves for existing and new customers. In this workshop, you will discover:  Ways to advertise/market your business prior to an event; Opportunities to partner with event organizers or vendors for greater exposure before and during an event; How to determine staff requirements, amp up merchandising, and other ways to appeal to attendees; Techniques to collect contact information from event attendees; and Best options to create a follow-up system for continuing the contacts made during an event. Presenter: Jeanne Eury. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Hands-on Video Marketing

Let’s put fingers to keyboards and make some videos! In this intermediate-level hands-on class, you will start by learning why creating videos for marketing is so important and strategies to tell your stories through video. Once you’ve learned that, it’s time to get hands-on and create. We’ll make one video from a template and at least one video from scratch, all of which you’ll get to keep and use in your marketing immediately. You should bring behind-the-scenes photos/videos, product photos/videos, and logos. Bringing your own devices is encouraged. Presenter: Bob Mackowski. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Grant Writing I

Learn to write Grant proposals that get funded!  Our expert instructor will prepare you for the special needs of the nonprofit industry and help you develop relationships with corporate, foundation, and government funding sources. Presenter: Dawn Morriston. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Grant Writing II

If you have already taken the basic Grant Writing class but need a more in-depth look into the subject, then this class is for you! Presenter: Dawn Morriston. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

How to Turn Good Ideas Into Dollars

Learn the proven techniques and methods that Mr. Pittman has used for over 40 years to turn completely raw ideas into marketable products-the right way-without running a risk of being scammed by  companies on TV who hard sell and never deliver. Several actual examples will be used to help you quickly grasp a proven formula for success. Presenter: Ben Pittman. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Content Marketing: What to Say, How to Say It

Have you ever heard of “location, location, location?” For online marketing, it’s “content, content, content!” Things like tone, date & time, and frequency impact how you attract and engage your audiences (or not). We’ll cover tidbits like how many links create the most engagement, how to create high-open subject lines, tips on using pictures and videos, and more. Presenter: Melanie Diehl. 2 hours. FREE.

How to Get the Loan You Need

Gain a better understanding of the lending process and how to make it work for you. We will cover topics such as: what lenders look for and expect with regard to your personal credit, cash flow coverage, collateral requirements, capital injection, and character. Presenter: Robbie Dunbar. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Improving Your Credit Score

If you want your business to grow to its full potential, you are going to need to borrow money. In order to get that business loan, you will need a good credit score. Come join us to learn: How to read and interpret your credit report; What factors are used in computing your score; and Legal ways to raise your credit score. Using this information, you could increase your credit score by 50-100 points or more within 60 days. Presenter: Bob Moore. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

How to Create a Website for Your Business

We will cover the fundamentals of building websites using WordPress including setup, launch, and maintenance. You will also be introduced to popular tools for helping you build a great-looking website. Presenter: Guiseppe Getto. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Selling to the Government

The Federal, State and Local governments buy everything! The SBTDC’s PTAC program helps NC businesses receive over $1 billion annually in contracts from government agencies and prime contractors. Join us to learn how selling to the government can grow your business. Presenters: Scott Barker/Jim Ensor. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Lunch-N-Learn LinkedIn

LinkedIn is NOT just an online resume or just for people looking for a job. It can be an extremely valuable tool for developing relationships, growing your reputation as a thought leader in your industry, finding partners for joint ventures, speakers for conferences, and referral partners. Co-sponsored by the Pitt-Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Lunch is available at your expense from a limited Villedge menu. Presenter: Jeanne Eury. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Lunch-N-Learn Marketing Before, During, and After an Event (business expo, booths at festivals, etc.)

Many businesses participate in local business expos with booths or table-tops and/or as sponsors. Others also set up tables during outside markets or festivals. Knowing how to market yourself before, during, and after makes all the difference in your actual ROI. Co-sponsored by the Pitt-Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Lunch is available at your expense from a limited Villedge menu. Presenter: Jeanne Eury. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Lunch-N-Learn Maximize Your Website!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the strategy to improve your business view in search engines (Google, Yahoo, Ask.com). While there are many detailed and intricate things that can be done to improve website views, the many pieces of the Google algorithm all center around valuable content and consistent activity. We will discuss simple strategies to increase your organic ranking and make sure you’re making the best use of your website real estate. Co-sponsored by the Pitt-Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Lunch is available at your expense from a limited Villedge menu. Presenter: Jeanne Eury. 3 hours. Cost: FREE

Lunch-N-Learn Is Your Marketing Money Well Spent?

There is no shortage of advertising and marketing options; TV, radio, print, direct mail, social media, digital ads, SEO, video, and the list goes on. How does your business determine which is best for you? What do the terms the ad reps throw around really mean? And how do you set KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to actually know if your marketing is accomplishing its goal? Co-sponsored by the Pitt-Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Lunch is available at your expense from a limited Villedge menu. Presenter: Jeanne Eury. 3 hours. Cost: FREE