For more information, contact Lisa Derby Oden (978) 840-3221, ext. 206 loden@mwcc.mass.edu
CSPD 155 Marketing Your Small Business
Markets need to be clearly identified in the ebbs and flows of the business world. Learn methods to clearly describe your markets, estimate their potential, and quantify objectives to create success for your business. Use proven planning procedures to target your audience with the right message, at the right time, and for the right budget to ensure sales and growth.
CSPD 476 / Advertising Strategies for Local Business
Every business is different and advertising strategies should differ as well. Improve your ability to make decisions of what will work best for your particular business.
- Develop tools to create your own advertising
- Use effective advertising within an appropriate budget
- Evaluate the cost of a customer
- Discover your Unique Selling Position (USP)
- Learn various advertising strategies.
CSPD 477 / Taking Control: Financial Management for the Small Business Owner
As a small business owner, you have unique needs for managing money. Learn
about:
protecting your business future, providing employee benefits, providing retirement
plans for you and your employees, executive bonuses, and buy/sell agreements
with your partners. This workshop addresses financial concerns facing small
business owners today, presenting basic and sophisticated financial concepts
in easy to understand terms. Gain a working knowledge of financial management
programs.
CSPD 499 Starting Your Own Business
One of the most important reasons for small business failure is the lack of knowledge about basic procedures necessary to get off to a good start. This course covers effective marketing strategies, organizational structure, management control, accounting basics, and sources of financing for the small business owner.
CSPD 500 / Writing Your Business Plan
The entrepreneur who plans is the one who succeeds. Develop a comprehensive business plan as the road map for future growth. This series of 10 seminars helps you develop the skills necessary for your business venture.
CSPD 501 / Advertising Strategies for Local Business
Every business is different and advertising strategies should differ as well. Improve your ability to make decisions of what will work best for your particular business.
- Develop tools to create your own advertising
- Use effective advertising within an appropriate budget
- Evaluate the cost of a customer
- Discover your Unique Selling Position (USP)
- Learn various advertising strategies
CSPD 502 / Taking Control: Financial Management for the Small Business Owner
As a small business owner, you have unique needs formanaging money. Learn about: protecting your business future, providing employee benefits, providing retirement plans for you and your employees, executive bonuses, and buy/sell agreements with your partners. This workshop addresses financial concerns facing small business owners today, presenting basic and sophisticated financial concepts in easy-to-understand terms. Gain a working knowledge of financial management programs.
CSPD 575 Entrepreneurship: Starting Your Own Home-based Second-income Business
In this lively and informative seminar, learn behind the scenes, practical information on how to start a successful, home-based, second-income business that can evolve into a full-time endeavor. Decide on a business or product to sell with minimal problems and little money down while avoiding psychological wear and tear. Franchising will also be discussed.
CSPD 587 Creating Effective Market Plans and Achievable Goals
Markets need to be clearly identified in the ebbs and flows of the business
world. Learn the methods to clearly describe your markets, estimate their
potential for you, and quantify the objectives you want to achieve that
will create success for your business. Formulate by proven planning procedures
to target your audience with the right message, at the right time, and
for the
right budget to make sales and growth in your business a sure thing.
CSPD 588 Legal, Financial and Tax Considerations in Selecting Business Form
Many people don’t know where to begin in trying to determine what kind of business they want to form. Learn the advantages and disadvantages, the key comparisons and financial impact existing in the six most common business forms, and try to envision your own business within them. Determine the amount of paperwork you will have to do, how much personal liability you will incur, how you are restricted in raising money, and how your business will be taxed. You will narrow the business forms down to the one that is right for you.
CSPD 589 Develop Effective & Compliant Employee Policies & Practices
You may think there are not many rules regarding hiring and firing employees, but the number of state and federal laws on employment and labor affecting you will probably surprise you. Learn about employment agreements and handbook development, independent contractors, temporary workers, firing, discrimination, sexual harassment, pension and benefits, family and medical leave law, immigration and many others. They create a complex horizon for your business to operate in and you should know the score.
CSPD 592 Generating a Viable Business Idea and Bringing it to Market
Business ideas come from many sources: interests, hobbies, volunteer experience, and leisure activity. Learn about home-based or independent business structures to platform your idea so you can sell what you know. This course will help you to: identify what your customer wants and determine how you can satisfy those needs; examine your competitions’ abilities and successes in your market; and target your market to make your idea reality.
CSPD 593 The Ins and Outs of Negotiating a Business Purchase or Sale
Decisions to buy or sell a business may be part of your growth planning or your exit strategy. Develop an understanding of the key factors in decision making for such factors as family business succession and methods of valuation for your business. Preparing a business for sale, the art of negotiating the deal, and financing a buyer are subjects covered to help you create or analyze the right financial picture for achieving your objective.
CSPD 594 How to Manage Growth Problems: When a Family-Held Business Needs Help
You feel the need for help, but you don’t know what to do. A family-owned business reaches a point where growth causes real financial and planning problems and you have to decide where to go with the business and how to go about doing it. Learn the major problems that threaten the life of a business, understand turnaround strategies if plans fail to achieve your goals, learn debt restructuring, and going outside to set the company on a bigger and new course.
CSPD 595 Developing a Master Budget: The Heart of Business Financial Planning
Learn the essence of successful business planning by analyzing the structure and development of a master budget. See how budgets can visualize your objectives and give you the key to understanding the integrated structures of the living organism of your business. Learn how you can make your company grow in any business environment so that you thrive when others are scaling back or shutting down.
CSPD 596 Designing Ads and Marketing Materials
Many small business owners prepare their own ads and collateral materials. Come to learn design basics that make the difference between your pieces being noticed or not noticed by your customer. Learn to differentiate between the good, the bad, and the ugly.
CSPD 602 How to Keep the Books
A key aspect to running your business is keeping the appropriate books and records. Explore a variety of record and bookkeeping tools available to simplify your work and streamline your small business management.
CSPD 681 Ins and Outs of Operating a Consulting Business
Do you yearn to be self-employed by using your expertise to become a consultant? Do you know where to turn to find out how to start your own consulting business? This seminar covers the techniques to quickly plan, establish, and successfully market your skills. Learn strategic positioning and how to create a market demand for your services, meet and deal with clients, and manage multiple projects. Also learn fee structures, contracts, billing and collection, and much more.