LEWISTON, Idaho – The North Central Idaho Small Business Development Center at Lewis-Clark State College has scheduled seven workshop offerings in Lewiston, Moscow and Grangeville for March, including topics on pricing strategy, Quickbooks, social media, and business success.
Pre-registration is required for all workshops. To pre-register or for more information for any of the workshops call 208-792-2465, email isbdc@lcsc.edu. All Lewiston workshops will be held at the North Central Idaho SBDC offices, located at 406 Main St.
The first workshop is on entrepreneurship and the business model canvas is set for March 1 at 9-11:30 a.m. in Lewiston. The fee is $20. The workshop looks at nine blocks to help participants describe, design or pivot their business model. The workshop also will cover how to do research, test, and evaluate the business model and make good decisions. Barbara Leachman, the Region II director of the SBDC, will teach the workshop.
The next Lewiston workshop is on business success and how to avoid business risks. The workshop is March 12 at 5:30-7 p.m. in Lewiston. Aziz Makhani of the Pullman Small Business Development Center will be the instructor and the workshop fee is $20. The workshop will explore what it takes to recognize and mitigate risks for a long-term sustainable endeavor. Both high and low degree risks and their consequences will be covered.
Effective pricing strategies and management techniques for small businesses will be the workshop on March 13 and it will be held at the One Word Café in Moscow, located at 535 S. Main St. The workshop will be instructed by Warren Mueller and has a $49 fee. The workshop will show how if pricing strategies/tactics are just based on what the competition is doing, a business owner will never develop a true competitive advantage. Successful pricing strategies should consider the value delivered, customer wants and needs, market dynamics, and the competitive landscape.
A two-part series on how to use Quickbooks payroll will be held on March 14 and 21 at 5:30-8:30 p.m. in Lewiston. The instructor is Janice Gobbi and the fee is $70. Participants will learn how to use the payroll functions in Quickbooks with both Idaho and Washington payroll requirements covered during the two nights.
Websites and Google optimization will be covered in the March 15 workshop in Lewiston at 9-11:30 a.m. The fee is $20 and Leachman will be the instructor. Participants will learn how to help customers find their business and website, and how to communicate with those customers. It will also show how to optimize for Google’s search engine. Computers will be available for those who can’t bring one.
The March 21 workshop on social media will be held in the Umpqua Bank basement in Grangeville, located at 147 W. Main St. The workshop runs 6-8 p.m., has a $5 fee, and Gavin Lewis will be the instructor. The workshop will cover using Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, and how to engage customers with social media.
The final workshop is March 29 in Lewiston and will be on writing a business plan now. Leachman will be the instructor and there is a $20 fee for the workshop, which runs 9-11:30 a.m. Participants will write their business plan during the workshop following the 10-step process that covers goals and next steps.