LEWISTON, Idaho – The North Central Idaho Small Business Development Center at Lewis-Clark State College has scheduled seven workshops in Lewiston, Clarkston, Grangeville, and Orofino for May on topics ranging from cyber security to QuickBooks.
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, or visit the website www.lcsc.edu/sbdc.
Three of the workshops deal with QuickBooks, including how to use the latest 2018 version, QuickBooks 2018 will have a workshop in Grangeville on May 1 and then in Orofino on May 14. Both workshops run 9 a..m.-4:30 p.m., have an $85 registration fee, and will be taught by Janice Gobbi. The workshop will cover the computerized software accounting system that helps record sales, deposits, invoice, track bills, and write checks. The Grangeville workshop will be held at the Grangeville Adult Learning Center, located at 158 E. Main Suite 4 and the contact is Carla Wilkins, who can be reached at either 208-983-2164 or cnwilkins@lcsc.edu. The Orofino workshop will be at the LCSC Outreach Center, located at 416 Johnson Ave., and Danielle Hardy is the contact. She can be reached at 208-746-5731 or dchardy@lcsc.edu.
The final QuickBooks workshop will cover payroll and will be at 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on May 7 at the Grangeville Adult Learning Center. Gobbi will be the instructor and the workshop has a fee of $85. Participants will learn about how to set up employees correctly in payroll, adding payroll items, taxes, deductions, time tracking, and generating payroll checks. Idaho payroll requirements will be covered as well.
A tour of properties with possibilities in downtown Lewiston is sponsored by Beautiful Downtown Lewiston and will be held on May 2 at 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The tour will give anyone interested the opportunity to look at 6-10 downtown properties that have potential for commercial use. The tour will also feature a catered lunch with a guest speaker. The tour is free to BDL members and $20 for non-members. Tickets must be purchased in advance online at www.beautifuldowntownlewiston.com.
Cyber security will be the topic of a panel discussion on May 3 at 9-11:30 a.m. at the North Central SBDC, located at 406 Main St. in Lewiston. The fee is $20 and the panel features Danny Santiago, systems administrator with the city of Lewiston, Cathy Jo Witters, risk management advisor at Stonebraker McQuary Agency Group, and Barbara Leachman, director of the North Central Idaho SBDC. The panel will discuss the needed steps to take to improve cyber security and how to avoid online scams aimed at businesses.
A branding and lead generation using social media workshop will be offered for free on May 9 at 6-8 p.m. in the basement of the Grangeville Umpqua Bank, located at 147 Main St. The instructor will be Jenny Hemley of the Idaho Department of Commerce, and Gavin Lewis, economic development director of the Ida-Lew Economic Development Council. The workshop will help businesses reach and find new customers using Facebook and Instagram. The workshop will show how Facebook tracks behavior and picks what people see. Knowing that can help business owners create more engaging Facebook posts and get a better rate of return on Facebook ads.
The final workshop of the month is on small business feasibility analysis and will be held at the Clarkston branch of Walla Walla Community College. The workshop runs 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and lunch will be provided. The workshop is free and will be taught by Leachman. The workshop will look at making predictions, research, capital needs, and feasibility analysis.