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Watauga Small Business Center Offers Free Seminars

July 19, 2012. Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute’s Watauga Small Business Center will host several free workshops for High Country entrepreneurs and businesses.

The Grant Writing workshop will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Appalachian Enterprise Center located at 130 Poplar Grove Connector in Boone. To RSVP for the Grant Writing Workshop, call 828-263-5370.

“How to Price Your Product or Service,” will include business examples that demonstrate how to evaluate pricing methods, develop sales forecasts, and measure market potential for products and services. The seminar introduces breakeven analysis as a tool to assist the entrepreneur in measuring financial feasibility. Exercises identify the kinds of data needed to project the revenue, start-up, and operating costs of a business. This is the first of a 3-part finance series.

Presenter for this seminar will be Arlene Childers, Assistant Director, NC REAL Enterprises, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping bring entrepreneurship and small business creation to North Carolina. Through training programs and curriculum, the organization has helped thousands of people create new jobs throughout the state. NC REAL stands for North Carolina Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning. The organization provides educational programs and support for adults or youth interested in entrepreneurship.

Childers, formerly a public school teacher, is a REAL certified facilitator and has offered REAL in both the public schools and also as a part-time facilitator at the community college level. Arlene has been a staff member for a REAL Institute and helped develop and deliver the first K-8 REAL Institute in 2007. She has experience working with Broyhill Furniture Industries and Blue Ridge Healthcare as a Computer Programmer and Senior Systems Analyst. She also worked as a Project Manager for ITP Business Communications. Prior to accepting the position of Program Coordinator for NC REAL, Childers integrated the REAL Entrepreneurship Curriculum into computer technology classes at Liberty Middle School in Morganton, N.C. She has a B.S. in Computer Science from Appalachian State University; and has additional certifications in Business Education and as a CWNA, Certified Wireless Networking Administrator.

The “How to Price Your Product or Service” seminar will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Appalachian Enterprise Center located at 130 Poplar Grove Connector in Boone. To RSVP for this seminar, call 828-263-5370.

 

Following is a list of additional seminars scheduled in the coming months:

Oct. 6 – Ebay Basics – 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Watauga Library. Presented by Nick Hawks, Ebay Trained Education Specialist.

Oct. 10 – Using Technology and Spreadsheets, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Watauga Continuing Education Center. Presented by Arlene Childers, NC Real Enterprises.

Oct. 17 – How to Start a Business – 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Watauga Library. Presented by Keith Buchanan, CPA

This course will teach the traits of successful entrepreneurs, why businesses fail, organizational structure, stages of implementation, business plans, financing, recordkeeping, tax issues and more.

Oct. 24 – Get Talking: Telling Your Organizations Story, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Appalachian Enterprise Center. Presented by Arlene Childers, NC REAL Enterprises.

Nov. 7 – Bookkeeping Basics, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Watauga Library. Presented by Arlene Childers, NC REAL Enterprises.

The Watauga SBC will also be offering a QuickBooks Series at the Watauga Library, presented by Rhea Hollars, CPA. The class will be held on Sept. 5, 12, 19 and 26 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Watauga Library.

For more information on any of these seminars or to RSVP for a seminar, contact Evelyn Asher at 828-263-5370 or email easher@cccti.edu.