Grow Your Business Through SBDC's GROWsmart© Program

Training · Counseling · Topical Small Groups

Most Sessions are Two Hours and Held at Carroll Community College

Program Overview

General Planning

Creating Your Strategic Business Plan: Are you starting a new business and need a business plan for your lender, a 'road map' for your new venture? This course will cover the requisites of a business plan that can be used for financing and general business purposes, including financial projections for your new small business. Level II – (Virtual Classroom: Creating a Strategic Plan, Maintaining an Agile Company, Running a Profitable Company, & Valuing a Business)

Franchise 101: Upon completion you will understand investment ranges, full and part-time options, hot industries, how to "investigate before investing" and how to maximize your prospects for success through proper personality and skill assessment. Level II

How to Buy or Sell a Business/Franchise: Are you interested in buying an existing business or thinking of selling your business? Both endeavors require careful planning and consideration. Learn from this panel of experts how to plan for your purchase or sale, what you need to do, review, or provide in each of these transactions, what laws apply and what pitfalls to avoid. Level II

Hiring and Firing: Learn how to hire and promote the right people and slash turnover costs. This course covers improving customer service, productivity and sales while also improving your employees' attitudes and focusing on cooperation in the workplace. Level III

Mastering Your Time: Learn how to manage your most valuable resource: Time. Level III

Business Assessment: One-on-one session with a counselor to review your business model and plans to ensure you have a SmartSTART to your business and to outline additional resources to successfully GROWsmart Your Business. Level 5 GROWsmart sessions are discussed. Level IV

Entrepreneurial Game Plan: SmartSTART's capstone. Learn to work on your business while playing the business board game 'LEVERAGE.' LEVERAGE gives you a business to run with strategies and systems as the game unfolds. This session is guaranteed to give you 200 ideas you can apply to your business. Level IV

Entrepreneurial Development Network: A few established business owners are accepted into a 7 session series designed to offer solutions to emerging businesses. Topics covered include: Be an Entrepreneur Again, Roles of an Entrepreneur, Developing Your Business Strategically, Developing Your Business with Systems, Building Your Network and Using Your Network. The final session is to review and finalize your plans on moving to the next level. For an application, contact the SBDC. Level V

Marketing

Creating Your Marketing Plan: This course focuses on how to create a basic marketing plan for your small business. Learn how to understand your market potential and your target market. Develop your marketing plan and improve your advertising and public relations by using the best marketing tactics for your business. Level II – (Virtual Classroom: Conducting a Marketing Analysis, Analyze your Competition, Targeting Your Market, Creating a Competitive Advantage, Pricing Products and Services, Building Your Brand, Promoting Your Business, Advertising Your Business, Building a Web Site, Personalization Strategies to Attract and Retain Customers, Identifying Your Sales Strategy)

Finding and Leasing/Buying Commercial Space: Be educated before you act. Level II

Basics of Selling to APG and Other Federal Agencies: Thinking about expanding your sales into the Federal sector? Where and how does one begin to sell to the Government? This is a very basic course in how to begin selling to the Government. It will identify web sites, acquisition language and the small business programs that are currently in use. Level III

Contracting Certifications for Women and Minorities: Federal and State contracting officers and large contractors have specific goals to do business with those properly certified. Level III

Customer Loyalty: Learn the 8 essential steps to have a world class customer service plan so your customers will say 'I'll be back.' Level III

Developing a Brand/Logo for Your Business: Do you have a brand or logo for your small business? Do you have one that isn’t working for you? This course covers how to determine your business’s identity and brand/logo, how to develop a promotional budget and how, when and where to promote your small businesss. Level III

Developing a Sales Plan: Do you have a plan on how to approach and follow up with prospects using word of mouth selling? If you want to close sales calls, this session is important. If you have a sales staff, this session is imperative. Level III

Navigating APG & Other Federal Agencies: Have specific questions about contracting or subcontracting opportunities at APG? Need contact names? Learn from a recently retired member of the U.S. Army Contracting Office at APG. Level V

Navigating for State of Maryland Contracts & Subcontracts: Having challenges in finding opportunities? Level V

Operations

Planning the Operation of Your Small Business: Tired of being "chief, cook and bottle washer" of your small business? Are you contemplating starting a business but want to know how best to operate your venture? Learn how to plan the daily operation of your business, how and what to delegate, what areas you need to make future plans for, and how to make it all run smoothly. Level II

Contract Management: There is more to contracting than winning a bid/proposal. You must successfully manage a contract profitably. Learn to manage contracts/projects. Level III

Operations: This course covers operations for retail, restaurant or service businesses. Level III

Organizational (Legal & Fiscal)

Budget Planning: Are you just starting to put together your plan for a new small business? Learn about the ‘start up’ and initial costs of running a business. This course covers creating a business budget, calculating start up costs and assessing the financial viability of your planned new business. Level II – (Virtual Classroom: Preparing a Cash Budget & Managing Your Cash Flow)

Financial Statements & Tax Strategies: Spend 3 hours in a small group with a CPA for FREE and learn to understand and analyze financial statements, develop basic accounting procedures, and create tax/payroll strategies for your small business. Melissa Barnickel's role is to increase the effectiveness of your time with your accountant. Level II – (Virtual Classroom: Preparing a Balance Sheet, Creating a Profit and Loss Statement, & Analyzing Your Financial Ratios)

Smart Approach to Protecting Your Business: This course will present an overview of the risk management process, answers to the most frequent business insurance questions, insurance buying tips and risk assessment tools to identify risks specific to your business. Level II

The Mind of an Investor: The SBDC does not have a database of investors. This session is conducted by a local business investor to determine if your idea is one that an investor would be interested in financing. This is to prepare you to present to an investor you find. Level V

Bonding: Many government contracts and subcontracts require bonding. Learn how to obtain bonding for the first time or expand your existing bonding capability. Level V

Business Capitalization / Financing Strategies: When running a business, you will have to invest in the business in order to get a return. You have two ways to finance the operation - pay cash or borrow the money. In either case there is a cost and a lost opportunity cost. Alex M. Kruger of Strategic Wealth Solutions will show how to measure each scenario and learn the strategies to recapture these costs using sound financing strategies. Level V

Finding Money for Existing Businesses: Kathy Wajer, a 20-year veteran of bank and government funding, will discuss your expectations for obtaining money, how money can be used, where money can be found, and how to successfully write a loan proposal. Level V – (Virtual Classroom: Assessing Your Company's Financial Needs, Partners and Investors, & Developing a Business Plan)

Managing Cash Flow: This individual 60-90 minute session presents strategies to strengthen and grow your business. Melissa Barnickel, CPA, who left public accounting and now owns her own small business, will work with you individually to better manage your cash flow. Level V

See Current Schedule for Dates, Times and Locations

For sessions with course numbers, e-mail MTitus@carrollcc.edu or call 410-386-8100; for all other sessions, e-mail BWoodring@carrollbiz.org or call 410-386-2317. Please remember to add your contact information in the e-mail / voicemail as well as date and time of a scheduled session.

Scheduled sessions with course numbers are located at Carroll Community College's Business Training Center unless otherwise specified. All other sessions are at Carroll County Department of Economic Development.