Bos Events

Network, Learn & Grow a Business

Sales Strategies: Advanced Selling @ MLK Library - SJPL Works

May 22 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

This workshop offers a framework for a very simple Sales Process, organizing your sells efforts & taking the path to success through a genuine & authentic approach to selling.

Topics:

5 Step Sales Process
Simple Call & Email Scripts
Social Media Selling Strategy
Taking Leads From Prospects to Customers
Blocking, Tracking and Getting The Most From Your Sales Efforts

Presented by Jerome Dees of SmartSelling.Guru

This is workshop 4 of a 4 in the “The Complete Sales Person” series.

May

Thu

[Expo Webinar] Access to Contracts: Why your Company Should Get Certified

Tickets

May 23 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

2019 Norcal Procurement Expo Preparatory Webinar: Part 2 of 3

Join us for this free webinar to explore federal, state, and local government certification programs for women, minorities, veterans, small businesses, and other disadvantaged groups.

Presented by Norcal PTAC Sr/Lead Procurement Specialist Christina Jones, a seasoned Procurement Specialist and facilitator with over 10 years of experience in strategically positioning small businesses for government sales. Ms. Jones has worked closely with countless businesses to develop strategies for success and sustainability in the government space to include certification, contract vehicles, competitor and industry analysis, marketing strategies, proposal development, state and federal procurement program compliance, and contract administration. She holds a BS in Business Administration from California State University, Los Angeles and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

You will receive information on connecting to the webinar via email after registering.

Small Business and Start Up Financing. @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

May 23 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Learn about different methods to finance your business, such as debt, equity, capital investment.

Loans to small businesses are available from different lenders, which will be discussed. Many small business owners finance their business start up and capital expenses from personal resources; we will review potential sources of capital for your business.

Key Topics:

Characteristics of debt, equity, capital business investments in small businesses.
Understanding different types of lenders
Working Capital versus Start Up Capital
Cash Flow forecasts
Business Plan concepts

Learning Outcomes: People who attend this class will learn:

the importance of properly funding their start up business
the different types of loans and lender traits that are available to start up small businesses.
the need to understand all of the associated costs with their business
the different methods to fund their start up or small business.

Tags: Financing SCORE

May

Fri

Be a Successful Consultant @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

May 24 @ 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Be a Successful Consultant

Start a Successful Consulting Business For Lifestyle and Profit

In this workshop you will learn what it means to be a consultant, why clients need your skills, how to leverage your expertise and what the requirements are to be successful. It is a good primer for people already in the consulting business and an excellent educator for those thinking of becoming a consultant. The class will explain the do’s and don’ts of selling yourself, basic selling skills you need to know, how to develop a professional image and many marketing tactics and strategies. The class goes through the process of identifying potential clients, what needs to be in a proposal, common terms and conditions that should be included and how to negotiate contracts with your clients. Finally the workshop will help you identify costs you need to recover, calculate your base billing rate and equip you with approaches to charge for your services that help maximize your returns.

Key Topics:

Being a Consultant – Positives and Negatives
Setup – Business Structure, Choice of Entity
Getting Clients – Business Development and Marketing
Proposals and Contracts – SOW, NDA’s, Important Terms
Pricing – Fee Structures and Costs

Learning Outcomes:

Know what a consultant does and why your client may need one
Understanding your clients’ need
Managing scope of work and scope creep
How to set expectation
Know the process involved in creating a consulting business and landing new client account
How to price your services to make a profit

What People Are Saying About This Class:

“Snappy pacing, Engaging, Clear, Riveting”
“Good information and knowledgeable presenters”
“Great class, now I feel more prepared and knowledgeable

Tags: Consulting Planning SCORE

May

Sat

Teen Entrepreneurs Club @ MLK Library - SJPL Works

Tickets

May 25 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

The Teen Entrepreneurs Club at the MLK Library aims to engage, expose, and inspire middle and high school students to pursue entrepreneurship.

Participants will learn through hands-on exploration and collaborate with one another to develop practical business skills through various activities and projects, including a competition for best presentation and best product idea.

Parking validation for 4th St. garage will be provided at the program.

Tags: entrepreneurship SJPL Works

May

Tue

[Expo Webinar] Which Government Agencies Buy What I Sell?

Tickets

May 28 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

2019 Norcal Procurement Expo Preparatory Webinar: Part 3 of 3

Did you know that the federal government is the largest economy in the world? The state of California ranks number five, just ahead of the UK! Government agencies purchase everything from furniture to construction services to dog food (seriously!) and everything in between. If you sell it, the government probably buys it.

In this free one-hour webinar, we’ll review multiple online tools to find out which government agencies buy what YOU sell. We’ll cover federal, state, local (city/county), utility and even university and school district purchasing. The purpose of this webinar is to help you target agencies at the Norcal Procurement Expo.

This webinar is appropriate for all existing businesses, including those with zero government contracting experience, or those with many contracts under their belt. All businesses will learn something new!

Presented by Norcal PTAC Procurement Specialist Mary Jo Juarez. Mary Jo has extensive contracting experience as a former Contracting Officer for the Department of the Navy. In her position as the Deputy for Small Business, Mary Jo discovered her lasting passion of educating and helping small businesses to become successful in obtaining and performing in the government contracting arena. She specializes in working with small businesses to help them understand and work through the maze of regulations and requirements in government contracting. Mary Jo is a “connector “of small businesses, agencies, and prime contractors; helping to establish relationships which benefit all parties. She holds a BA from the Evergreen State College, MBA from City University, and has been working on the Doctorate in Business Education at Argosy University.

You will receive information on connecting to the webinar via email after registering.

Marketing on the Internet @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

May 28 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Beat Competition and Grow Your Business

This class covers key topics for creating and marketing a professional business website for visitors and search engines. The class reviews best practices for ecommerce and secure websites, social media marketing options, search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, affiliate marketing and optimal web marketing strategies based on performance testing, analytics and determining return on investment (ROI). Discussion will center on actual website examples for small businesses. The class will analyze common mistakes made on the web, and reveal best practices for marketing on the internet. Reviewed will be, Ideas for generating business for eCommerce sites and the challenges they face in gaining visitors and sales.

Note: This course is not a technical course on how to design or program websites, but a course that teaches you what a good website should look like and how to effectively market your busine

Tags: Marketing SCORE

May

Wed

Grow Smart: Wealth-Building Tactics for Small Business Owners @ MLK Library - SJPL Works

Tickets

May 29 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

How are you building wealth for you and your workers? Have you considered establishing a retirement plan, but don’t know where to start? In this presentation, Small Business Majority will outline small business wealth-building tactics and help you sort through options to secure your future.

Presenter Bio: Bianca Blomquist, Northern California Outreach Manager

Bianca Blomquist manages Small Business Majority’s outreach and education efforts for the Bay Area and Northern California region. She develops relationships with business organizations and small business owners to empower the voice of small business in California and works with the California Director on national and statewide policy efforts.

Prior to joining Small Business Majority, Bianca served as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill for a member of the House Financial Services Committee and as a legislative representative handling federal healthcare, transportation and workforce issues. She has also previously campaigned in Southern California and Wisconsin on both state and national policy issues affecting working families.

Free. No registration required but encouraged.

Parking validation for 4th St. garage will be provided at the program.

Tags: Human Resources Retirement SJPL Works

Jun

Wed

Evaluate Your Business Idea @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 5 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

New Workshop: Evaluate Your Business Idea

Do you want to start a business but not sure if your idea is feasible? Or do you need help gathering your thoughts into a viable business idea?

During this hands-on workshop you will learn the essential steps of developing and evaluating your business idea, including:

What are your options for going into business
How to turn your business idea into a reality
How to conduct preliminary research
Use a one-page tool in the workshop to evaluate 8 aspects of your company, including customer, cost, pricing and marketing

Key Topics:

Common traits and characteristics of entrepreneurs.
Advantages and disadvantages of starting a business on your own, buying a franchise or
buying an existing business.
Assessing the feasibility of your business idea or opportunity.
The value and purpose of a formal business plan.

Learning Outcomes:

You will be able to compare your personality traits, strengths and weaknesses
with those common to successful entrepreneurs.
You will learn the advantages and disadvantages of starting a business on your
own versus buying a franchise versus buying an existing business and why it is
important to consider all three options.
You will learn how to assess the feasibility of your business idea or opportunity.
You will hear why it is important to prepare a formal business plan if you decide
to proceed and an overview of what that plan should include.

Tags: entrepreneurship Planning SCORE

Jun

Thu

Small Business Accounting @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 6 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Understanding accounting for small businesses is one of the keys to growth and success of your business, and our regular seminars can provide you with the accounting knowledge you need. You don’t have to be an accountant to keep the financial records of your business, but you do have to understand the principles of accounting and how to use those numbers to help your business grow and prosper. Keeping current and accurate financial records will help make “tax time” a little less anxiety producing. This class will help you understand those accounting “buzz words” that accountants use to talk about your business health. Learn how to easily create an income (profit and loss) statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow forecast. Learn to understand what all of the financial records mean. This business seminar will also show you how to maintain tax records as simply as possible ever with changing tax regulations. You will learn how to help make business decisions directly from your financial numbers.

Key Topics:

Basic Financial Terms
Basic Financial Records
Cash Flow Budgeting
Ways to Control Cash
Why Keep Records
Setting Up Your Records

Learning Outcomes:

How to read and understand your financial statements
Estimating your cash flow needs
How to make a realistic budget
Why you need to keep records
What records are important to keep

What People Are Saying About This Class:

“Great tips and anecdotes to elucidate the practical points”
“Fantastic presentation and great examples. A must class to attend”
“I liked the information on contractor vs. employee”

Tags: accounting SCORE

Small Business Taxes @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 6 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Income Tax Basics for the Small Business

As a small business owner knowing the basics of taxes will help save you money and potentially keep you out of trouble. In this class we will discuss business entities and the different forms for each. We will talk about what is deductible and what is not and where to you use them. How profits and distributions effect your tax bill and many other important subjects that you should know as a business owner.

Key Topics:

Choice of business entity
The 1^st years tax elections and their effect
How to deduct assets
Deducting your auto
The returns that you will need to file
The areas that the IRS focus on, should be audited
Tax planning techniques

Learning Outcomes: People who attend this class will learn:

About the importance of quarterly tax payments
How profits vs. distributions affect your tax bill
What taxes business owners need to pay
How to reduce your taxes and save for the future
What credits you can claim

What People Are Saying About This Class:

“Enjoyed the many real world examples”
“I now know a lot more about tax law now”
“Great class discussion”

About The Course Instructor:

Bill Oakes

Bill has over 25 years of experience as a small business owner in Silicon Valley. BIll’s business was focused on small business taxes, bookkeeping, and business planning. Tax preparation, planning, and taxpayer representation, personal financial planning and financial planning seminars were also offered. Clients included: trade contractors, retail, consultants, automotive, restaurant, landlords, real estate entrepreneurs, hair salons, machine shops and more.
Bill can help new and existing small business owners in establishing and analyzing financial systems, including Quickbooks; creating business plans, developing and implementing business goals using his years of experience with previous business owner clients.
Bill is an EA (enrolled agent) enrolled to represent taxpayers before the IRS .CFP® Certified Financial Planner
He has a BA State University of New York Mathematics and Statistics and a MS Boston University Computer Science

Tags: SCORE Taxes

Jun

Tue

State Labor Law and Payroll Tax Seminar @ Alfred E. Alquist Bulding

Tickets

Jun 11 @ 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

You will receive information from the EDD and Division of Labor Standards Enforcement on:

Record-keeping, reporting requirements, employer obligaions, and payment requirements.
Common wage and hour law application.
Employer and employee rights and responsibilities.
How to distinguish between an employee and an independent contractor.

Tags: EDD Human Resources Taxes

Jun

Wed

Starting a Business: Write a Business Plan @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 12 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Starting a Business: Write a Business Plan

Commit your business idea to paper. It’s the key to Success!

This class is a follow-on and companion to Thinking of Starting a Business. It walks you through the basics of putting your business idea on paper. It teaches the basic content of what is required and gives you help in thinking through some of the issues. It is aimed at folks who have a feasible business idea and are now ready to think through all of the details. It is the information that you need to attract people, money, and clients but it needs to be written. It helps you to describe your product or service, your market and your potential clients. Going through the Business Plan process reveals to you the strengths and weaknesses of your idea and how to improve it. It gives you the confidence to sell your idea to others. This process forces you to think through the critical issues in an organized way and sharpen your business skills. The business plan will help you prepare your roadmap for success.

Note: This class is designed for those who have clearly defined and documented their business model and its feasibility as developed in the class “Thinking of Starting a Business”.

This class teaches you the key elements of a business plan including:

How to find important market and competitive data relevant for your business;
How to figure out the unique benefits your business has to offer;
How to position your business and develop a realistic sales projection.

Learning Outcomes:

You will learn about market share and its importance
You will learn about customer demographics and why they’re key
You’ll learn to describe your business strategies
You’ll learn the importance of describing your business succinctly
You will learn to create a two-year financial plan
How to price your services to make a profit

What People Are Saying About This Class:

“Really helped me get my head around the business”
“Great class to get started on a business”
“These guys really know their stuff”

Tags: SCORE

Jun

Thu

Small Business Financing @ Silicon Valley SBDC

Tickets

Jun 13 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

An overview introduction, includes: Equity vs. Debt Financing; uses of financing; types of loans; loan programs; what do bankers look at in qualifying you for a loan? and presenting your request for financing.

Tags: Financing

Top HR Issues Business Owners Face – And How to Solve them @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 13 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Let’s face it – HR is not getting any easier, and it can be especially challenging for smaller employers with limited resources. Join us for this educational seminar, where we’ll discuss some of the most critical areas you need to be aware of, particularly to avoid needless HR-related fines, penalties or lawsuits.

We’ll begin by covering 5 foundational laws that influence how you should be running your business:

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
Immigration Reform Control Act (IRCA)

Next, we’ll dive into 8 HR issues that can be complex for even the most seasoned HR pro, and strategic strategies you can follow in your business:

Job descriptions
Forms I-9
Classifying employees
Compensation
Employee handbook
Non-harassment policy
Discipline and termination
Anti-retaliation provisions

Finally, – we’ll wrap up the seminar with a chance for you to ask questions in the helpful summary and QA portion.

Tags: Human Resources SCORE

Jun

Mon

Nonprofit Seminar: Mastering Special Fundraising Events @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 17 @ 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Join Dee Dee Kiesow , award winning fundraiser, for a lively and interactive workshop in creating lucrative fundraising events from the ground up. If this is a first time or an annual event, whether you are big or small, you will learn the following and achieve the following outcomes:

Key Topics:

The 5 pillars of a fundraising event
Where to begin and what will it look like
How to make a profit and not spend money (ROI)
Create an event that is virtually free
Monetize the minutes- financial return at every corner

Learning Outcomes:

Leave the workshop with an event on your horizon
Step by step system to a successful event
A blueprint to create your own event
The 9 guaranteed steps to success A-Z

This course is very interactive so bring your questions and ideas!

What People Are Saying About This Class:

“Dee Dee made this a fun class and very useful”
“Learned a lot about events and how to maximize the benefits”
“She is an expert in her field”

About the Speaker:

Dee Dee Kiesow, BAS Non-Profit Strategist, Funding Consultant, Benefit Auction Specialist

Dee Dee Kiesow uses the combination of her skills as a professionally trained charity auctioneer with her 20 years diverse experience of working with non-profit organizations to raise money and create memorable and record-breaking fund raising events. With her background as an Executive Director, an Event Coordinator and Chief Fundraiser for several Northern Cal non-profit organizations Dee Dee brings a unique advantage when assisting fund raising auction clients.

Dee Dee’s career in auctioneering is equally enhanced from her training in television news and radio announcing. She feels comfortable with audiences of any size and background and with her vibrant personality Dee Dee is able to inspire audiences while having fun.

She is a member and V.P. of National Philanthropy Day, Fundraising Event Mentor to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Silicon Valley (AFP), The National Auctioneers Association (NAA) and holds a Benefit Auction Specialist (BAS) Designation, which is held by only 20 auctioneers in California.

DeeDee@BenEventAuctions.com Phone: 408-674-0333

Tags: Nonprofit SCORE

Jun

Wed

Email Marketing: Automate Your Marketing @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 19 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Do you send the same information over and over? Do you ever forget to follow up with new subscribers, customer anniversaries and birthdays? How do you share your great case studies, success stories and customer testimonials? Or introduce customers to your diverse product or service offerings? And do you wish you had a way to reward new subscribers & inspire them to take action right NOW, when their interest is HOT?

Autoresponder campaigns do what YOU wish you had the time to do! Use them to follow up, inform, entertain, & provide incentives for action & engagement – they work automatically while you focus on your business.

Key Topics:

What is an automation campaign?
How do you know if you should use Automation?
How to use automation the right way
Getting started with Automation

Learning Outcomes:

• Learn the difference between automated messages and autoresponder campaigns
• Decide where autoresponders can help you do better marketing communications
• Understand key actions that trigger emails to be sent
• Identify what steps to take to design effective autoresponder campaigns
• Design the “evergreen content” that works best for your audiences

What People Are Saying About This Class:

“Lots of territory covered, great overview”
“Great getting started seminar”
“Very helpful information and tips”

Tags: Marketing SCORE

Jun

Thu

Software Tools You Need: Googles Tool Offerings @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 20 @ 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

In this workshop, we will explore the software tools you need as a small business or consultant, Google’s cloud IT suite of tools (G Suite) and what it covers. You will get a live demo, as well as best practices for G Suite’s use from someone who worked at Google for over 10 years and is a a G Suite Certified System Administrator. We will also go into details about where to find other tools if you need them later down the road. And for those so inclined, why and how you would want to become your own IT department. You will also get a chance to ask questions.

Key Topics:

Software tools you need as a small business or consultant
Benefits of working in a cloud environment
Why you want control over all your software tools
Google tools you can use: G Suite (communication-, office-, website-, marketing-, and other tools)
G Suite’s costs
Live demo
Compatibility with Windows, Mac OS, as well as with office suites, such as Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, OpenOffice
Best practices for security and sharing
How to find software for needs that Google doesn’t meet
Why and how you may want to become your own IT department, and how to get support
A glimpse into hardware

Learning Outcomes:

Awareness of cost-effective and easy-to-use software tools from Google
Information to calculate G Suite’s costs vs. your current costs
Information to judge whether G Suite fits your needs
Knowledge about how to get started with G Suite
Awareness of best practices for security and sharing
Awareness of how to find software for needs that Google doesn’t meet
Reasons why and how you may want to control your own IT

Tags: Google IT SCORE

Jun

Mon

Non Profit Seminar: Fundraising-Strategies and Practices @ Silicon Valley SCORE

Tickets

Jun 24 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

This is a SCORE signature class that is a must attend class if you want to know fundraising or improve existing fundraising at your organization. This class will cover how the vision statement, mission, organizational objectives and case for support, translate into funding strategies. The major fund development programs include: annual campaigns, major gifts, board development, corporate and foundation grants, and special events. Strategies and preparation for each type of fundraising will be discussed. Upon completion of the course, class participants will have an overview of the basics of the best practices in fund development today and an appreciation of the hard work, but great satisfaction that comes with raising money for great causes.

Key Topics:

Overview of aspects of a comprehensive fundraising development plan.
Pros and cons of fundraising methods
Key components to have in place for major gift campaigns
doing the “ask”
Grant Proposal keys to success
Components of a successful fundraising board of directors

Learning Outcomes:

If you are ready for a major gifts campaign
Basic understanding and appreciation of all aspects of a comprehensive development plan
Networking

What People Are Saying About This Class:

“Well organized and very interactive”
“Great Presentation-excellent seminar”

Tags: Fundraising Nonprofit SCORE

May – June 2019 May – Jun 2019