What Small Businesses Need From Your Library to Succeed - Webinar (04/30/19)

Hint: It's not information about SBA Loans

The support of a healthy business community is important for the vitality of libraries. However, businessowners, working 24-7 can be difficult to coax to the library to use the resources, let alone attend events.

Libraries tend to focus on teaching business hopefuls how to fill out forms for licenses and taxes and how to conduct market research via databases and reference books. Worthy efforts, but businessowners need more.

Regardless of the type of enterprise, the bigger challenges include personnel issues (hiring, supervising, and firing), building teams, vendor relationships, insurance, getting personal and business finances in order, raising money, and setting and meeting goals. Family-owned businesses need help with governance and succession. And all businessowners should understand money issues beyond simple bookkeeping, such as how it’s possible to look like you have money in profit-and-loss statement, but you may be broke by the end of the month (they need to know this information BEFORE they seek funding).

Topics include understanding the world from a businessowner’s point of view, typical mistakes, legal and financial advice, partnering with community groups, businessowner outreach, issues for speakers and collections, and building business-oriented advisory boards.

Virtual Trainer: Pat Wagner

Pat Wagner has been a library consultant and trainer since 1978. She has a liberal arts degree with a double major in performance and written communication.
 
Her motto: Everything we write is a draft.

Although her grammar ain’t perfect, Pat writes for pleasure and profit every day. She has written books, newspaper editorials, magazine articles, grant proposals, how-to manuals, radio news, brochures, book reviews, short stories, online courses, and poetry, often on unreasonable deadlines, as well as editing other writers’ works and coaching them to further success. She is known for good-humored and practical programsand a gentle touch when it comes to editing..

This is an online class. Access information will be emailed one week ahead.

Cost: NEFLIN classes are free of charge for Florida library staff. Registration is required for all classes and NEFLIN members get priority.