Maine Women's Business Center at CEI Events

Small Business HR Management Program - online (RCWBC-WSHRMP) (04 May 2012)

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

This online program provides the business owner or HR manager of a small business the tools they need to make sure that their employment practices are in compliance with the law and helps insure effective employment retention & recruitment. Whether you have one employee or 50, the information in this six-part online series is applicable. Taught by two HR professionals - Susan Higgins, Certified HR Consultant & Gerard Salvo, CEI's Director of HR & Workforce Solutions, the program is designed to allow participation in live online sessions as well as on-demand viewing of prior workshop sessions. Sessions include:

1) Is Your Employment Process in Compliance? (pre-recorded March 8)
2) You Have a New Employee - Now What? (pre-recorded April 12)
3) The Art of Creating an Employee Handbook (live session June 7 10-11 am)
4) Performance Management (live session July 12 10-11 am)
5) Interviewing & Selection (live session Aug 9 10-11 am)
6) HR Compliance - the Final Word? (live session Sept 13 10-11 am)

All live sessions will be available as recordings to attendees the day after the session.

Cost: $75

Online Website Development & Marketing Program (RCWBC-WSWDMP) (15 May 2012)

Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Register for all six Website Development & Marketing workshops and save $15.00! When you register using this link, you get live participation in the May workshops and/or viewing the recordings and all workshop materials until August 31st, 2012 for the following workshops:

May 15    9:00-10:30 am   Business Website Basics

May 16   9:00-10:30 am Getting Your Website Developed

May 22   9:00-10:30 am Planning Your Website Content

May 23   9:00-10:30 am Tracking Your Website Return on Investment (ROI)

May 29   9:00-10:30 am The Nuts & Bolts of Search Engine Marketing

May 30   9:00-10:30 am Beyond Search Engine Optimization: Driving Traffic to Your Website

Participation in the live sessions requires either a computer headset/microphone or a long-distance phone call.

Cost: $75

Business Website Basics - online (RCWBC-WSBWB) (15 May 2012)

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

This workshop goes over the nuts & bolts of having a website for your business. We discuss what costs are involved with having a basic marketing brochure site, what a domain name is and how to choose one, and what web hosting is and factors to consider before you sign up for a website hosting account for your website. This workshop is for any business owner or potential business owner who either thinks they need a website for their business or has a website but does not really feel they understand the basic components of a website.

Participate in this workshop by viewing a recorded session and downloading slides. This workshop will be accessible to participants until 10 am August 30, 2012.

Cost: $15

Getting Your Website Developed – online (RCWBC-WSGYWD) (16 May 2012)

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

In this workshop, we will explore the various ways your website can be developed either by you, a friend or family member, or a paid professional. We will discuss do-it-yourself options, how to successfully hire a website designer, how to add E-Commerce, and the ways in which each of these decisions will interact with the web hosting options you need. This workshop is for any business owner or potential business owner who either thinks they need a website for their business or has a website and needs to make revisions or add E-Commerce to the website.

Participate in this workshop in a live online GoToTraining workshop on May 16th at 9 am or view the recording at a later date. Participation in the live session requires either a computer headset/microphone or a long-distance phone call. This session will be recorded and accessible to participants until 10:30 am on August 30, 2012.

Cost: $15

SBA Business Awards Luncheon (17 May 2012)

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Small Business Administration's Annual Business Awards Luncheon hosted by the Maine Women's Business Center.

Celebrating 2012 "Believe and Succeed" Business Award recipients:

Business Person of the Year
Michael R. Cote, President & CEO
Look's Gourmet Food Co., Inc.
Whiting, ME

Small Business Exporter Award
Howell Laboratories & Division Shively Labs
Shively Labs
Bridgton, ME

Home-Based Small Business Champions
Kate & Steve Shaffer, COO & CEO
Black Dinah Chocolatiers
Isle Au Haut, ME

Financial Services Champion for Maine & New England
Harold W. Clossey, Executive Director
Sunrise County Economic Council
Machias, ME

Veteran Small Business Champion
Scott Robinett, Maine Small Business Development Centers Portland, ME

Maine Women in Business Champions
Key4Women - Sherry Brown, Susan Pope, Jane Harmon, and Bonita Pothier
Key Bank
Portland, ME

Minority Small Business Champion
Patricia Rice, SCORE/Volunteer
Veazie, ME

And the 2012 "Above and Beyond" District Director Award winners:

Bangor Savings Bank - Top performing 7(a) lender, overall top dollar volume lender, top performing 3rd party lender

Granite State Economic Development Corp. - Top performing 504 lender

Atlantic Regional FCU - Top performing credit union

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. - Top performing microlender

For more information or assistance with registration, call 207-882-7552.

Planning Your Website Content – online (RCWBC-WSPYWC) (22 May 2012)

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Regardless of whether you are designing/revising your website yourself or hiring a professional to do it, the most effective website will be one which is designed for your target market. In this workshop, we discuss how to develop and prioritize content goals for your site, two key pieces of content that will help you get across your most important information to your visitor, and how and why to develop a written website plan before embarking on the creation or major revision of a website. This workshop is for any business owner or potential business owner who either thinks they need a website for their business or has a website and needs to make revisions or add E-Commerce to the website.

Participate in this workshop in a live online GoToTraining workshop on May 22nd at 9 am or view the recording at a later date. Participation in the live session requires either a computer headset/microphone or a long-distance phone call. This session will be recorded and accessible to participants until 1:30 pm on August 30, 2012.

Cost: $15

Tracking Your Website Return on Investment (ROI) – online (RCWBC-WSTROI) (23 May 2012)

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

How DO you know what your return on investment (ROI) is from your website marketing efforts? From any website, it’s possible to learn a lot of information about its traffic and visitors – how many visits, how many unique visitors, how long visitors stay on a site, what pages are viewed, where they came from originally, even what search terms were used in Google to get to the site. For most business owners, if they know what is available for website statistics, they don’t re all y understand how to use this information. This workshop will discuss Google Analytics – a free and very effective statistics program – how to use forms to gather more information about your visitors, and how to use this information in business planning and determining the effectiveness of any website marketing strategies you employ.

Participate in this workshop in a live online GoToTraining workshop on May 23nd at 9 am or view the recording at a later date. Participation in the live session requires either a computer headset/microphone or a long-distance phone call. This session will be recorded and accessible to participants until 1:30 pm August 30, 2012.

Cost: $15

The Nuts & Bolts of Search Engine Marketing) – online (RCWBC-WSSEM) (29 May 2012)

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

It’s no longer the case that “if you build it they will come” as anyone who has a website will tell you. So how do you and your website get found on the major search engines? In this workshop, we will discuss the difference between organic and sponsored search, how the major search engines determine if and where web pages get indexed under a search term, and how that might influence your plans for your website content. We’ll also explore search marketing from the perspective of how DOES your target market search for your products and services and explain the factors that determine how much traffic you might get from search engines

Participate in this workshop in a live online GoToTraining workshop on May 29th at 9 am or view the recording at a later date. Participation in the live session requires either a computer headset/microphone or a long-distance phone call. This session will be recorded and accessible to participants until 10 am on August 31, 2012.

Cost: $15

Beyond SEO: Alternative Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website – online (RCWBC-WSBSEO) (30 May 2012)

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

While you may find it difficult to get listed in the top 10 rankings on Google for the search terms your target market is using, don’t despair! There are other web marketing strategies other than "search engine optimization" (SEO) that are often free to implement and can be most effective in reaching your target market. We’ll discuss how to develop an effective inbound links marketing campaign, as well as how to use viral marketing and the importance of good e-mail marketing techniques. This workshop is designed for both those who have a business website already as well as those who are in the planning process for developing a business website.

Participate in this workshop in a live online GoToTraining workshop on May 30th at 9 am or view the recording at a later date. Participation in the live session requires either a computer headset/microphone or a long-distance phone call. This session will be recorded and accessible to participants until 10:30 am on August 31, 2012.

Cost: $15

Free Google Tools for Business Productivity & Marketing (RCWBC-WSFGTBPM) (31 May 2012)

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:00:00 GMT

Google is more than just a search engine. There are some wonderful Google tools that allow you to create and share documents online and others that help you market your business online. In this computer lab workshop, we explore hands-on how to set up and use these tools. This Participation requires either a gmail or Google account or web access to an e-mail account. Workshop is in a computer lab. Seating is limited to 24 participants. Cost: $30.00

Co-sponsored by Wiscasset Adult Education.

Partial and full fee waivers will be provided for those of low income. If you would like to apply for a workshop and program fee waivers on an annual application basis, please go to www.ceimaine.net/faf/

Starting A Home-Based Business (SWBC-WSSHBB) (01 Jun 2012)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:30:00 GMT

This workshop addresses various aspects of starting a successful home-based business. We will discuss business planning for a home-based business and step through what it takes to get started, including licensing, operational and legal considerations. Information on free and low-cost technology tools as well as various local, state and federal resources that every small business owner should be aware of will be provided.

Cost: $25.00