The LA SBDC Network offers no-cost virtual business workshops for small businesses in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.

February 2025
What You Need To Know About Insurance For Your Small Business
Every business has certain risks related to its operation. To protect your business and personal assets, insurance coverage is critical. In this workshop, you will learn about the myriad types of insurance, the rationale for procuring the various insurance types, and come away with an understanding of how they can apply to your business. Specific Learning Objectives: Why do small businesses need insurance? Exactly what kinds of coverage are available? What insurance is needed for employees? What insurance is right for my…
Find out more »Business Finance Literacy Series [Session 1 of 3] What You Need To Know About Accounting And Financial Record Keeping
How to handle the accounting and financial record keeping is one of the most difficult decisions company owners make. They ask questions such as: Should we use QuickBooks online, QuickBooks desktop or some other program? What records do we need to keep for tax reporting? Should we hire someone to do our bookkeeping? What is the difference between a bookkeeper, accountant and CPA? How do we know we are hiring the right person? Unfortunately, too many small business owners do…
Find out more »How To Sell When You’re Not A Salesperson
Business owners and entrepreneurs must promote their business or products to investors, customers or clients. Often, this is something they have never done before, and they lack training to approach the challenge. To address this situation, this workshop has been built to help you learn much of what you need to know. Topics covered include: • The psychological barriers that could be holding you back and the tools required to overcome them. • Understanding the components of an effective sales…
Find out more »Turning Your Dream Into A Business
This class will help you take the first steps to become a new business owner or legitimize a side hustle or hobby. In this class we will help you: • Figure out what you don’t know • Define your basic business model • Outline the basic steps of setting up your entity and bank account • Figure out the appropriate licenses, permits and insurances • Understand available funding strategies • Begin to form your basic business plan REGISTER NOW
Find out more »Business Finance Literacy Series [Session 2 of 3] Using an Excel Document for Financial Modeling and Forecasting
A simple Excel financial model can be created using your company’s financial data (historical and/or forecasted). CFOs and financial analysts use Excel models to determine if/when a company will be profitable, what is the correct selling price, how many “widgets” need to be sold to be cover cost, and how much money is available to pay expenses. Financial models are used for start-ups and for on-going analysis to make sure the company is operating at an optimal financial performance. This…
Find out more »Create Content That Converts – Mastering ChatGPT & Canva For Sales Success
Are you ready to take your content creation to the next level and start driving real sales? In this dynamic and interactive webinar, you’ll discover how to seamlessly integrate ChatGPT and Canva to create scroll-stopping, sales-generating content with ease and efficiency. What you’ll learn: Streamline Your Content Strategy: Learn how to use ChatGPT to brainstorm, draft, and refine compelling content tailored to your ideal customer. Design Like a Pro: Discover Canva’s powerful features and create visually stunning graphics that align…
Find out more »Business Finance Literacy Series [Session 3 of 3] How to Analyze your Company’s Financials for Better Decision Making
Business owners struggle with business decisions that affect the financial health of the company. Are we selling at the right price? Are we making money? Can we afford to hire someone? Many times, these decisions are made without a thorough understanding of the financial implications. This does not need to be the case. There are simple mathematical calculations that can be used to answer key business questions. Performance Measurements are simple mathematical calculations that can be used to monitor sales,…
Find out more »Trademark & Copyright Explained
Confusion often abounds regarding trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets. These are all intangible creations of the human intellect, usually referred to as “Intellectual Property.” Regardless of the focus of your business, it is likely that Intellectual Property (“IP”) is one of the most valuable assets of your business. This webinar will help you understand the differences among the various types of IP and what it is that IP can protect. Finally, you’ll understand how you can invoke that protection, either through federal protection, or otherwise.…
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