Free Workshops
and Events for Small Businesses

What makes a brand...a logo, a font, a color pallet…Yes, but those are just manifestations and symbols of a brand. At the end of the day, a brand is a relation between you and your target market. And for small, entrepreneurial businesses, a big question is, is your brand an extension of you? This workshop will start to answer these and other important branding questions that will help build and strengthen your business/brandAdd other checklist items as needed.

12pm ET / 9am PT

Pursuit will be presenting this workshop on the typical requirements for loan applications regarding historical financial statements. We'll discuss the structure and meaning of the statements and what loan officers are looking for when reviewing an application.

Audience members can suggest questions both when they register and during the webinar.

4pm ET / 1pm PT

“Community” can mean different things to different people, whether that means the city they live and work in, their personal network of friends and colleagues, or membership within clubs or associations designed for individuals with particular interests or backgrounds. For entrepreneurs, community is especially important as successful entrepreneurs harness the power of bringing people together—such as customers, investors, and team members—around a shared mission.

Building and cultivating a community, though, is challenging and requires determination, perseverance, and communication. Once you have established an authentic relationship with your community, the sky is truly the limit as your community becomes your company’s ambassadors, enabling you to exponentially scale your business and its brand awareness.

In this workshop, EZ Newswire founders Caitlin Kelly and Neel Shah show how the service they’ve built makes it easy for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds to communicate and share business news with their community.

In light of Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March, this message is particularly relevant as we acknowledge and honor Black and women business entrepreneurs and those serving BIPOC people, women, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, veterans, people with disabilities, people living on lower-income, and the formerly incarcerated.

4pm ET / 1pm PT

Este taller educativo será presentado por un equipo de abogados y está diseñado para brindarle una descripción general de las diversas entidades empresariales que están disponibles para usted si decide iniciar su propio negocio (p. ej., Compañía de Responsabilidad Limitada (“LLC”), Corporación, Empresa unipersonal, Cooperativa, etc.). Este taller también se enfocará en algunas de las consecuencias legales y fiscales de cada una de las entidades empresariales y será un primer paso importante para entender las consecuencias a sus operaciones y elegir la estructura legal que mejor se adapte a sus necesidades. A través de nuestro taller educativo, compartiremos información que es útil para entender los conceptos básicos de los varios pasos y documentos legales involucrados, así como ciertos costos asociados.

2pm ET / 11am PT

Join us for our new Ask An Expert series! Once a month, as part of Start Small Think Big's Community and Leadership program, we will put the spotlight on our entrepreneurs for a panel discussion followed by a networking session! We will feature 2-3 entrepreneurs who are experts on the topic at hand, who will be interviewed and provide industry knowledge to fellow small business owners! After, we'll hold space for discussion and participants will have an opportunity to network and get to know other amazing small business owners!

Many entrepreneurs launch their businesses with the goal of making an impact on their communities. But how do you get there? How do we build community? This month, we are celebrating Black History Month and highlighting the leaders of some incredible Black-owned businesses. Our discussion will be lead by our incredible Start Small Think Big entrepreneurs Andre Peart, Kelly George and Elizabeth Gay. Following the panel, we’ll give participants the chance to connect and reflect. Join us!

5pm ET / 2pm PT

In this workshop, we will cover the basics of search engine optimization and how it enables a well designed content marketing strategy. We define and discuss many of the fundamentals that business owners should know when it comes to implementing their SEO strategy and how SEO can be used to compliment a paid advertising strategy.

Participants will leave with the following:

• More confidence in understanding how your website contributes to lead-gen for your business
• How to design a content marketing strategy that will produce more inbound organic traffic
• Conceptual understanding of conversions and why it's important to attribute conversions to the methods a visitor used to find your website
• A baseline knowledge of the tools available to measure your content performance

This workshop is led by Peter Yeargin, Founder & CEO of Sage SEO, and Chris Martin, Co-Founder & COO of Sage SEO.

3pm ET / 12pm PT

This workshop, which will include a substantive presentation by lawyers from Davis Polk Wardwell LLP, will cover:

1. website Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies, including whether and when you need to use them, what you should include, and what they mean;
2. how to avoid copyright infringement issues when adding textual and photographic content to your business website; and
3. social media's intersection with business and law.

1pm ET / 10am PT

A lender from our Community Development Financial Institution partner will talk about the market of lenders and products that are available with the intent to reduce the disparity of capital access for Black entrepreneurs, and how you can best position yourself for receiving these funds.

Audience members can suggest questions both when they register and during the webinar.

4pm ET / 1pm PT