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Workshops
Upcoming Workshops
List of upcoming in-person and virtual workshopsWorkshop Tracks
A set course of workshops based on a specific area of needOn-Demand Webinar Library
Library of past live-stream webinarsPrograms
Start Up Day
Starting a business? Learn & launch your business on Start Up Day!LEADING EDGE™ for Entrepreneurs
A 9-week business development courseLEADING EDGE™ for Childcare Providers
A 6-six week program for childcare providersLEADING EDGE™ for Transportation
A 9-week course for the highway design and construction industryEastern Plains
Consulting and training for businesses on the eastern plainsCyber: CYA
Consulting and training focusing on all aspects of cyber securitySBDC TechSource
A program focused on commercialization and cybersecurity educationConnect2DOT
Consulting and training for small businesses in the transportation industryVeterans Program
Consulting and training for veterans and their familiesSouthern Colorado Mental Health Business Partnership
Help for businesses to identify and build their resiliencyEvents
Small Business Week
April 29 - May 3, 2024Workshops and events designed to educate, celebrate and champion local small businessesSouthern Colorado Construction Forum
June 6, 2024An insider look at upcoming construction projects in the areaBusiness Summit for Childcare Providers
June 29, 2024A professional development event for home and center-based child care providers to help strengthen business practices in an ever changing landscape.Veteran's Small Business Conference
November 1, 2024The state's premier training event for veteran entrepreneurs - Small Business Resources
Start-Up
Boot Camp: Steps To Owning Your Own Business
Taking the first step to starting your business can be difficult! This webinar will be a realistic starting point for all budding entrepreneurs. The two-hour webinar will be PACKED and FAST PACED. At the end, you will have a good feel for the level of effort and commitment it will take to make your business successful. If you’re serious about starting a business, you’ll want to start here!
Length: 2 hours
Fee: FREE
Presenter: Steve Imke | SBDC Consultant
Sole Proprietorship, LLC, or Corporation? Choosing an Appropriate Legal Entity
This webinar is designed to help you make an informed decision about which legal business entity is best for your business. We will discuss the differences between a sole proprietorship, LLC, and S-Corp. This workshop is taught by an attorney with additional experience in taxation, so you will learn the practical legal and tax implications of each type!
Business Plan in an Hour
During this webinar, we will begin the task of putting together a very basic strategic plan that will act as a roadmap to building your business plan. Join us to begin the process of strategically mapping your business through a simplified business plan that you can then continue to build upon. This workshop is for both startups and existing businesses!
Interested in a more in-depth course on business planning? Learn more about our annual 9-week LEADING EDGE: Strategic Planning for Existing Businesses course.
Presenter: Mark Bittle | SBDC Consultant
Business Insurance 101 for Small Businesses
This webinar is an introduction to understanding business insurance for small businesses. Learn about the different types of business insurance, what is required in the State of Colorado, how to decide what is best for your business, and best practices for obtaining and using business insurance.
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Jennifer Walker | Diversified Practice Group Leader, HUB International Ltd.
First Steps to Securing Your Business
This workshop will give you the basic information you will need to secure your business from day one. Make sure you start on the right digital foot!
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Nina Amey | Cybersecurity Program Manager, Pikes Peak SBDC
Management/Legal
Employee or Independent Contractor? How to Classify a Worker to Protect Your Business
In this webinar, we will discuss how to tell the difference between an Employee and an Independent Contractor, the three tests commonly used to make this determination, and best practices for classifying your workers in order to protect your business!
Fee: $20
Presenter: Christina Gilbertson, Esq. | Attorney & Founder, Gilbertson Law Office
Intellectual Property 101: Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents
Learn the basics of trademarks, copyrights and patents and why legal protection is important for your business!
Fee: $20
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Bill Robers, Esq. | Attorney, Sparks Wilson
Writing Contracts: The Do's, Don'ts, Why's, and Why Not's
In this webinar, we will discuss why it is important for you, as a business owner, to know how to enter into and write a contract. This webinar will discuss:
- The six elements of an enforceable contract
- The basic parts of a written contract
- Some optional clauses in a written contract
- What contract “conditions” are
- Common defenses to breach of contract lawsuits
- Remedies for breach of contract
Fee: $20
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Gene Thornton, Esq. | Attorney-At-Law, Thornton Workplace Investigations
7 Reasons To Invest in Franchises Over Starting Your Own Business
Why would anyone invest in a franchise? You’re smart – you could start your own business, right? The reality is, for most people coming out of a job where they work for someone else, starting a business from scratch is a lot harder than they could imagine. Our brains have been hardwired to do work for someone else – and then complain about it. That’s where we are comfortable. But starting a business asks us to step outside of our comfort zone and many people find it difficult to do that without some coaching of some kind.
Enter franchising, a hybrid approach to entrepreneurship.
Know your options! Understand why some of the most successful entrepreneurs own franchises, and why you can do this as well. Get the full scoop from a franchise owner, consultant and expert in the field, Cindy Rayfield.
Fee: $20
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Cindy Rayfield | Franchise Broker Consultant
Considerations for Buying a Business
For some entrepreneurs, buying an existing business represents less of a risk than starting a new business from scratch. This opportunity may be less risky in some aspects, but you must perform your due diligence to ensure that you are fully aware of the terms of the purchase, the value of the business, and any potential pitfalls.
When you do decide to buy an existing business, you will want to be sure you are making the right choice in this new business venture. This session will explore demographic trends, a general market overview, and how to find those businesses that are for sale.
Fee: $20
Length: 40 minutes
Presenter: Rob Amerine | Certified Business Intermediary, The FBB Group, Ltd.
Building a Business To Sell
Whether you’re just starting a new business or actively looking to sell it’s never too early to begin positioning your business for sale. In this workshop you’ll learn the steps you can start taking now to maximize your business value and prepare for your exit strategy. We’ll cover topics such as financial records, market valuation, the acquisition team, the presale audit, customer concentration, intangible assets, etc. We’ll also cover current market trends and the economic outlook for small business over the next 5 years.
Fee: $20
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Rob Amerine | Certified Business Intermediary, The FBB Group, Ltd.
Do You Have a CEO Mindset? It's Your #1 Strategy for Growth
Why do some businesses fail, and others widely succeed?
Success can be attributed to product innovation, customer service, and ad campaigns, but beneath these various strategies is a leader that has a single guiding force…A Success Mindset.
Owning a business can be scary and you often don’t know where to turn, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Don’t get stuck thinking like an employee working IN your business rather than ON your business.
Join us to learn how to cultivate your own success mindset, exercises to support it and how to create a strategic plan to grow your business to the NEXT LEVEL.
Fee: $20
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Carrie Clarke | SBDC Consultant; Business Coach & Consultant, Next Level Coaching & Consulting
Marketing
Using Instagram to Promote Your Small Business
In this webinar, we will discuss a growing social media platform — Instagram — and how it relates to your small business. Learn some tips and tricks on navigating Instagram and Instagram Stories, and learn how to use this mobile-only social media platform to promote, educate, and grow awareness for your local small business!
Presenter: Carrie Kintz | Founder, Melan Communications
Leveraging LinkedIn For Small Businesses
LinkedIn — A network with 259 million business professionals around the world. The average LinkedIn member has an average annual household income of $109,000. Nearly 50% of LinkedIn members have decision-making authority for their companies which is why LinkedIn is considered the world’s largest audience of influential, affluent professionals in one place. In this workshop you will learn about how to use LinkedIn to improve your company’s visibility, generate leads, and effectively market your small business!
Presenter: Jacqueline Proffit | Financial Advisor, Mutual of Omaha Investor Services, Inc.
Financial
Where's The Money?! Funding Options for Starting or Growing Your Business
Whether you are just starting your business or need more funding for an existing business, finding the money for your venture is one of the most tricky hurdles to overcome. There are a variety of ways you can find funding, and a variety of organizations, people, and resources available to you. What options are right for you? Where should you even start? We designed this course to be an insightful overview of the various options available to you — including traditional bank loans, microlending, SBA loans, venture capital, angel investing, grant-funding, crowd-funding, bootstrapping, etc.
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Robin Roberts | President, Pikes Peak National Bank
E-Commerce
Part 1 of 4: How to Take Your Business Online
Part 1 of a 4-part series
Are you ready to take your business digital? Join us as we unpack:
- Where to start with websites
- Digital assets (URLs, social profiles, usernames)
- Importance of consistency
- Top platforms to secure
- Helpful hints and tools
- How to get started
- Digital tools and resources
Fee: $20
Presenter: Brandon Lee | Edison App Designs
Part 2 of 4: Website Updates and Modifications
Part 2 of a 4-part series
Are you ready to learn more about your website? Join us as we discuss:
- Two types of websites (interactive and e-commerce)
- Which website is best for your business
- Website platforms and all the details
- Top three considerations for your website to perform well
- Digital tools and resources
Fee: $20
Presenter: Brandon Lee | Edison App Designs
Part 3 of 4: Implementing DAAM (Digital Marketing and Advertising)
Part 3 of a 4-part series
During this webinar, we’ll learn the basics of DAAM (Digital Advertising And Marketing). The in-depth discussion will cover the top four tools, including how they work together, how to maximize their results, utilizing best practices for optimization and getting traffic to your website easily and cheaply.
Fee: $20
Presenter: Brandon Lee | Edison App Designs
Part 4 of 4: Analyzing the DATA of Your Web Presence
Part 4 of a 4-part series
This webinar will cover the basics of “DATA:”
- Digital presence
- Audience engagement
- Tracking behaviors
- Analyzing results
Fee: $20
Presenter: Brandon Lee | Edison App Designs
Supplier Diversity
This GE Johnson sponsored series, “Selling to Fortune Level Companies,” will introduce companies to Fortune Level contracting and provided them with an actual and achievable strategic marketing plan and with S.M.A.R.T goals to achieve success.
Part 1: Understanding Supplier Diversity
Part 1 of a 5-part series
During this session, we will unpack understanding supplier diversity while working through a handful of tools to get started.
There are so many different rumors around strategies. We will address:
- Corporate Contracting vs. Subcontracting
- S.L.E.D. Divisions
- International Divisions
- Federal Pricing Thresholds
- Etc.
Fee: $25
Presenter: Andra Hargrave | Global Sales Advisors
Part 2: Marketing to Corporations
Part 2 of a 5-part series
During this session, we will discuss what the differences are between corporate social economic certifications and governmental certifications. We will also discuss what certifications apply to both Supplier Diversity and Subcontracting.
We will also start the process of directly marketing to corporate supplier diversity individuals by addressing the title of the individuals that your are marketing to such as: SBS, SBLO, Supplier Diversity, End-User, Program Manager, etc.
We will also address:
- Who do I talk to and how do I reach the right contact?
- The marketing “Merry Go-Around” and how do I get off the ride?
- What do I say to the corporate contact?
Fee: $25
Presenter: Andra Hargrave | Global Sales Advisors
Part 3: Supplier Portals
Part 3 of a 5-part series
This session will address the corporate supplier portals and the registration process. What is a supplier portal and why do corporations have them and most important “Do I have to register in them to do business with the corporation”?
We will also examine:
- What happens with my information once I register in the portal.
- Will someone contact me?
- What do I get once I register within the portal?
- Can I actually speak with someone before or after I register and what information do I want to know if I do speak to someone.
Fee: $25
Presenter: Andra Hargrave | Global Sales Advisors
Part 4: Event Marketing
Part 4 of a 5-part series
This session will address events and marketing to corporations.
We will address:
- Importance of networking
- Two types of opportunities in networking (originated and solicited) and what the strengths and weaknesses of each of them are.
- Corporate Lead Development
- How to know your niche and what your ‘buy in’ should always be
Fee: $25
Presenter: Andra Hargrave | Global Sales Advisors
Part 5: Major Corp Strategy & S.M.A.R.T Goals
Part 5 of a 5-part series
Finally, we are going to take all four previous session and create a marketing concept. We will address that once we have registered in the supplier diversity portal and attended a corporate event and what to do now.
How following up on contacts such as buyers or corporate stakeholders that you have met and what information they are going to want from you.
And in closing we will address what to say and what not to say when dealing with corporate decision makers.
Fee: $25
Presenter: Andra Hargrave | Global Sales Advisors