Small Business Workshop Ideas

Small business owners welcome any information that helps them better manage their businesses. Targeted workshops bring together entrepreneurs to provide them with concise and useful information. In developing a new workshop, it's important to target a specific audience and subject area, such as social media marketing for small businesses, then develop content that stays on target.

Small business owners have vast opportunities to use the Internet to promote and manage their business online. Most often the problem is they don't know how to get started. Help them by offering an introductory workshop on using the Internet to their advantage. If the workshop is a few hours or a single day, point them to resources they can easily use to get started, such as companies offering Web page templates, how to use payment services such as PayPal or even how they can use their existing email to promote their business. Stay focused on the target of an introductory session without overwhelming a novice audience. Promise more advanced workshops for those who show interest.

Developing relationships with other business owners is an important aspect in business growth for entrepreneurs. "Networking" is a term that's widely used but not truly understood by beginners. As a beginner in the business world, going to every business group that has a meeting isn't the best way to spend valuable time. By offering an introduction to business networking workshop, you can advise entrepreneurs as to the different kinds of networking groups, such as trade groups versus lead generation groups, and how to best utilize each group to make it work for them. Give workshop attendees lists of local groups and affiliations, as well as contact information for each group. Show attendees how they should approach these groups and what to expect.

Another often-misunderstood concept for small business owners is social media. To a business owner who's a little older, social media can be intimidating. Take away the mystery by offering a workshop for those without a Facebook or Twitter account. Show attendees how to sign up and create business or fan pages, then tell them how they should use these services to gain brand recognition for their product or service. Give them realistic information on how to get started and what they should expect these forums to do for their business. Help them set realistic goals to be successful.

For small businesses to attract investors, obtain a business loan or even launch a marketing campaign, they need to have a solid plan in place. Help them get started by offering a business plan workshop. There are numerous online resources to help business owners, but these can lack a personal touch. Offer that personal touch through a workshop setting. Provide examples of good business plans where the information can be easily transferred between varied industries, products or services. Provide key information or language that's complementary to small business plans. In the end, provide resources for getting what the participants will need after they leave the workshop to complete their plan.