Worcester Massachusetts
Regional SCORE
Chapter 173

Business Education Workshops

SCORE Online Workshops

SCORE Regional Workshops - Successful Small Business Management by SCORE®

• A series of seven tested and acclaimed weekly workshops, two hours each, offered at Assabet Valley Center for Continuing Education, 215 Fitchburg Street, Marlboro, MA.
• Learn all the Basic Skills for successfully starting and growing your own small business.
• Presentations/discussions led by various volunteers from Worcester Regional SCORE, all former executives with deep personal experience in each topic.
• An optional companion Handbook for Small Business is available for $30.
• Always-free individual SCORE counseling is available during and after the course from the teachers/mentors at our offices in Worcester, Westborough, Fitchburg, Devens, and Whitinsville.  

Topics covered include, by week:

• Introduction to the course and how SCORE functions.
• How to get organized.
• Why businesses succeed or fail.
• Choosing a business entity.
• The role of insurance.
• Projecting start-up costs.
• Overview of financial management.
• Importance of learning to read and use financial information to run your business better, managing working capital, and sources of short-term financing. Human Resource management is also discussed.
• Essential decisions to make when starting a business, and useful tips and tools for managing a successful operation, including pricing strategy, break-even analysis, accounting, control, and tax issues.
• How to prepare a crucial Business Plan, communicating your strategy for achieving objectives. Topics include basic elements of a Plan, contents of the descriptive and financial sections, and how to identify critical success factors.
• How to create an effective Marketing Plan. The program will focus on how to identify a target market, establish a competitive advantage, find niche opportunities, and pricing strategy. The sales process, advertising and sales promotion, and keys to successful selling.
• The growing importance of E-Commerce, applications that deliver value, and website attributes needed to achieve recognition and buyer approval.
• Tax-related issues important to the small business owner, including choosing the business entity that's right for you, the proper reporting of income for tax purposes, and employee benefit programs available to the entrepreneur.

Assabet Valley After Dark Workshops, Spring and Fall:

Next Seven-Week Series Dates: Tuesdays, March 2 - April 13 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Course Fee $175 (Couples $299)

For more information, visit www.assabetafterdark.com, or call 1-800-537-6663 ext 1474 or 1-508-263-9651.