Foundations of Business Success

10 weeks to a more prosperous business

The Oregon Coast Community College Small Business Development Center is pleased to offer this course in concert with the Linn-Benton Community College SBDC. Led by Stephen Fuller, a successful entrepreneur in the Corvallis area who is also a former business advisor here on the coast, the class will originate from LBCC and will be live simulcast via 2-way video to OCCC’s Central County Campus in Newport. Wendy Ludwig, OCCC business advisor, will lead the class in Newport. Over 10 casual Tuesday evening sessions, participants will learn how to create and assess a plan for a new business. The series features professional speakers covering financial management, pricing, cash flow, marketing, sales, legal topics, insurance, bookkeeping systems and market research. This is the perfect course for the entrepreneur who owns a new business (aged zero to 4 years, approximately) looking to find every competitive advantage.

Tuesdays, 6:10pm-9pm • Sept.. 10 – Nov. 12 • $195 • Central Campus, Newport |  SORRY – Class is closed

Marketing Academy

The inaugural Central Coast Marketing Academy kicks off in October 2019. To learn more, and to register, click here!

Small Business Management Program (SBM)

The Small Business Management Program is the flagship program of the Oregon Coast Small Business Development Center. The program features monthly workshops with expert speakers on a wide range of business topics, from September 2019 through June 2020. And, SBM participants meet with their personal business advisor each month, one on one, in a confidential setting, to discuss long-term strategies and goals, or to discuss other aspects of their business that may be of concern at the time. It’s the best way you can build in time each month to ensure you’re working ON your business, not merely IN your business. Click here to learn more and register. 

Internet Security

Ransomware, encrypted files, stolen information. Do you or your employees use email and the Internet? In this hands-on course you’ll learn how to identify and safely handle malicious emails, misleading links, and destructive websites. Save time by learning how to configure spam filters. Protect your company’s information, computers, and reputation. Learn how to test your antivirus software, how to spot an infected computer, and what to do if a computer is infected.

By the end of this course, you’ll understand…

• How to examine hidden email “header” information.

• How to determine if an email really came from the sender’s address.

• How to positively identify a malicious link in an email.

• How to configure email blocking

• How to identify a malicious website.

• How to identify a spoofed or hacked website.

• How to tell where a link goes before clicking it.

• How to stop (“kill”) runaway scripts on the computer

…and much more!

Every participant will receive a free Antivirus Test Program

Monday, Oct. 21, (Note date change: from Oct. 7 to Oct. 21) 5:30-8:30PM • $35 • Lincoln City | Sorry, class is full

Grant writing for Community and Economic Development Work

Meredith Howell

Join Meredith Howell, an experienced grant writer, Meredith Howell, and Economic Development Alliance Executive Director Caroline Bauman for an interactive session to help you organize your community and economic development-related work for grant funding.  Learn about the grant programs offered through Lincoln County and other funders, and build skills towards project planning, storytelling, budgeting, evaluation and managing your time.  These skills will help you and your organization obtain grant funding from a variety of sources.

Thursday, Sept.. 26 • 9am-Noon • Free • Newport OCCC Campus Community Room | Register Here

Lead Yourself First

We are all leaders. At home and at work, we can envision what we want and then figure out what we need to do to make it happen. It sounds simple, but we all know that it’s not that easy. Urgent tasks often drag us away from doing what’s most important. Here’s the linchpin: build a toolbox filled with the tools that you need to lead yourself first. That’s what this class is all about. We’ll explore visioning, goal setting, and self care techniques that you will customize to create a set of tools that help you wrangle yourself into doing what matters most to you. At work, it doesn’t matter what your title is, you can step up your leadership game by leading yourself first. At home, it’s equally as important to stay focused on what you have chosen as your priorities. You will leave with a one-page plan for moving forward on what matters most to you.

Monday, 5:30-8:30PM • October 7 • $35 • Lincoln City | Course is closed
Monday, 5:30-8:30PM • October 14 • $35 • Newport | Register Here

Social Media: Creating A Plan For Success

Social media marketing is a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects and customers. Your customers are already interacting with businesses through social media, and if you’re not speaking directly to your audience through social platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, you’re missing out! Before you begin creating social media marketing campaigns, consider your business’s goals. This class will help you defining your social media marketing goals and how to be successful in the right platform:

What are you hoping to achieve through social media marketing?

Who is your target audience?

Where would your target audience hangout and how would they use social media?

What message do you want to send to your audience with social media marketing?

Monday, 5:30-8:30PM • Nov.. 4 • $35 • Newport (moved from Waldport)| Register Here

Real Estate Brokers License Course

Have you tried studying online, independently (and alone) for your Real Estate Broker’s License test? All too often, independent online study grinds on for months and months longer than you planned. This class is designed to keep you and your classmates on track, week in and week out, as you work as a group and independently towards preparing to successfully take your Real Estate Broker License test. Start in October, and take your test before Christmas! There are definitely cheaper online independent study programs available. This course, though, proves the reliable axiom that one gets what one pays for. The course meets Tuesday evenings from 6pm to 9pm, with additional online study required throughout the term. Students are also required to attend an all-day final exam prep session on the Saturday after the final Tuesday class.

Tuesday, 5:30-8:30PM • Oct. 1- Dec. 3 + Sat., Dec. 7 • $600 • Newport | Course is Closed

Doing Business in Lincoln County

An introduction to business formation, licensing, registration, marketing, and operations. The course is a mix of general start-up information and specific considerations for Oregon Coast businesses. From its start, with a lively exercise in determining break-even point, to philosophical discussions of the traits and personalities common in successful entrepreneurs, this class is a powerful first step for someone contemplating launching their own business and a robust refresher for owners and managers of established businesses.

Wednesday, 10AM – 1PM • OCT. 9 • $25 • Lincoln City | Class Full

Profit Mastery

Profit Mastery is a powerful program designed to provide an overview of how money flows through your business and to help business owners create more efficient systems of cash management. SBDC staff have called Profit Mastery the most potent course we’ve ever offered.  If you are a business owner in Lincoln County with a current set of financial statements you can bring to analyze with the Profit Mastery program, you should apply today to reserve a space. Hurry, space is limited in this program. Through Profit Mastery, you will gain:

1. Better understanding of how to build a firm financial foundation.

2. Tools to build more efficient systems and to increase profitability.

3. Tools to assist in making financial decisions regarding expansion, pricing, hiring, and management.

4. Understanding of what a lender wants to see in your financials and Business Plan.

Format: 16 hours of DVD course work in four, four-hour sessions with time to apply and explore information in your personal notebook with other group members.\

Fridays, 9AM – 3PM • NOV 1–22 • $300 • Lincoln City | Register Here

Hiring & Personnel Management Fundamentals

Hiring an employee is one of the most difficult tasks business owners face. Hiring the right person is only the beginning. Keeping them, and following the myriad BOLI rules can be overwhelming. Designed for small business owners who want to improve their skills and interactions with their employees, in this class you’ll learn how to locate and hire the best employees, increase employee effectiveness, and improve employee relations.  This class will cover topics such as:

• New-hire forms, employment eligibility verification and W-2’s

• Breaks, sick time, family leave and holidays

• Creating an effective employee manual

• Problem solving for employee issues

• Working with seasonal and part time employees

• Successful staff meetings and sharing company mission

Monday, 5:30-8:30PM • September 30 • $35 • Waldport | Register Here
Monday, 4 – 7PM • October 7 • $35 • Newport | Register Here

WaveApps: A Bookkeeping Alternative For Small Business

Have you been doing your books by hand, on a spreadsheet or not at all? Is QuickBooks too expensive or too complicated for your small business? Wave Apps offers a free online cloud-based solution for small business owners. This class will of Wave Apps services such as generating the reports needed for loans, taxes and business performance evaluation. Wave Apps works with your checking account with direct downloads from most banks. Wave Apps works from mobile devices, allowing you to generate receipts on the road, invoice on the job site, and take credit cards for a fee of 2.9%, plus 30 cents. Don’t leave another job site without leaving behind the invoice or collecting a payment. There are no monthly fees for WaveApps, and it is cloud based, so you needn’t be stressed about that old computer you plan to back-up some day.  Although Wave Apps does offer some payroll solutions, QuickBooks is still recommended for larger businesses with retail point-of-sale systems or a larger numbers of employees.

Friday, 9-12PM • OCT. 25 • $35 • Lincoln City | Register Here
Friday, 2-5PM • OCT. 25 • $35 • Newport | Register Here
Monday, 5:30-8:30PM • OCT. 28 • $35 • Waldport | Register Here

Making Profitability Job #1

Take a guided deep dive into your company’s financials to better understand how you can plan to improve profitability. Learn methods to help you forecast how simple price changes, additional employees, wages or vendor price increases can impact your bottom line. We will discuss how to navigate seasonal cash flow, and will explore how changes in payment terms, credit versus cash transactions, and more can help you increase your overall profits. This class is derived from the Profit Mastery program to help you to better understand your business’s profitability.

Tuesday, 4-7PM • Sept.. 23 • $35 • Newport | NEWPORT CLASS IS CLOSED
Monday, 5:30-8:30PM • DEC. 9 • $35 • Waldport | Register Here

CCB Prep & Exam – Class is FULL

Are you ready to start your contracting business? For many, the process begins with passing the Oregon CCB license test. OCCC is proud to offer the only program in the state that allows you to prep for the test – and take the test – over a 16-hour period, without having to drive to the Valley for testing. The OCCC Small Business Development Center offers the course in concert with the Clackamas Community College SBDC, via videoconference live from our classroom in Lincoln City. We’ve done it once before – in the Winter 2019 term, when our participants passed their tests 96% of the time. See page 12 for more details.

Friday & Saturday, 8AM – 5PM • OCT. 4 & 5 • $425 • Lincoln City | Sorry, class is full

Money Smart For Small Business

This programs from developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)  to provide a practical introduction to aspects of starting and managing a business. Each student will be directed to additional online learning which is also offered in Spanish.

·       Planning for a Healthy Business

·       Banking Services

·       Organization Types

·       Financial Management

·       Record Keeping

·       Strong Business Credit

·       Risk Management

·       Managing Cash Flow

Friday, 9-12PM • OCT. 11 • $35 • Lincoln City |
Friday, 2-5PM • OCT. 11 • $35 • Newport |

QuickBooks Pro 5-Part series

Cameron James

Your small business probably already relies on an accounting platform for bookkeeping. If it’s not QuickBooks you’re using, this course may be of interest, if only to show you what this juggernaut of small business management software is capable of. However, the primary audience for this class are businesses already using QuickBooks. This course can help even experienced QuickBooks users sharpen their skills to ensure they’re getting the most out of the tool. For most participants, registering for all five courses is the best plan, but you can opt to register for just one or two sessions, if you prefer.

1: Basic Business Setup – Oct. 15

2: Accounts Payable – Vendors, Lists & Transactions – Oct. 22

3: Accounts Receivable – Customer List & Transactions – Oct. 29

4: Basic Reconciliations & Financial Reporting – Nov. 5

5: Basic Payroll, Review, Q&A and Wrap up – Nov. 12

Tuesdays, 9AM – Noon • Oct. 15 – Nov. 12 • $195 for all five, or $49 per course • Lincoln CIty | Register Here