Friday, March 28, 2014

Strengthening Your Grip on Family






Inspiration: Perhaps the most taxing of all, are the years a family finds itself in and out of crisis situations. Little babies that cooed and gurgled grow up into challenging independent-thinking adolescents. The protective, sheltered environment of the home is broken into by school, new friends, alien philosophies, financial strain, illness, accidents, hard questions, constant decisions, and busy schedules...and it isn't difficult to feel the pressure mounting-especially when you add dating, new drivers in the family, leaving for college, talk of marriage, and moving out. Whew! And what does God say about these years?

He says we'll be "blessed." We'll be "happy." It will "be well" with us during these years...In the family portrayed on this scriptural canvas, "the Lord" is still central...

Even before you finish...it may be the right time for you to come to terms with the truth regarding your family. I must be honest with you, in most of the family conflicts I have dealt with involving trouble with teenagers, the problem has been more with parents who were either too liberal and permissive or too inflexible, distant, rigid (and sometimes hypocritical) than with teenagers who were unwilling to cooperate. When the modeling is as it should be, there is seldom much trouble from those who fall under the shadow of the leader. Strengthening your grip on the family may start with an unguarded appraisal of the leadership your family is expected to follow.
(From: Strengthening Your Grip by: Charles Swindoll

My nephews, nieces, and Son Johnny 2008. I know the pic says 2002 but who can set the time on them cameras?





Friday, March 21, 2014

FREE Small Business Workshops





I just went to:
Referral Marketing AND
Branding Your Business
on March 20, 2014, Thursday
 And it was the best thing i've done in a while! I talked with a business consultant at DVR about not spending thousands on college and taking classes that I don't really need..Well I'm following his advice and finding classes around town that are FREE! Maybe I should just put this on my freebie blog (CouponQueenB) I need to start working on this one again antyways) I will be attending the next session on March 27, so be there or be square.

**Pre-registration is required by calling (253) 591-7026. For more info click here:

Update


Upcoming Workshops Offered:
 
Social Media and Direct Sales
May 8, 2014
8:00am – 12:00pm
You Rock
MDC
 
Key Steps to Market Research
May 28, 2014
12:30pm – 2:30pm
Parkland Public Library
 
Networking Marketing
May 29, 2014
You Rock!
MDC
 
Business Insurance
June 4, 2014
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Hall & Company
Parkland Public Library
 
Referral Marketing
Branding Your Business
June 12, 2014
8:00am – 12:00pm
You Rock!
MDC
 
 Art of Hiring & Firing
June 18, 2014
1:00pm-3:00pm
Stephens Law Firm
Parkland Public Library
 
Financing Your Business 
July 17, 2014
9:00am – 11:00am
Commencement Bank
MDC
 
Workshop Details:
 
Social Media “The Why’s, How’s and What-To-Avoid’s of Social Media”
Social media makes it possible for your customer, your employees, your colleagues, and anyone who has an interest in your enterprise to spread word of mouth advertising, be it good or bad.
During this overview, participants will learn the importance of owning and managing their online identity, the techniques that make it easy, and the pitfalls to be avoided to maintain a professional image.

Direct Sales Building a business quickly and reliably can only be done with the right selling tools.  Unfortunately, most start-up businesses never take the time to develop and intentional selling strategy.  This session will provide you with a toolkit full of proven techniques that will help you reach new customers and show them why they should trust you , buy from you, brag about you, and refer their friends to you.

Networking Marketing
Email, social media and texting have an important place in marketing, but who do you send them to?  How doe you create connections in the first place?  Networking is an important part of building your business, and it can be intimidating.  This session will show you how to make networking easy, fun, meaningful and profitable!

Key Steps to Market Research
Use library resources to conduct market research and find the information you need to put in your business plan. 

Business Insurance
Learn the importance of business insurance and how having or not having it will affect your business.  Discussions on how much and what kind of coverage is needed to protect your business will be covered.  A professional from this industry will help you consider the options of where to obtain, as well as how to start looking for insurance your business may need.

Referral Marketing 101
Referral marketing is the most effective form of marketing for businesses with limited marketing budgets.  If you are willing to invest the time to learn specific referral marketing strategies, tools, and techniques you can double, even triple your sales in months without spending additional marketing dollars.  If you don’t have a referral marketing plan for your business, this session is a must!  You will learn how to develop a strategic referral network, who should be in it, how to find them and how to motivate those people to refer business to you.   
 This class will open your eyes to the possibilities of generating more sales in less time by doing business by relationship.  Unless you can find more time and work harder than you already are, you can’t afford to miss this class.  You will learn some specific techniques that will enable you to really work smarter, not harder.

Art of Hiring & Firing 
Good employment practice are essential in growing a profitable business.  This workshop will help you determine if your business is ready to hire employees, give you tips on how to select and manage your employees, and connect you to resources to assist in this manner.

Financing Your Business
Workshop focuses on how to get the financing you need to start your business, the resources available, Five C’s of Lending, and the eligibility requirements of the banks.  Topics to be included are assessing your financial needs, loan eligibility, SBA loans, and alternative community resources available.





Another class I'm planning on taking is:

Entrepreneurial Training Course

This Entrepreneurial Training Course is a four-day, 28-hour course, 9am to 4pm each day.
All participants must be able to commit to attend no fewer than four (4) sessions in order to graduate. Special provisions will be made for individuals who need to make up one or two sessions they may have missed.
**Pre-registration is required by calling (253) 591-7026
All fees due upon registration.

Fee: $25

Free for Military

Dates and Times:

2014
April 8th-11th
9:00 am – 4:00 pm daily

Location:

MDC Main Office
721 Fawcett, Ste 201
Tacoma, WA 98402

(253) 591-7026

For More Info click here:






Click on picture to find out more about help with Electric bills thru MDC Energy Assistance Program . I do it once a year!