Vicki James, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

My brother, Vance, is a typical small business owner. Ask Vance what he does he will respond he “styles hair.” Fair enough. He does do that and has for over 20 years. His expertise is hair. He also does marketing, scheduling, client relations, bookkeeping, and taxes. No small business owner only does that thing that his business is. He must understand and be able to do all the administrative stuff to succeed. There is more to know than ever before as the Internet creates a world of greater sophistication. Access to quality information in these areas is limited. The limitation is not in the information, but in the small business owner’s ability to find, sort, and apply what is useful and beneficial. The good news is that there are many small business owners whose expertise is marketing or scheduling or client relations or bookkeeping and taxes, and so on. Business to business education is one way to help fill the gaps.

Professional Project Services is offering a business-to-business education opportunity in the Olympia area. Lunch to Learn is a series of workshops by small business for small business. We will offer a new workshop each month with practical information to make the administrative functions of your business easier to manage and more productive. Attendees will walk away from each session with a tool, concept, or action to support their business.

April is Social Media month. Mathias Eichler of Einmaleins will be providing information on how to use social media to grow your small business. Participants will walk away with basic information on the major social media networks, including their strengths and weaknesses. For Vance, he may want to concentrate on Facebook as a way to share pictures of the latest styles, tools, and techniques he has available. A freelance writer may be better off with LinkedIn, which has been described as “your resume on steroids” to share accomplishments. Mathias will help unravel the myths, benefits, and drawback of various social media platforms so that the small business owner can step further into the world of social media with greater certainty.

Phil Christensen, CPA will be presenting small business accounting and tax information in May. This is a topic that I have held very dear after having experiences with two different clients from a previous business that owed the federal government significant amounts of money simply because they didn’t understand how Federal withholding worked. Phil will offer the basic information that small business owners need so that they compliant with local, state, or federal findings and fines. Having a hired accountant is great. Having a basic understanding yourself is even better.

Please visit the registration website at http://pps-lunch2learn.eventbrite.com/ if you are in the Olympia area and are interested in more information. Sign-up for the “backstage” pass to get a discount code goof for 25% off. Not in Olympia? Check with your local chamber of commerce, economic development agencies, or local community education providers for similar opportunities in your area.