SOBA Event Calendar

Location: Plaster Hall, Room 323

Payment in advance: $95

This workshop will teach you how to use Microsoft Office’s graphic presentation software package, PowerPoint, to make quality presentations. Learn the basics on making presentations using this versatile graphic presentation software.

Location: Plaster Hall, Room 109

Payment in advance: $20

This workshop will focus on the necessary elements of a business plan. Practical examples and forms will be used to help participants develop a useful business plan. Learn how the business plan elements can serve to filter out poor ideas and how it can serve as a “selling” tool. Discover how the business plan can facilitate implementation of a new business strategy.

Location: Plaster Hall, Room 109

Payment in advance: $20

It costs about five times as much money to bring in a new customer, than to keep an existing one. When people become your customer, they want to be loyal. It’s easier for them to keep buying from you than to seek out a new business.

So, why do they stop patronizing your company? Most of the time, it’s because of small oversights, misunderstandings, poor communication, and lack of attention to customer service. This workshop is designed to teach you effective customer service tips and techniques that will help you improve your company’s profitability.

In order to offer good customer service, you must analyze “who your customers are” and “what are your customer’s needs.” It’s not about you; it’s about the customer. Come and learn how to turn your customers into “loyal customers.”

Location: Plaster Hall, Room 102

Payment in advance: $50

The Balanced Scorecard is a measurement and management system that can channel the energies, abilities and specific knowledge held by people throughout the company towards achieving long-term strategic goals. It allows a company to measure its performance in critical areas that are key to its success.

Each business has a unique path to success. The steps to developing a Balanced Scorecard force a company to clarify its strategy and key success factors. Measurements developed in this process focus activities that are important to success. The scorecard then becomes a tool that improves communication, empowers people to make informed decisions and aligns work throughout the company. It reinforces the behaviors in people that are important to reach the company goals.

Location: Plaster Hall, Room 102

Payment in advance: $20

This introductory workshop will provide you with an overview of the critical first steps associated with starting a business. It is designed specifically for those who are thinking about starting a business. Participants will have an opportunity to assess their strengths and weaknesses, learn about the importance of planning, discuss legal and regulatory requirements, and identify sources of financing. Each participant will receive a Start-up manual. This workshop will be offered several times during the semester.