Free Seminars Available for Santa Fe Businesses

City Partners with Service Core of Retired Executives to Enhance the

Skills of Local Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

The City of Santa Fe Business Ombudsman’s Office in partnership with the Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE), and the Northern New Mexico Human Resource Association are offering free seminars on “Financial Programs for Business Success” and “Incentives to Stimulate Your Business.” These seminars are designed to enhance the skills of business owners and entrepreneurs and are developed to bring key resources to Santa Fe businesses.

“We’re excited to offer these resources to help Santa Fe’s economy grow and prosper one business at a time,” said Fabian Trujillo, Economic Development Division Director.

Ten seminars will be presented on some of the most critical topics for business owners in Santa Fe. The seminars will give business owners free access to expert consultants in each subject. Registration is required and there is limited space, and participation is first come first serve. All seminars are free and will be held at the Santa Fe Business Incubator located at 3900 Paseo del Sol. For more information visit the website at www.santafescore.org.

Register by phone: 505-424-1140 (option 1) or by

E-mail: scoreseminars@hotmail.com.

These seminars provide information on key business resources and skills that are critical to the success of small businesses. The seminars are scheduled from 6 – 8 p.m. Below is the schedule:

• April 18, Financial Programs for Business Success, presented by the City of Santa Fe Economic Development Director, Fabian Trujillo with Ron Brown, Enchantment Land Certified Development Corporation, Walt Taylor, Accion, and Juan Torres, New Mexico Economic Development Department. This seminar will introduce business owners and entrepreneurs to some of the most common financial products to finance their business.

April 23, Developing a Successful Business Plan, presented by Rob Wilson. This seminar will lead you through the essentials of developing your own business plan.

• April 24, Financial Planning and Money Management, led by Bob Lantis. A continuation of the prior "business planning seminar," stressing the importance of using and understanding the financial reports of your business to help run a profitable and successful enterprise.

• April 25, Practical Accounting: Organizing and Using Financial Information, presented by Maryanne Mowen, PhD,. will help business owners and potential business owners determine how best to organize, track, record and review pertinent financial information using a simple approach without making it feel overwhelming.

• April 30, Effectively Marketing Your Business, presented by Jim Berry. A discussion of how to develop your own Marketing Strategy and Plan. Focus is on understanding and targeting your market, your customer, and your competition. Properly positioning your product/service, and developing your advertising message and strategy, as part of your plan of attack.

• May 1, Legal Structures for Your Business, led by Jim Langley. A discussion of the various legal forms available for businesses in the State of New Mexico, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each, as they pertain to the various business types.

• May 2, Regulatory and Compliance Issues, presented by Jim Langley. A discussion and follow-up of the various legal and regulatory requirements of local, state, and federal government, including taxes of all types, copyrights, licenses, record keeping, insurance, labor laws and employee retirement and savings plans.

• May 7, Creating Your Website and Getting Visitor Traffic, presented by Bill Morrison. Mr. Morrison will show participants the necessary steps to create, register and publish their company website.

• May 8, Incentives to Stimulate Your Business, led by Fabian Trujillo, with Richard Anklam, New Mexico Tax Research Institute, Tobi Ives, New Mexico Film Office, and Sara Haring, New Mexico Economic Development Department. Mr. Trujillo will lead a seminar which will provide business owners and entrepreneurs information on the tax code and whether you can qualify for these incentives and how to access these incentives to stimulate your business.

• May 9, Hiring and Firing 101 presented by Linda Strauss and Maria Hidalgo. This seminar will be a vibrant and exciting experience in the world of managing employees in a variety of businesses.