Financial Fitness Workshop This program is offered to adults in Pike, Jackson, Ross, and Scioto counties. There are no income requirements for participants and the workshop is recommended for any individual seeking better personal understanding of household money management including personal budgeting and planning. The purpose of this training program is to increase the participant’s knowledge of the following: The Importance of “good credit” Awareness of the “cost of borrowing” and the value of saving How to read and improve a credit report Acquire the skills necessary to design and implement a personal budget Successfully plan for the future. Goals, and the activities required to accomplish those goals, will be established. As every member of the household is affected by each individual’s financial decisions, especially in low-income households, this program is designed to provide information that will impact an individual’s purchasing and spending behavior in a positive manner-which will in turn improve the likelihood of a positive financial future. Anticipated outcomes include greater savings rates, increased graduation rates among at-risk students and improved credit ratings. The three-hour workshop covers the following topics: Financial Planning: Your Roadmap Career: Labor You Love Budget: Don’t Go Broke Savings and Investments: Your Money at Work Credit: Buy Now, Pay Later - includes reviewing and analyzing credit reports Insurance: Your Protection   Self Employment: From Dream to Reality Training Program: 5-week class The Business Development Training Program offers existing small business owners and individuals, who are considering the option of business ownership, the opportunity to learn a variety of skills needed to own and operate a business. Guest speakers are often brought in to discuss specific aspects of business ownership, such as an attorney discusses business entities and the legal aspects of operating a business, an insurance agent discusses the insurance needs of the businesses that are represented in the class, and so on. In past classes, we have also brought in a commercial lender and an accountant - based on their availability. The cost of this class is $80. Tuition assistance may be available. This 5-week business development course covers every facet of owning a business and covers the following topics: The world of business: Discusses what it takes to own a business, traits of entrepreneurs, what leads to business failure, the importance of business planning and the contents of a business plan. Defining the dream: Allows the entrepreneur to discover the type of business best suits them, describing the business, naming the business and building a support team. Financing the dream: Gives entrepreneurs a look at ways to finance a business, the differences between financing a start-up business vs. financing an existing business and the process of getting a loan. Goal setting: Assists the entrepreneurs in proper goal setting and emphasizes the importance of developing action plans to help them reach their goals. Pricing your products and services: Teaches participants how to price their products and services. Helps them to determine the cost of goods sold for retail businesses and how to calculate the hourly rate for service business. Finding, reaching and serving your customers: Gives the participants a foundation on basic market research tactics and the importance of the research and how to find lucrative markets. Managing your cash flow: Assists entrepreneurs with developing cash flow projections, how to predict cash future and discuss what lendors want to see from entrepreneurs. The business of business: Walks through the various types of business entities and the pros and cons of each as well as discusses the insurance needs of businesses. (Guest speakers for this session: attorney and insurance agent) Managing your records: Emphasizes the importance of a good record-keeping system, discusses the various journals used in business and how long to keep records. Understanding financial statements: Discusses the income sheet, statement of owner’s equity and the balance sheet, how to create and use these documents when making business decisions. Is an E-business right for you?: Defines an E-business and discusses the basis for launching and promoting a web site. As mentioned above, this is a 5-week class. It meets twice a week for three hours and the participants are given assignments and are expected to complete their assignments prior to the next class. Self-Employment: From Dream to Reality Registration Brochure Self-Employment: From Dream to Reality 5-Week Training Curriculum   Customer Service Workshop Customer Service: What Does It Really Mean? This program is offered to individuals and businesses in Pike, Jackson, Ross, and Scioto counties. There are no income requirements for participants. Customer Service as Webster defines it:  customer service: n. assistance  and other resources that a  company provides to the people  who buy or use its products or  services Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7) Copyright © 2003-2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC This workshop discusses concepts about what good customer service really means. In addition, you will explore skills to help behavior become more positive and develop an understanding that attitudes have a direct impact on your business, especially the customer. The three-hour (3) workshop includes interactive exercises and covers the following topics: 7 Sins of Customer Service   Self-Image, Values, Self-imposed Limitations, and Early Childhood Conditioning   What does Customer Service Really Mean?   Habits of Thought and Programmed Responses   Attitudes   Importance of Communication (sending and receiving vis-à-vis verbal and non-verbal)   Interpersonal Skills   Roles of Responsibility   Roles in the Organization’s Success   Behaviors Toward the Customer   Handling Customer Complaints   Customer Bill of Rights   Goal Planning   The business’ success depends on everyone from the President/CEO all the way down to the mail room. Furthermore, business is all about relationships. Likewise, customer service is essential in keeping your business in business!! Customer Service Workshop Flyer Georgetown, Ohio - July 23, 2008 Customer Service Workshop Brochure - coming soon   Within My Reach Within My Reach Website www.withinmyreach.com Ohio Marriage Coalition Website www.ohiomarriageinfo.org/coalition_partners.htm   Homebuyer Education Classes The Business Development Department of Pike CAC has established a program to help families overcome the obstacles for successful home ownership. The Program is designed to meet the gap between the community’s affordable housing needs and conventional lending products, as well as offer technical assistance in understanding how to clean up bad credit, manager a budget for long-term goals, and the process of finding and buying a home. The Business Development Department has been certified by NeighborWorks® America to facilitate a Homebuyer Education Program. This 16-hour program includes: Assessing Readiness to Buy A Home Is owning a home right for you? How do you buy a home? Costs of homeownership The 4 C’s of credit How much can you afford? Managing Money Making a plan for your money How to spend your money A spending plan to meet your goals The importance of saving Understanding Credit How is your credit rating? Credit reports What is a credit score? Improving your credit report What if you don’t have a credit history? Managing your debts so they don’t manager you Financing a Home Mortgage loan basics Who can get a mortgage loan? Affordability and you How much will a lender lend? Shopping for the right lender and loan product Shopping for a Home Steps in the home buying process Your home buying team Types of homes Finding your dream house House hunting Maintaining a Home and Managing Your Finances Protecting your investment Getting to know your home Home safety Saving energy...and money Preventative maintenance Remodeling and major repairs Asset building   QuickBooks Workshop The QuickBooks Training Workshop enables individuals and business owners to gain knowledge in the basics of QuickBooks. QuickBooks are easy-to-use computer accounting systems for small businesses. The main focus of this training is on how to use the features in QuickBooks Pro, specifically getting started and initial set-up. This training is co-sponsored by the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Ohio State University South Centers. This hands-on QuickBooks Training Workshop covers: Getting Started Setting Up QuickBooks Working With Lists Working With Bank Accounts Using Other Accounts in QuickBooks Entering Sales and Invoices Receiving Payments and Making Deposits Entering and Paying Bills Analyzing Financial Data Setting Up Inventory Tracking and Paying Sales Tax Payroll Estimating and Progress Invoicing Time Tracking Customizing Forms And Writing QuickBooks Letters After completing the QuickBooks Training Workshop, you should be able to: Create and set up a new QuickBooks company Modify the preset Chart of Accounts to suit your needs Add or edit information to company lists Open and use registers for any QuickBooks balance sheet accounts Reconcile a QuickBooks checking account Track credit card transactions Invoice customers Generate customer statements Pay bills Track and pay sales tax Write QuickBooks checks and assign amounts to expense accounts. Work with asset and liability accounts Receive payments from customers Generate customer statements Enter bills into accounts payable Create and customize QuickBooks reports Save reports and forms as Portable Document Format (PDF) files Set up inventory Export QuickBooks reports to Microsoft Excel and write letters in Microsoft Word using QuickBooks data (as time permits) Track time and mileage (as time permits) Create estimates and do progress invoicing (as time permits) QuickBooks Brochure QuickBooks Flyer