Webinars
Our team has produced and procured a wealth of content for entrepreneurs looking to start, innovate, or expand their business.
Upcoming Webinar
Reduce Payment Friction and Sell on Your Website
Thursday, June 3 | 11:00AM MST
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that consumer purchasing behavior has changed. Nearly every business in nearly every industry can use its website to take orders and receive payments. In this webinar, we’ll highlight some of the largest e-commerce platforms, discuss the pros and cons of each, how to make your website generate revenue for your company, and why reducing payment friction will make for happier customers and a happier bank account.
Past Webinars
Restaurant Revitalization Fund: The Basics
As part of renewed disaster preparedness awareness, all businesses must manage risk. And risk doesn’t just include basic insurance on your company assets. Especially as companies grow, they take on additional risks through employees, contracts, partners, and especially related to the lingering impacts of COVID-19. This webinar will touch on three types of risk and five risk management strategies for growth-focused companies. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics and phone in or type/chat questions or comments. We will follow-up with requests for additional information.
Five Things to Do Today to Manage Risk in Your Company
As part of renewed disaster preparedness awareness, all businesses must manage risk. And risk doesn’t just include basic insurance on your company assets. Especially as companies grow, they take on additional risks through employees, contracts, partners, and especially related to the lingering impacts of COVID-19. This webinar will touch on three types of risk and five risk management strategies for growth-focused companies. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics and phone in or type/chat questions or comments. We will follow-up with requests for additional information.
Steering Your Business Through Change
This webinar will be a concise reflection of moments of crisis that could have stopped operations at Bernice’s Bakery during presenter Christine Littig’s tenure. But more importantly did not. The take-a-ways from these experiences will highlight and solidify an adaptive approach that allowed for successful operations and the sale of Bernice’s Bakery in 2017. Christine will stimulate your imagination and restart your engine when it comes to your own business by sharing stories yet to be heard of crisis management during her 13 years as owner of Bernice’s Bakery. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics and phone in or type/chat questions or comments. We will follow-up with requests for additional information. All webinars are free and open the public at 11 a.m. and will be recorded and archived.
Engineering Growth in the Wake of COVID
This webinar will step through three considerations for growing a business in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: acquiring talent, market share, and assets. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
Business Crisis Toolkit: Control What You Can
In this brief, 30-minute webinar we are hoping to give business owners some guidance on steps to take during the initial stages of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak throughout the country. We’ll provide guidance for entrepreneurs, financing options, scam alerts, and resources available to assist through this crisis. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
Marketing, Communication, and Sales During the COVID-19 Crisis
In this brief, 30-minute webinar we are hoping to give business owners some guidance on marketing, communication, and sales during the COVID-19 crisis. Evaluating a company’s human and fixed assets and then being creative in how to utilize them in an alternative way will be discussed. Focus will be given to innovating by solving customer-facing problems. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
Prepare for Government Contracting During COVID-19
In this brief, 30-minute webinar we are hoping to give business owners guidance on how to prepare to do business with government agencies during COVID-19 crisis. Topics will focus primarily on the federal government, but we’ll also touch on state and local procedures and opportunities. Our goal is to get businesses not currently set up into the appropriate systems and then search for solicitations. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
Hibernating Your Business During COVID-19
In this brief, 30-minute webinar we are hoping to give business owners guidance on how to put a business to bed during COVID-19 crisis. For some, taking the time to hibernate a business properly is an opportunity to start strategic planning to come out the other end. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
The Basics of the SBA’s Disaster Loan Products
In this brief, 30-minute webinar we will cover the basics of Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and will talk about the updates to both programs as of 4/16/20. Alternate financing sources will also be discussed. We hope to dispel some myths and answer frequently asked questions.
Business Resiliency Guide
In this brief, 30-minute webinar we will provide business owners possible ways to make your business tougher and may enable it to recover more quickly, including: staffing problems, incentives for customers to not cancel jobs, or services, “shoe leather” marketing, customer referral/loyalty programs, online freelancing options, strategic, and informal partnerships with your competitors, digital product creating, guerrilla marketing, selling non essential assets, and beating your customer’s expectations.
Reopening Best Practices During COVID-19
In this brief 30-minute webinar, we will provide some of the basics business owners will need to take into account as they reopen their business during the COVID-19 crisis. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics and phone in or type/chat questions or comments. We will follow-up with requests for additional information.
Protecting Your Business From Legal Liability During Reopening
In this brief 30-minute webinar, we will step business owners through the liability concerns when reopening following the COVID-19 shutdown. Employment and labor law attorney with Church, Harris, Johnson, Williams P.C. in Great Falls, Bobbi Berkhof, will inform entrepreneurs why following local, state, and federal recommendations may help protect the business from lawsuits potentially stemming from employees and customers.
What It Means to be Open and Safe During Recovery
In this webinar, we’ll discuss addressing the challenges, barriers, team-building, resources, and mindset it will take for entrepreneurs to navigate reopening a business during COVID-19. Presenters Dena Johnson and Kevin Scharfe will discuss how the right state of mind and pivoting your business model can help build consumer confidence and employee buy-in during this challenging time. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
Quick Cybersecurity Tips to Keep Your Company Safe
This webinar will give actionable tips to better protect your business from cyberattack.
Tackling Unemployment Insurance
In this webinar we will discuss understanding traditional unemployment insurance, pandemic unemployment assistance and the role employers play when employees are collecting unemployment insurance. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics and phone in or type/chat questions or comments.
Best Practices for PPP Loan Forgiveness
This webinar will walk you through the best practices, reporting procedures, and forms to maximize the forgiveness of your Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.
Accessing SBA Programs: Your Guide to SBA Counseling, Capital, and Contracting
This webinar will provide an overview of SBA Resources including current Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
How COVID is Affecting Communities
This webinar will discuss the evolution of public health response to this unprecedented incident over time, and how that affects small businesses. Find out what we are learning and hear simple reminders on how to best cope with the potential exposure.
Generations in the Workforce
Never before have we had four (five?) generations in the workforce. Why are work habits and communication styles so different between the generations and how can we work together more effectively? Speaker Tara Mastel will share the importance of understanding generational differences in order to be successful going forward.
Strategic Communications and Support for Women in Business
Women and men both carry implicit biases that affect daily, human interactions. Gain insights on how to leverage language and imagery that connects with women for outreach campaigns.
Understanding Credit Card Processing
This webinar will cover the fundamentals of understanding credit card processing and how this complex industry can be kept SIMPLE! Stephanie Cummings from CardConnect will cover the basics of interchange, the roles the card associations, banks and processors play, and the importance of doing business with people you TRUST! Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics and phone in or type/chat questions or comments. We will follow-up with requests for additional information. All webinars are free and open the public at 11 a.m. and will be recorded and archived.
Tackling Unemployment Insurance
In this webinar we will discuss understanding traditional unemployment insurance, pandemic unemployment assistance and the role employers play when employees are collecting unemployment insurance. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
Using Opportunity Zones to Start or Grow Your Business
Opportunity Zones were created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to help stimulate long-term, private sector investment into economic activity in all 50 states and U.S. Territories. Governor Steve Bullock designated 25 Opportunity Zones in metropolitan and rural areas of Montana as targeted areas to stimulate business investment. In this webinar, Ben Hobbs will discuss what Opportunity Zones are, how simple it is for investors and entrepreneurs to create funds and the tax incentives of investing in businesses in qualifying zones. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics
Three Steps to Get Your Business on a Path to Profitable Growth
The urgent need to stay afloat financially leads to “strategic moves” that are a waste of energy, focus, money, and time. Get your business out of the Survival Prap, headed toward its Sweet Spot and on a path toward profitable growth.
Business Valuation: More Art Than Science
This webinar will explore how there is no cookie-cutter approach to valuing a private business. It often involves a multi-faceted approach using different valuation processes and techniques, which will be discussed.
Rethinking Innovation in Montana
This webinar will provide an overview of how small business owners can innovate in small businesses to create customer experiences that attract and retain customers.
Insurance for Small Business
As one of the most important ways to protect a business, insurance often goes overlooked. This webinar provides an overview of general and professional liability insurance, employer practice liability insurance, worker’s compensation requirements, the difference between insurance and bonding, and a variety of other insurance-specific topics.
Creative Labor Solutions
This webinar detailed the benefits of creating apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and internship opportunities to attract and retain potential employees. Also discussed is the military’s Career Skills Program (CSP) to tap into the labor force soon to be leaving the military service.
Strategy Sells Businesses and Buys Them Too
This webinar discusses buying and selling an established business. We discussed the time it takes and the financial planning needed to successfully sell a business for top dollar. Buyers were also be guided on the types of questions to ask and documents to request on the other side of a business acquisition.
Crowdfunding Isn’t Just Free Money
This webinar discusses the regulatory impacts of equity crowdfunding. How crowdfunds are gathered, the amount of the investment and the law determines what you can use the money on and the legal implications required.
Hire for Your Peak Season & Don’t Lose Money Doing it
This webinar features ratios to assist business owners or managers in justifying a new or seasonal hire and to ensure that the additional cost of a new employee will do more than break even with increases in sales volume. Performance metrics related to the new hire were also addressed.
Keys to Hiring the Right Employee
This webinar discusses how company culture should be a factor in your employee search, the best questions to ask during interviews, best practices in the search process, and takeaways you can implement now.
Introduction to Government Contracting
Does the Government buy what you sell? Learn how to find out and the initial steps for becoming a vendor for governmental contracting. This webinar discussed best practices in doing business with government entities, appropriate procedures when getting into the system, and winning contracts.
Food Manufacturing 101: Get Rich and Don’t GO TO JAIL!
This webinar discusses the most important rules, regulations, and best practices for food manufacturers to follow in order to be successful. You may not get rich and taking this class in no way guarantees you won’t GO TO JAIL. At least that’s what our presenter, Claude Smith says. Please note – this is very tongue in cheek. 🙂
Employee Retention, Creating a Positive Company Culture
Happy employees make for thriving businesses. In this webinar, learn how to create a positive corporate culture by identifying larger business goals. Get tips on hiring smarter, keeping employees engaged, and handling employees’ concerns.
Social Media Marketing with KRose Marketing
Customers have stopped looking for products and services in magazines, newspapers, or billboards – they look online. If you want to reach your ideal customer, come learn how to start a conversation on social media that will lead to a conversion for your business! Social media marketing is an important tool to use for growing your business, come learn why and how to use it!
Using Social Media (TikTok) to Reach Your Clientele
When you hear about TikTok, do you think of Ke$ha’s 2009 smash hit song? There are all sorts of social media platforms available, and if you’re not on them, you’re missing out on client interactions. This session will not teach you the inner workings of all the social media platforms out there, but it will help you develop an engaging and entertaining social media presence. We will focus on TikTok, but the concepts we discuss can be applied to any form of social media.
A Beginner’s Guide to SEO: Five Tips to Get Found Online
What is SEO and why does it matter? SEO stands for search engine optimization and is the process of getting engines to recognize your site as one worth serving up. This presentation will cover some basics of SEO and give you five actionable steps to help your business get found online.
Marketing on LinkedIn
LinkedIn hosts over 590 million professionals who represent the largest group of influential, affluent, and educated people anywhere. Find out what content to share, which products suit your needs, and how much time you’ll spend daily or weekly to ensure your brand stays in front of the people who matter most to your business.
How To Lock Down Your Sales Funnel
This webinar details building a website, creating a Facebook page, Instagram account, and Google listing are all important, but what happens after? Learn how to capture potential customers at every stage of the buying process – lockdown your sales funnel with these easy-to-follow steps!
Reach Customers Online with Google
This webinar provides an overview of using Google to market to potential customers. Presenter Corissa Saint Laurent and Google Trainer will discuss creating a free Google My Business listing, Improving your website’s visibility in Google’s organic search results, and advertising your business on Google.
Finding Customers on Instagram
This webinar provides an overview of using Instagram to market to potential customers. Amanda Read, Founder of Read Mobile Marketing
Finding Customers on Facebook
This webinar provides an overview of using Facebook to market to potential customers.
Marketing Essentials- Getting Found Online
This webinar provides an overview of digital marketing best practices and strategies. Presenter Jenna Jones Design
Developing Your Story: A Foundation for Funding
Your story is the foundation for your business and will be your pitch to generate funding. We explored ways to effectively use your story to fund a new business idea (via crowdfunding, perhaps?), develop networks that may lead to business venture partnerships, and determine if lending is a good fit for your project. Numbers and analysis are key characters, but your story will drive your success.
Getting your Small Business Online
This webinar discusses best practices as well as details related to setting a budget, understanding your customer, and how that relates to where to locate online and how to craft a message that motivates action.
Understanding Credit Card Processing
This webinar will cover the fundamentals of understanding credit card processing and how this complex industry can be kept SIMPLE! Stephanie Cummings from CardConnect will cover the basics of interchange, the roles the card associations, banks and processors play, and the importance of doing business with people you TRUST! Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics and phone in or type/chat questions or comments. We will follow-up with requests for additional information. All webinars are free and open the public at 11 a.m. and will be recorded and archived.
Best Practices for PPP Loan Forgiveness
This webinar will walk you through the best practices, reporting procedures, and forms to maximize the forgiveness of your Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
Using Opportunity Zones to Start or Grow Your Business
Opportunity Zones were created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to help stimulate long-term, private sector investment into economic activity in all 50 states and U.S. Territories. Governor Steve Bullock designated 25 Opportunity Zones in metropolitan and rural areas of Montana as targeted areas to stimulate business investment. In this webinar, Ben Hobbs will discuss what Opportunity Zones are, how simple it is for investors and entrepreneurs to create funds and the tax incentives of investing in businesses in qualifying zones. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics
The Basics of the SBA’s Disaster Loan Products
In this brief, 30-minute webinar we will cover the basics of Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and will talk about the updates to both programs as of 4/16/20. Alternate financing sources will also be discussed. We hope to dispel some myths and answer frequently asked questions.
Understanding Credit Card Processing
This webinar will cover the fundamentals of understanding credit card processing and how this complex industry can be kept SIMPLE! Stephanie Cummings from CardConnect will cover the basics of interchange, the roles the card associations, banks and processors play, and the importance of doing business with people you TRUST! Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics and phone in or type/chat questions or comments. We will follow-up with requests for additional information. All webinars are free and open the public at 11 a.m. and will be recorded and archived.
Tackling Unemployment Insurance
In this webinar we will discuss understanding traditional unemployment insurance, pandemic unemployment assistance and the role employers play when employees are collecting unemployment insurance. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics.
Using Opportunity Zones to Start or Grow Your Business
Opportunity Zones were created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to help stimulate long-term, private sector investment into economic activity in all 50 states and U.S. Territories. Governor Steve Bullock designated 25 Opportunity Zones in metropolitan and rural areas of Montana as targeted areas to stimulate business investment. In this webinar, Ben Hobbs will discuss what Opportunity Zones are, how simple it is for investors and entrepreneurs to create funds and the tax incentives of investing in businesses in qualifying zones. Hear experts provide an overview of small business development topics
