KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM PIDC’S BUSINESS BUILDER WORKSHOPS

by PIDCphila
March 30, 2016

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Cassandra Bailey of Slice Communications
Cassandra Bailey of Slice Communications

We’ve kicked off 2016 with two great workshops and want to share some important takeaways with you. We give business owners the tools, connections and financing they need to reach—and exceed— their business goals.  This is why PIDC continues to provide opportunities to increase your business knowledge. We have a full calendar year of workshops planned so we hope to see at the next one.

Our first workshop was on Strategies for Preparing Financial Projections presented by finance expert Jovan Goldstein of JTGoldstein Accounting and Business Advisors. Over 15 business owners had the opportunity to learn about the importance planning the future financial performance of their business left with templates to use for completing both monthly and annual projections. Some of the points addressed were:

Purpose of Financial Projections

Financial projections are critical to your business success. Projections should be completed monthly, annually, and over at least a three year period.

What you should know?

  • A basic understanding of your financial information and cycles
  • A comparison of your operating and balance sheet ratios to industry averages
  • Break even analysis
  • Liquidity of the entity
  • Financial problems and steps to prevent them in the future
  •  Setting reasonable projections and assumptions
  •  Tax implications based on your legal structure
  • Economic Development Programs available
  • When to hire a professional

Participants were able to discuss the challenges they’ve had in previously developing projections and gained strategies for moving forward from Mr. Goldstein as well as each other.

Our next workshop was on Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses. We had the pleasure of having the following experts join us, Cassandra Bailey of Slice Communications, Jonathan Cooper of Levlane, Kyle Lambert of Seer Interactive and Marc Coleman of The Tactile Group.  Here are just a few points discussed during the workshop.

Every business should be on social media because there is value in it. However, you need to understand your business goals to determine which platforms are best for you.

What you should do:

  • Find your target audience
  • Look at your competitors
  • Think about your current customers
  • Who is most likely to use your service?
  • Look at your top 10 customers, how did they find you? What makes them return?
  • Make sure your website does what it’s supposed to do before you drive traffic to it. Remember your website is always open, always working. It’s part of your team.
  • Don’t overlook your mobile site. Build a responsive site so it presents well on all screens.

Common Mistakes:

  • Not responding to bad press
  • Not engaging with your supporters
  • Not having a purpose. Put a strategy behind what you post.
  • Not investing in social media tools

 

Upcoming  Events

PPC event coming up on March 31, 2016 – 2:30 PM — 6:30 PM

Stay on top of what’s happening with PPC (pay per click) and 2016 trends in paid searches.

Click on the above link for more information and register.

Location: SEER Interactive – 1033 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123

Social Media Day in Philadelphia – Thursday, June 30, 2016 – 8:30 AM – 7:30 PM

Still trying to figure out the whole social media thing?  Then click on the below link and register.

Early Bird tickets are only $50 for the whole day. Click here.

PIDC is continuously thinking of ways to support the Philadelphia business community. To stay updated on more Business Builder Workshops visit pidcphila.com/events.

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