SBDC hosted by El Camino College
(310) 225-8277|southbaysbdc.org
Assisting clients in the South Bay and Beyond
May 2025
WEBINAR Small Business Big Reach-Tips, Tricks & Trends to Unlock/Dominate Your Social Media Presence
Does timing your posts really boost visibility? Can a double-tap turn into a dollar? Is one app truly better than another—no matter the content? And what about those third-party editing tools—are they your secret weapon or just hype? Are all videos created equal, whether they’re Reels, Shorts, or part of a well curated grid? If you follow a trend, does it guarantee your brand will go viral? This workshop unpacks the strategies a small business really needs. Instructor:…
Find out more »WEBINAR Improve Your Personal Credit for Lending Opportunities
The “Improve Your Personal Credit for Lending Opportunities” workshop is designed to help individuals and business owners understand the factors that affect their credit scores and learn strategies to improve them. Whether you are looking to apply for a personal loan, business loan, or credit line, having a strong credit score can significantly increase your chances of approval and favorable terms. During this workshop, participants will learn about the different credit bureaus and how they calculate credit scores, the common…
Find out more »June 2025
WEBINAR Orientation: What the SBDC Can Do for You!
This workshop will provide attendees with information about the program requirements and the different services and training offered by the SBDC. The key fundamentals essential for starting and maintaining a successful business will be reviewed. As capital is the life blood of any business, your questions concerning capital and how the SBDC can assist in this effort will be addressed. And as a special bonus, the critical reasons why products/services sell will also be discussed. Attendance is required for existing,…
Find out more »In-person Event: How to Finance Your Business
This workshop will provide an overview of available options for financing your business. Equity and debt options as well as crowd funding and the process for raising capital from friends and family will be discussed. Details on what you need to know to apply for a business loan, as well the required documents and paperwork needed for the application process will be provided. The various types of financial institutions and which institutions are currently loaning money and what you will…
Find out more »WEBINAR Biz Basics: How to Start Your Business Financials in Excel
Overcome your fear of starting with an empty Excel spreadsheet and become proficient to create your own Profit and Loss statement for your business. This workshop will cover the basic Excel functions necessary to develop your financials and then build a basic Profit and Loss statement. We will also see how you can download your bank activity and use filters to analyze the data, a powerful tool. Basic computer knowledge is required for this class. Instructor: Andrew Strachan (SBDC Advisor) has…
Find out more »WEBINAR How to Become a Vendor (Contractor)
One way to increase sales for your business is to become a vendor or contractor to public agencies and private organizations. This workshop will provide an overview of how to decide if contracting is right for you, as well as cover the elements you need to know to begin the pursuit of new contracting opportunities. This workshop will be taught by Michael Williams, a Small Business Advisor with the El Camino College SBDC, proudly offering over 30 years of experience…
Find out more »WEBINAR Threads vs. X: Crafting & Strategizing Text Driven Stories for Community Building and Sales
Threads is an app within an app driven by texts messages, then images. X, formerly known as Twitter, is a post driven site historically known for sharing short text driven posts, where images have been secondary. How do these networks measure up for your small business. In this workshop, we’ll define each app and their native functionality. We’ll discuss the power and strategic use of text driven social media messages to communicate a business and its brand. We’ll answer what kind of strategies…
Find out more »WEBINAR Legal Corner: Business Law Basics for Owners and Managers
This webinar is going to cover business law without much legal language. Helpful tools and easy tips to keep you and your business protected. Topics Covered: Ownership Structure choices Liability Protection Contracts, disclaimers, warranties Insurance tips ... Insurance Company Grades Basic credit information Which parts of the government covers your business. Alternate Dispute Resolution. Instructor: Ben Martin (SBDC Advisor) and Attorney who loves helping new and small businesses, survive and thrive. With over 20 years of experience working for SBDCs, Non-profit Entrepreneurship Programs, and…
Find out more »WEBINAR Money Matters: Angel Investment 101 for Start-Ups
Funding and financing your business are extremely important. One of the options that comes up is angel investment. What does angel investment mean? How often does it happen? Is your business a candidate? What steps to take? What do you need? Webinar presenter Tim Berry has been on both sides of this table. He successfully raised investment for his business. And he has been an angel investor for more than a decade. In this webinar, Tim answers key questions…
Find out more »WEBINAR Orientation: What the SBDC Can Do for You!
This workshop will provide attendees with information about the program requirements and the different services and training offered by the SBDC. The key fundamentals essential for starting and maintaining a successful business will be reviewed. As capital is the life blood of any business, your questions concerning capital and how the SBDC can assist in this effort will be addressed. And as a special bonus, the critical reasons why products/services sell will also be discussed. Attendance is required for existing,…
Find out more »WEBINAR Start a Retirement Plan for Tax Savings and Your Retirement
In this webinar, learn about the different retirement plans that you can set up for yourself and/or your employees. The Traditional and Roth IRAs, SEP, Simple, 401k, Profit Sharing, Defined Benefit and CalSavers plans will be discussed as well as contribution and distribution rules for the plans. The presenter will discuss tax savings available to you by setting up a retirement plan for your business. Get started putting aside money for your retirement! Instructor: Maureen Thielen (SBDC Advisor) provides bookkeeping, accounting and…
Find out more »WEBINAR Marketing Tools for the 21st Century
Market Intelligence is critical for every business to succeed throughout its business life cycle. Please join Debbie Goldfarb as she reviews and explains the data needed to be gathered and analyzed in order to make pertinent and critical decisions about their business for the short and long term. During this class we will review both the traditional and new techniques used when understanding various facets of marketing & business. Instructor: Debbie Goldfarb (SBDC Advisor) is a well-respected marketing coach and consultant. For over…
Find out more »WEBINAR Legal Corner: Conflicts and Lawsuits
Preparing for, Preventing, and reducing the cost and disruption to your business. It's easy to be pulled into a fight that can cost you money, time, and sanity. Learn to set up your liability protections and how they work. See the ways you can use contracts to reduce how much is at stake or lower your costs. We will cover Alternate Dispute Resolution (some call it privat court). ALL DIY, low and no cost. You don't always need an attorney to protect you or lower your…
Find out more »WEBINAR Orientation: What the SBDC Can Do for You!
This workshop will provide attendees with information about the program requirements and the different services and training offered by the SBDC. The key fundamentals essential for starting and maintaining a successful business will be reviewed. As capital is the life blood of any business, your questions concerning capital and how the SBDC can assist in this effort will be addressed. And as a special bonus, the critical reasons why products/services sell will also be discussed. Attendance is required for existing,…
Find out more »WEBINAR Business Plan Overview
Building a successful business requires vision, and the coordination of efforts in several areas. The process of starting and running a business can be overwhelming without a good plan. A good solution to understanding all of the moving parts of your business is to write a business plan. In this webinar we will discuss: -The internal and external purposes of a business plan -A review of the types of plans: Traditional, one page, Canvas, Pitch Deck -Writing strategies and tips,…
Find out more »WEBINAR Media Training for Small Business Owners
In this workshop, you will learn what you need to know in order to conduct a successful media interview about your product or service. The media is everywhere nowadays in the form of traditional broadcast and print organizations as well as podcasts, live social media events and "citizen journalists." As a result, misinformation is rampant, and it is important to understand how to get your messages across to your customers in the way you intended. This is an essential workshop for any…
Find out more »WEBINAR Using Text Marketing (SMS) to Grow Your Business
Are you using SMS (Text) Marketing to Grow Your Business? Today's consumers rely on their smart phones and many prefer getting information through Text Marketing. However there are rules and best practices that can help you create successful text marketing campaigns and entice your contacts to subscribe. Attend this webinar to learn how to set up and execute SMS Text Marketing campaigns that keep your contacts subscribed and interacting with your company. Learn how to achieve your marketing goals by effectively adding…
Find out more »WEBINAR Legal Corner: How To Set Up & Register Your Business
This in-depth workshop addresses a multitude of important topics regarding legal entities and other important decisions you will need to make as a business owner. One of the first decisions will include how the company will be structured. Because of this, we will cover the basics of regulatory filings that permit new owners to properly set up entities in California. Our discussion will cover legal formation for startups, including: • LLC’s, S-Corporations, C-Corporations • DBA’s • Business permits • Resale…
Find out more »WEBINAR How to do an HR Audit
This training is designed to assist California small business owners audit their in-house HR files, HR processes, especially with all of the new HR laws that came into reality on January 1, 2025. Instructor: Sara Nicholson (SBDC Advisor) brings over 25 years of HR experience, helping small business owners find solutions to their human resources needs. She has worked across Southern California and Mexico, guiding business owners with a focus on education, organization, and fairness. REGISTER NOW
Find out more »WEBINAR Biz Basics: Lean Business Planning
Lean business planning is not what you think. Not a big formal plan. Not just for startups. Quick and practical tool for managing through a crisis. It's as quick and easy as a few simple bullet point lists and tables to set down milestones and metrics. Plus powerful tools to manage sales, spending, and cash flow. Make a quick dashboard for getting through a crisis. Join this webinar as Tim Berry, founder of bplans.com and Palo Alto Software, shares the simplicity and ease…
Find out more »WEBINAR Orientation: What the SBDC Can Do for You!
This workshop will provide attendees with information about the program requirements and the different services and training offered by the SBDC. The key fundamentals essential for starting and maintaining a successful business will be reviewed. As capital is the life blood of any business, your questions concerning capital and how the SBDC can assist in this effort will be addressed. And as a special bonus, the critical reasons why products/services sell will also be discussed. Attendance is required for existing,…
Find out more »WEBINAR Social Media Solutions: Making Facebook Ads Work For You
This workshop will uncover the mysteries of using Facebook Ads to grow your business. Regardless of your experience in Facebook Ads, this training will teach you how to set up your campaigns for success and get more from your advertising budget. In this workshop you will learn: i. If you're running your Facebook Ads correctly ii. The 5 pillars of successful Facebook Ads iii. The one thing that may be holding back your Facebook Ads iv. Why a marketing funnel is essential in…
Find out more »WEBINAR HR Basics and Preparing your Business for Employees
This critical HR training will guide you through the basics of what HR is and how to prepare your business for employees before you hire them. Learning these steps will help protect your business from unintended risks and provide you valuable California based HR knowledge and best practices. Instructor: Sara Nicholson (SBDC Advisor) brings over 25 years of HR experience, helping small business owners find solutions to their human resources needs. She has worked across Southern California and Mexico, guiding business…
Find out more »WEBINAR E-Smarts: Get More Free Traffic to Your Website with These Simple SEO Techniques
Is your website getting all of the traffic it should be? Is it pulling in leads and sales? If not, your target audience may not be able to find you. Google search drives the majority of traffic on the internet. Learn the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) and start growing your search presence organically, using tried and true methods that are 100% free! You will Learn: The difference between on-site and off-site SEO How to optimize your pages…
Find out more »WEBINAR Improve Your Personal Credit for Lending Opportunities
The “Improve Your Personal Credit for Lending Opportunities” workshop is designed to help individuals and business owners understand the factors that affect their credit scores and learn strategies to improve them. Whether you are looking to apply for a personal loan, business loan, or credit line, having a strong credit score can significantly increase your chances of approval and favorable terms. During this workshop, participants will learn about the different credit bureaus and how they calculate credit scores, the common…
Find out more »
