Whether someone is looking to get ahead in a career or thinking about following a passion and embarking on a new business idea, there’s something viable at an Oswegrow workshop this Spring.
Oswegrow offers technical assistance to self-starters and entrepreneurs at all levels. By attending a workshop, there is expert advice on a variety of topics, from starting a small business to diversifying existing workforce. There will be opportunities to connect to other resources available as an Oswego entrepreneur, including market research and one-on-one mentorship with business professionals with similar experiences.
All workshops will be held at the Oswego Public Library District’s downtown Oswego campus, 32 W. Jefferson Street:
• Starting a Side Gig While Working a Full-time Job, Thursday, March 19, 8: 30 a.m..
Transition from J-O-B to B-O-S-S by starting a new business as a side gig to ramp up income and make a seamless move. Presenter Marie Herman, owner of MRH Enterprises, will share the pros and cons of this strategy and provide insight on how to get started by identifying business opportunities, simple actions to get started, and pitfalls to avoid.
• Social Media Roundtable, Tuesday, March 31, 6:30 p.m..
The Fox Valley SCORE roundtable will be a discussion on how to more effectively leverage social media to market a business. Sara Troyer, program coordinator with the Illinois Small Business Development Center, will discuss social media strategies and goals, the best tactical practices, and how to build an advocate community through social media profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
• Is This Thing On? Speak and Be Heard, Thursday, April 16, 8:30 a.m..
Men and women communicate differently. The workshop, taught by Theresa Sperling, CEO of Achieve That Next Level, will teach how to listen more closely to identify communication differences in your everyday life and apply that knowledge to command a room.
• Intellectual Property and Your Small Business, Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 p.m..
Intellectual property laws affect and protect small businesses, from fair use and attendees will learn the proper way to claim ownership of intellectual property, from Allison Cychosz, of AMC Legal, a lawyer who practices in intellectual property and contract law.
• Progress Through Diversity, Thursday, May 21, 6:30 p.m..
Community service organizations have carried generations through difficult times, but when they failed to foresee the need to diversify their memberships, they saw numbers decline. Attendees can learn how to empower the female members of an organization, including leadership roles, to strengthen the organization. Presenter Stacey Limacher’s will share her experience in addressing gender parity in one of the world’s oldest and most established service organizations.
• Owning Your Own Biz: You can do it!, Thursday, June 18, 8:30 a.m..
Those who dream of owning a business can learn to get out of their comfort zones and leap into entrepreneurship with guidance and inspiration from the workshop. Presenter Kelley Rice, owner of Imagination Print & Design, will share from her experience opening a small business in Oswego.
Registration is not required to attend, however, a minimum number of attendees must be registered for a program to run. Registration is at www.oswegrow.com. While there, find resources of all kinds for small business, including market research databases, connections to mentors, appointments with the business librarian.
Oswegrow is a partnership between the Oswego Public Library District, the Village of Oswego, and Fox Valley SCORE that provides opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs to learn and grow their businesses in Oswego.
For more information, contact business librarian Drea Flores at 630-978-1024, or dflores@oswego.lib.il.us.
—Village of Oswego