As a startup entrepreneur or small business owner, finding low-cost training for yourself or your employees is more than ideal. Whether you have been in business for six months or ten years, knowing about resources that won’t put a dent in your pocket is priceless. Over the last decade, Atlanta has evolved into a viable technology and business hub, and with this comes places like General Assembly, the Atlanta Tech Center, Techsquare Labs and other venues that specialize in offering opportunities for professional development and training. There is always something going on in this city, and business owners can take advantage of the many low-cost and free skill training offered. Here are five upcoming free or low-cost events small business owners should think about attending.
The Talent Advantage: How to Source and Retain the Right People
General Assembly
March 26, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Free
It can be argued that nothing is more valuable to a company than human capital. A business cannot operate without skilled and talented people who are ready to propel a company forward. However, how do you market to the right people? How do you figure out who you need to fill specific positions? This event is slated to instruct HR Professionals, innovative marketers, and recruiters on how to use tools like LinkedIn to better search for and hire talent. While workers have to brand themselves, companies do as well. This course led by, Jacqueline Boone, Digital Marketing Consultant and Lead Trainer is designed to do just that.
ATV Sales Professional Roundtable 2018
Atlanta Tech Village
April 4, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Free
Increasing sales is easier said than done. What happens if you are experiencing a sales slump? How do you make your way out of it? This event is described as a “monthly gathering of sales professionals to share successes and failures.” They say that “two heads are better than one,” and this event is meant to bring together sales professionals across many industries who want to learn from each other. It is always helpful to know what others are doing to overcome sales obstacles. This event is led by Steve Bachman, Atlanta Tech Village Mentor and CEO Partner of Hi-Tech Partners.
SEO for Business
Allied Office
March 27, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
$25
In today’s world, it is nearly impossible to make an impact on consumers without a carefully planned and strategic website. However, the words on the page matter just as much as the navigation and functionality. This is where SEO comes in. A good SEO strategy helps companies rank high on search engines like Google to be seen by potential customers. This course ran by Loman Creative Services, will walk individuals through the process of creating useful keywords for business websites. The event is described as “an interactive workshop,” so attendees are encouraged to bring their smartphone devices and laptops.
Building Better Products with Customer Validation
General Assembly
March 29, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Free
In an ideal world, every business owner would design products and services with the customer in mind to meet their every expectation. Unfortunately, in a business world where a lot of factors are at play (time, money, lack of feedback, etc.) it can be hard to understand what customers are looking for. Building Better Products with Customer Validation is a course designed to take entrepreneurs through the process of collecting customer feedback, making product recommendations, and using the information to deliver products customers want. Centercode, a customer validation solutions company, plans to help attendees understand how to create their own Alpha, Beta, and Field test for exemplary customer validation.
Office Hours at Tyrannosaurus Tech
Tyrannosaurus Tech
March 29, 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Free
Think about it, how many times have you heard a fellow small business owner or startup entrepreneur lament about a web design bug they couldn’t fix? They contracted a developer to design their project, but regular maintenance was not a part of the contract. Managing UX design, website layouts, and bugs and errors can be beyond frustrating. What is even more distressing is having to pay for something a quick answer or consultation could fix. The developers at Tyrannosaurs Tech offer regular free office hours for those who need immediate website development questions answered.
Being a small business owner or startup entrepreneur is not easy, but these resources and those like them can help make the load a little lighter. Atlanta is home to a lot of free business development resources, so always make a practice of browsing the event pages of tech centers, co-working spaces, and even libraries for affordable training events.
