SCORE Delivers Free Online Tech Workshops
 By Lee S. Shaffer

Small-business owner who are struggling to put new technology to work in their company can get a helping hand from SCORE's free online workshops.

SCORE is a nonprofit organization that has a long-term, sterling history of helping small businesses through mentoring and assistance available at local offices nationwide.

Now the group has added free, on-demand technology workshops to its repertoire of resources.

The workshops are available at SCORE's e-Business Now website. Topics for the workshops range from cyber security and social media to e-commerce and search optimization. Here's a look at the five workshops.

1. Boosting Your Business Using Technology
   Learn how to use technology solutions to increase revenue, improve accounts receivable collections and boost your bottom line.
2. Creating a Technology Plan for Your Small Business
   This workshop will show you how to integrate technology into your strategies for marketing, finance, sales, pricing and customer relations. You'll learn how to use cost-effective tech solutions to better penetrate your market.
3. Building the Perfect Website for Your Small Business
   Learn how to create and maintain a well-designed website that will attract more customers. The workshop includes information about how to measure and analyze the effectiveness of your website.
4. Using Technology to Jumpstart Your Sales
   This workshop will help you learn how to attract visitors to your website and how to convert them into buyers. Plus, learn the classic four P's of marketing—product, price, place and promotion—and how to incorporate them into your small business.
5. Applying Technology to Improve Your Cash Flow
   You'll discover the basics of cash flow management and learn how to leverage modern technology to increase cash inflows and control outflows.

More From SCORE's e-Business Now
The workshops are the key components of SCORE's e-Business Now website. But you'll also find handy how-to guides designed to complement the knowledge you gain in the workshops.

Together, the workshops and the how-to guides will help you implement the right technology tools to meet the goals of your small business.

Here's a list of just a few of the available how-to guides categorized by workshop.

Boosting Your Business Using Technology:

• How to use technology to drive sales on your website
• How to protect yourself when buying technology
• How to assess the cost of technology solutions

Building the Perfect Website for Your Small Business:

• How to choose a Web development team
• How to choose a domain name that drives traffic
• How to create effective Web content
• Important things to keep in mind if you're building a website by yourself

Using Technology to Jumpstart Your Sales:

• How to market with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
• How to market with blogs
• How to market with video
• How to market with ratings and review sites

Applying Technology to Improve Your Cash Flow:

• How to choose accounting software
• How to use ratios to manage cash flow
• How to decelerate cash outflow

AFS Can Help
Workshops and how-to guides can be helpful by adding to your business knowledge base. But sometimes, you need a straightforward answer to a specific question.

That's when you need the expertise of the small-business consultants at AFS ProTalk.

These professional consultants can answer questions regarding social media, technology use, online marketing and more.

Plus, AFS Members enjoy unlimited access to ProTalk® business consultants with a simple a phone call or keystroke.



(Posted November 2011)

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