Beaufort County Community College is offering the following classes at its main campus in Washington and its campus at Ocracoke.

 

MAIN CAMPUS

Marketing Your Business

Drawing attention to a business is challenging. Large chain stores, a challenging economy and the internet have made the small business venture oftentimes frustrating.

Discover what can be done to bring in customers. In this seminar, students will learn low-cost advertising and marketing strategies, create a marketing plan and how to score greater sales with current customers.

Brian Cooke is a former instructor of management and entrepreneurship at East Carolina University. Brian received his bachelor’s degree, concentrating in entrepreneurship and small business management, as well as a master’s degree from East Carolina University. During his time at ECU, Cooke worked as the associate director of the Small Business Institute, interned with the N.C. Small Business and Technology Development Center, and received two national awards for business case competitions. He has experience in business ownership, business consulting, business planning, product design, manufacturing and supply chain management. This seminar will take place on Monday, from 6-8 p.m. It is free, but participants are encouraged to register by calling 252-940-6375.

 

OCRACOKE CAMPUS

Using Social Media to Supercharge Your Business

A long-standing mantra in the business community is: “It’s all about relationships.”

Building strong and loyal relationships helps a business to get started and to grow. This is where social media can help without huge marketing dollars to make it effective. The effective use of social media is a perfect fit for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

This course will provide participants with basic knowledge about a variety of social media tools and how to use them most effectively, such as free local directories like Yelp, Google Local, Trip Advisor and Foursquare; and social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+ and mobile marketing. Class time will include computer basics and how to set up accounts for these online tools. It will also include in-person referral marketing techniques that drive real revenue to a business. This workshop is scheduled for Nov. 17, from 2–5 p.m. at the Ocracoke Community Center.

 

Crowdfunding for Small Businesses with Martin Brossman

Crowdfunding is one of many new, creative ways to get funding for small businesses.

This class demystifies crowdfunding and other new ways to get money for small businesses today to lower the barrier to entry. Participants will learn the how to get money for a business and the right funding to explore with social media and small-business marketing expert Martin Brossman and small-business funding expert Dan Scalla.

Martin Brossman is a success coach, speaker, trainer and author. He originated numerous successful in-person and online networking groups, which have led to meaningful business connections among members. Brossman also teaches blogging, podcasting and online networking. He has offered training since 2006 to small business centers and chambers of commerce throughout North Carolina. This workshop is scheduled for Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ocracoke Community Center.