You can learn a lot by attending a seminar. You can learn — and remember — a lot more if you practice what you’re learning while you’re in the room. You can benefit even more if you immediately apply what you’ve learned when you get back to work.
That’s the thought behind the Leaders Resource Network seminar series on Education Day at the 2008 Pumper & Cleaner Expo. Last year the LRN presented a full track of seminars that played to over-flowing rooms. This time, Kelly Newcomb and a team of expert presenters will offer a day of seminars in a workshop format with an opportunity for follow-up instruction and practice.
Those who take part will leave with a basic start at key elements of a business plan: a sales and marketing plan, an operations plan, a financial plan, and a personnel training and development plan.
Busy hands
“In recent years at the Expo, we’ve been able to test some ideas,” says Newcomb, president of Newcomb Marketing Solutions in Michigan City, Ind. “We’ve found that people respond best to the seminars that are more interactive — where we lead workshops and small-group exercises. This year, we’re taking that concept to the next level.”
Participants will view a web-based presentation that is actually a business planning software program. They’ll receive a workbook that goes through the same steps as the web presentation. They’ll break up into groups and go through the exercise of building a skeletal business plan. The day will include four seminars:
Sales and marketing. Presented by Newcomb, this seminar will describe how to build a sales and marketing plan that helps owners grow their businesses by retaining customers and winning new ones.
Operations. Ray Luden, a former owner and operator of a family portable restroom business, will explain how to run a business profitably. He’ll describe how to set a profit commitment, then stick to it when bidding jobs, always including an adequate margin. “It’s a way to avoid doing the “low-price limbo” — seeing how low you can go before your back breaks,” Newcomb says. (There will be an additional session specifically for those who want to start a portable sanitation business or for companies that want to add portable sanitation to their services.)
People. Janet Fragman, a senior development specialist with Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, Ind., will describe how to build a strong team. She’ll tell how to establish a human resources policy, develop an employee handbook, build job descriptions, and structure salary and benefit programs tied to performance goals. She will also explain how to develop talent and build leaders who can help the business attain its goals.
Finance. Don Schultz, controller with Newcomb Marketing Solutions, will explain how to read and understand a balance sheet and profit-and-loss statement, and how to monitor and use key indicators, such as accounts receivable and cash flow.
Back at the office
What happens in the seminars is only the beginning. “They’ll walk away with the foundation for taking their company to the next level,” Newcomb says.
“In each of the four seminars, they’ll identify their top goals and list a few specific actions they need to take to accomplish those goals. Then we help them work on those goals when they get home.”
Participants will get access to an interactive online tool they can use to flesh out their plans. The web site will present material in the same sequence and format as the Expo seminars. “If they want, they’ll be able to take their team through the exercises,” Newcomb says.
The web site includes a PowerPoint presentation that goes through the details of creating a marketing plan. Users have access to a coach who can answer questions and provide assistance. The site will also enable business owners to access information from previous LRN Expo programs — such as forms for completing a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis, a list of core values, mission and vision state-ments, company goals, and more.
In addition, the web site includes a library of resources, such as educational presentations, handouts, sample business forms and materials to help business owners run and operate their businesses more effectively and efficiently.
Education Day will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The Expo exhibits will be open Thursday, Feb. 28, through Saturday, March 1.
The Expo will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. The early registration fee of $40 applies through Jan. 25. For more information or to register, call 800/257-7222 or visit www.pumpershow.com.
