Local entrepreneurs looking to level up their businesses might want to clear their calendars for May. The Mecklenburg County Office of Economic Development is rolling out a virtual seminar series designed to arm business owners with the tools they need to scale their operations successfully. Named "What’s Next 2025," the series is a welcomed resource for those who already have a customer base and are seeing revenue but are ready to push their ventures into new territories of growth.
The series, as reported by Mecklenburg County, spreads across three weeks in May and offers a total of six lectures. Johnson C. Smith University takes the helm to facilitate these sessions. Business experts are being brought in to deliberately cover a wide array of pivotal topics. The seminars aim to provide participants with a strategic playbook ranging from financial health to operational dynamics that determine the long-term sustainability of a business.
On May 6, the series opens with "Scaling Sales and Marketing," focusing on developing marketing strategies to effectively broaden a business's reach. Following on May 8, "Funding for Growth" dives into the crucial aspects of monitoring and interpreting financial health, which form the bedrock for responsible and informed decisions regarding securing funds for expansion. With each lecture taking place from 6-8 p.m., participants can fit this valuable learning into their evening schedules, as detailed by Mecklenburg County's recent release.
Continuing the momentum, "Planning for Growth" on May 13 provides a deep dive into achieving scalability—a critical element for enduring success. Then on May 15, "Hiring for the Long Haul" tackles the art of identifying staffing needs, drafting precise job descriptions, and ensuring that the right talent is acquired to effectively meet fresh challenges. The series moves to fine tune business mechanics with "Scaling Operations" on May 20, where defining business components and understanding infrastructure becomes key to enduring operational excellence, according to Mecklenburg County's release.
The culmination, "Tales of Growth," scheduled for May 22, grants a unique opportunity to learn directly from seasoned entrepreneurs. These individual tales will shed light on the transition from working in the business to strategizing on it—an existential shift for any growing entity. Recognizing the commitment of its participants, a certificate of completion will be awarded to those who attend the full slate of seminars, highlighting their dedication to advancing their business acumen.
Registration for individual seminars, or the entire series, is now open. Entrepreneurs invested in their own progress, and the growth of their businesses, are encouraged to enroll and tap into this collection of insights and strategies. The series is not only a chance to learn but also an exercise in community building, bringing together ambitious business owners under the shared vision of growth and success.
