Small business workshop taking place Oct. 27

Ever wanted to start a small business or learn how to keep one running?

The Maricopa Chamber of Commerce will host a small business workshop on Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m. to noon at its office at 44870 W. Hathaway, Suite 5. The event is a seminar to aid and assist new and existing businesses.

“We held a focus group to determine what the needs/concerns are of the business people here in Maricopa,” Maricopa Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Terri Kingery said. “From the results came this, the first of many seminars.”

According to Kingery, the group is limited to 10 participants. “The goal is to keep the group small so we can provide much information in a small span of time,” Kingery noted.

The agenda for the half-day session will include: Welcome/introductions/situation analysis (9 a.m.); business planning for start-ups and expansions (9:15 a.m.); forms of legal organization: sole proprietorship/LLC/s-corporation (9:45 a.m.); sources of financing for business start-up and expansion (10 a.m.); break (10:20 a.m.); marketing and advertising strategies (10:30 a.m.); budgeting as a planning tool to control costs (11 a.m.); personnel recruitment and retention (11:15 a.m.); open time for questions and discussions (11:35 a.m.); and evaluation (11:50 a.m. – noon).

As Kingery sees it, the biggest challenges for new and existing businesses in Maricopa are to keep people shopping in town and communicating that there are businesses here.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than 50 percent of small businesses close their doors in the first five years.

For further information on the workshop, call (520) 568-2844.

To register for the event, visit www.maricopachamber.com/pages/event-registration.php .