By Staff Reports

(Maui) – The County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development today announced its free workshops for the month of June. Workshops are presented at the Maui County Business Resource Center, a County of Maui facility, located in the Maui Mall across Pizza Hut, in Suite B-9. Seating for all workshops is limited, and all workshops are subject to change or cancellation. Workshops are free unless noted otherwise. To reserve a seat, call the Maui County Business Resource Center at ph. 270-5770. The following workshops are available:

Lei Hoolaha CDFI – Providing Financial Education, Training and Loans

Instructor:  Peter Hanohano, Executive Director of Lei Ho’olaha

Friday, June 16, 2017 – 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

Lei Hoolaha is a certified Native CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) that was established initially in 2011 to provide financial assistance and services to rural, low-income and Native communities throughout the State of Hawaii. First established to assist charter schools and their support nonprofit organizations, Lei Hoolaha now provides financial products, primarily in the form of loans, but is working actively to complement these loans with grants to eligible communities and business ventures. Lei Hoolaha continues to develop loan products and business services for  mission-driven for-profits and non-profits and is funded by a Financial Assistance award through the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program), of Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Peter Hanohano is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools who went on to pursue his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University Hawaii, and graduate degrees at BYU in Provo, Utah, in Educational Psychology (MEd) and Law (JD), and his PhD in First Nations/Indigenous Peoples Education from the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

An Introduction to “Be Strategic:  Grow your Business and improve Profitability”*

Instructor:  David Daly

Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

*Light meal to be served

The MEO Business Development Center (MEO BDC) has brought the “Be Strategic: Grow Your Business” series to Maui County. MEO BDC is actively recruiting 8–10 local entrepreneurs for the upcoming series, which was developed for established, local entrepreneurs to grow sales and improve profitability over the course of eight evening sessions, held over a six month period. Participants will:

• Develop a strategic business plan
• Improve business skills critical for growth
• Build a network of like-minded entrepreneurs
• Adopt the “growth mindset” and overcome common barriers to growth

“Be Strategic: Grow Your Business” is a proven series and has demonstrated significant success in sales growth and profitability improvement for businesses. Come to this workshop to get information about this series of evening sessions. More information is also available at MEO BDC/Be-Strategic.

Content Marketing – What to Say and How to Say it to Keep your Audience Engaged

Instructor:  Mckenna Hallett

Tuesday, June 27, 2017 – 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. (Q&A til 1:30)

Learn to use both words and images to craft your marketing messages, as well as how to grow your influence with your clients and nurture deeper relationships. We all know the advice in real estate – “location, location, location” and for online marketing, it’s “content, content, content!”  What you say, and the way you say it (tone, date and time, frequency) is how you will attract, engage and be shareworthy to your audiences. You will learn how get from being Known to being Liked to being Trusted through good content creation. Emails, Blogs, Social Media Posting – everything depends on what you put in front of your prospects and devoted fans.  Mckenna Hallett is a professional marketing consultant, wordsmith, and owner of MyGoldenWords.com She blogs business savvy hints and tips to a worldwide audience, and teaches seminars throughout the state and on the mainland. With over two decades of experience with her own small business on Maui, she brings practical and easy-to-use advice to all business owners at any stage. She had her first business at the age of 7 and has been in sales and marketing roles in both retail and wholesale with both small and large businesses for over 50 years.

The ABC’s of a Business Plan

Instructor:  David Daly

Tuesday, June 28, 2017 – 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

Maui Economic Opportunity Business Development Center’s Core Four Business Planning is a 36-hour course on how to write a business plan while providing the information you need to know in order to start, operate and grow your business. This workshop is a one-hour introductory workshop which will provide you with a better understanding of the course outline for the Core Four Business Planning. David Daly, Director of the MEO Business Development Center, will discuss the numerous reasons for writing a sound business plan.  He has more than 25 years of experience in business ownership, financing, education and economic development.  His background includes residential lending and being a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority-licensed financial advisor.  Participants will receive an outline of the business plan taught by MEO’s Core Four Business Plan Course.

Free counseling sessions with experience SCORE and Small Business Development Corp. (SBCD) counselors

Tuesday afternoons, 1-3 p.m., and Thursday and Friday mornings, 9-11:30 a.m.