City of Chicago: Free Business Education Workshops

City of Chicago: Free Business Education Workshops.

The City of Chicago, Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, (BACP) offers FREE business workshops every Wednesday and Friday at City Hall

Located at 121 N. LaSalle St., Room 805 unless indicated otherwise. You can register for a workshop by emailing BACPoutreach@cityofchicago.org or by calling 312.744.2086.  ALWAYS call first to confirm. Workshops subject to change and cancellation.  I have attended several of these workshops and they are all excellent.  I would advise arriving early because the workshops fill up.

6/28 Ten Practical Legal Tips for Small Business Success 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. – 11th Floor, Room 1103

Running a small business takes a lot of work. Often, a handful of employees fill a variety of roles, meaning that everyone has to bring serious hard work, dedication, self-motivation, and multitasking skills to the table. Amid all this, it can be easy to forget about the legal aspects of running a business. However, attending to these matters sooner rather than later is likely to save you time, stress, and expense in the long run. Join us in this workshop to learn our top 10 legal tips for small business success.

7/3 Everything You Need To Know About Business Insurance 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

In this session, attendees will learn the coverages needed for their business. We’ll discuss the right questions to ask your insurance professional and how to protect yourself and your business against lawsuits.

7/5 No Workshop Due to 4th of July Holiday

7/10 City Inspections – Ask Questions, Get Answers 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

To operate a successful business in Chicago you need to know what it takes to maintain compliance. Officials from several City departments will provide insight on how to operate safely, stay compliant, help prepare for inspections and highlight the do’s and don’ts of operating a business.

7/12 A Simple Recipe for Social Media Success 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. 11th Floor, Room 1103

As a small business, social media is overwhelming and often feels like you’re just spinning your wheels. You have to figure out where to be, how to be engaging, and how to get results—all with a limited amount of time and resources. That’s why in this session we’ll provide a recipe for social media that saves time and gets results to grow your business. You’ll learn how to choose the right social networks for your business, the 15-minute social media plan and getting started in the pay-to-play world of social media.

7/17 Get Capital for Your Small Business with Kiva and Accion 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Hear from Kiva, a nonprofit that provides 0% interest loans of up to $10,000 to small business owners and entrepreneurs, and from Accion, a small business lender with loan ranges of up to $100,000 for small and existing businesses.

7/19 Recognizing and Protecting Your Company’s Trademarks, Patents, Trade Secrets, and Copyrights 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. – 11th Floor, Room 1103

Learn the basic differences between copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets and the assets they protect. Knowing the differences will help you to take the right steps and make the right decisions to protect your company’s intellectual property assets.

7/24    How To Use Facebook Live And Other Streams To Build Your Business 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Video has proven to be the best method to increase engagement, over 10x more response than regular text and images! Now we have Instagram, YouTube, Facebook LIVE Streaming and others, even LinkedIn is getting in on the action, and Jackson will share his team’s best video and streaming techniques and case studies. Social Jack™ has produced and worked with over 2,000 videos and streams as it relates to Social Media. He will share how they use multiple stream options to test and feed video content for quick use, test and conversion. Then once those streams are over, it’s time to turn those videos into a campaign. You will leave with an easy to follow overview of their process so that you can implement and enjoy the rewards of live streaming and video conversion. In this session, you’ll leave with tips to kick up your live stream attendance, how to setup and use Facebook LIVE, steps to optimize your YouTube Channel, easy to follow production steps , hacks to quickly convert your video to a campaign, how to leverage team’s members and influencers and a simple checklist to put this into practice.

7/26 The Business of Entrepreneurship 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. – 11th Floor, Room 1103

Starting a business is not easy. It takes commitment, dedication, support and follow thought. Join us in the workshop to learn our top tips for startup success.

7/31 Tobacco Retailer Training 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Presented by City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection (BACP)
How does Business Affairs and Consumer Protection license and regulate the sale of tobacco products in the City of Chicago? Learn from the BACP experts who issue licenses and enforce the tobacco ordinances and rules.