ATLANTA, Ga. /eNewsChannels/ — The Small Business Finance Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is conducting its second annual Stepping Up to Business at the Loudermilk Center in Atlanta on Feb. 29, 2012. For the price of an hour with a business attorney or accountant, attendees can expect a full day of financial mentoring that could transform their enterprise by helping them with cash flow and financing challenges.
Charles Green, Executive Director of Atlanta’s Small Business Finance Institute (SBFI), says, “We’re in the most difficult environment in which to raise capital in the last 50 years. Any advantages, strategies or corners to cut that small business owners can learn to help them realize their dreams of growing their business and creating new jobs are imperative.”
Attendees will be able to choose four of 12 different workshops covering subjects like finding angel investors, securing bank financing, understanding financial statements, improving FICO scores, alternative financing strategies like bartering, and legal issues related to financing their business. The conference brochure, available on the Organization’s website, describes each of these workshops, giving attendees the opportunity to plan ahead for the event.
Attendees will learn:
1. Best practices to create a well-written business plan;
2. Insights into how lenders/investors evaluate funding proposals;
3. How to get more useable information from financial statements;
4. How to plan and manage business cash flow;
5. Strategies to find business funding from several sources including angel investors, SBA loans, commercial finance, micro loans and other alternative sources.
In addition, they’ll get networking opportunities with other small business owners to share ideas and make valuable connections that can help them broaden their business opportunities. They’ll also meet presenters who are bankers, accountants, investors, funders, credit counselors, business coaches as well other business professionals that can support their enterprise’s growth and success. Finally, entrepreneurs seeking financing will get a chance to network for business funding with bankers, funders and investors during the “Speed Dating for Capital” event.
“This event offers an opportunity for business owners to learn a lot of information in a short period of time that can be useful the next day and positively impact their business,” adds Green, a former banker with over 30 years of experience helping entrepreneurs secure funding. Green, who launched the 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2010 to provide financial education to entrepreneurs, has written two books on the subject of funding for small businesses. He is regularly featured by business and financial media as an authority on business finance and economic trends.
Honorary Conference Chair for this year’s Stepping Up to Business is Caesar Mitchell, President of the Atlanta City Council. Sponsors include Little Pink Book, Dreamhost, HUB Atlanta, Ballard Spahr, LLP, Southern Barter Club and Aventis Systems.
The cost of the day-long event, which starts at 8 a.m. and concludes at 5 p.m., is $225. Small business owners also may attend just the morning session which ends at after the Lunch Program or the afternoon session, which begins after the Lunch Program for $125 per session. The fee for only attending “Speed Dating for Capital,” which begins at 5:15 p.m., is $10.
Attendees my register for any of these options by visiting the Small Business Finance Institute at http://www.sbfi.org .
Copyright © 2012 Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.
