Roxbury Business Workshop Series

Venture Cafe New England will be hosting a series of free business workshops hosted by business experts and professionals. Our team is excited to launch this Friday evening series of workshops for the Greater Roxbury Community with a variety of topics designed to improve the skill set of the aspiring business owner and entrepreneur.

Venture Café New England at Roxbury Innovation Center:

Venture Café New England connects innovators to make things happen.

We broaden, connect, and support an inclusive innovation community through a public network of spaces and programs to help anyone with an idea have the opportunity to succeed.

The Roxbury Innovation Center (RIC) mission is to support local economic development, in Roxbury, by empowering and guiding innovation and entrepreneurship, as viable career options. We provide a diverse variety of resources for small business owners of all stages and industries, through instructional workshops and courses, networking events, and office hour mentorship. Learn more. (https://roxburyinnovationcenter.org/ )

Friday February 28th: Fall In Love with Emotional Intelligence

Relationships, professional and platonic, are shaped by what we say and how we say it. Effectively balancing self-awareness, social awareness, self-regulation, and social skills is what will determine your ultimate success, whether you're connecting with a new colleague, managing a difficult employee, or maintaining a relationship with an old friend.

Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to discuss how to make emotionally intelligent decisions with their workforce, not only maximizing the productivity of their relationships but also negotiating challenging situations successfully.

In this workshop, you will be able to:

~ Define the four quadrants of emotional intelligence.

~ Demonstrate giving and receiving feedback to a manager or employee using emotional intelligence.

This is a highly interactive session: it is suggested that you do not attend with your direct manager or direct report so you can be as transparent as possible.

Friday March 13th : Pivot to Profitability: How to Refocus Your Startup and Reduce Your Cash Burn

Building a profitable startup gives you control over your own destiny. You can decide when to fundraise, scale or sell. Whether you are bootstrapping your startup or stuck between fundraising rounds, in this session you will learn how to pivot to profitability, focus on the metrics that matter, and build the foundation for profitable, scalable growth.

Concepts covered include:

~ How to properly assess your current situation

~ The Intersection of Innovation Accounting and Cash Flow

~ Actionable vs. Vanity Metrics

~ Rooting out Resource Draining Initiatives

~ Communicating With Key Stakeholders

~ The Impact on your Fundraising Strategy

~ Strategies For Improving Founder Mental Health

Friday March 27th: Design Thinking: The 5 Key Steps of the Design Process

Design has become a central force in the world of technology and business, but how does it work? In this workshop, design consultant and former HubSpot Director of Design Ben Spear (benjaminspear.com) will teach you the five key steps of every design process. Bring a pen, some paper and your curiosity!

Friday April 3rd: THE IDEA METHOD: A Framework for CLARITY in Business Growth

The IDEA METHOD introduces participants to a method that allows them to align their marketing, sales, and overall communication tactics to the CORNERSTONE IDEA of their business. My aim is to help entrepreneurs re-anchor themselves with the core purpose of their business in order to move forward in an assertive and cohesive way.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

~ The opportunity to clarify the core message of their business so that it better communicates the true essence of what the company does

~ A framework that offers consistent clarity for action and decision making

~ The ability to deliver coherent messaging, brand awareness, and presence for their company in the marketplace

Friday April 24th: Ideation - Identify true needs in your industries and community

This workshop will work to help entrepreneurs identify true needs in their industries and communities, with the goal of helping attendees identify how they can leverage their resources and create entrepreneurial opportunities to address needs in the community. 

Workshop attendees can expect to

• Collaborate with others about entrepreneurial dilemmas
• Brainstorm potential solutions
• Ideate potential business solutions

Participants will not need to come with an idea, but should be prepared to fall in love with a problem. 

Friday May 15th: Pivot to Profitability: How to Refocus Your Startup and Reduce Your Cash Burn

Building a profitable startup gives you control over your own destiny. You can decide when to fundraise, scale or sell. Whether you are bootstrapping your startup or stuck between fundraising rounds, in this session you will learn how to pivot to profitability, focus on the metrics that matter, and build the foundation for profitable, scalable growth.

Concepts covered include:

~ How to properly assess your current situation

~ The Intersection of Innovation Accounting and Cash Flow

~ Actionable vs. Vanity Metrics

~ Rooting out Resource Draining Initiatives

~ Communicating With Key Stakeholders

~ The Impact on your Fundraising Strategy

~ Strategies For Improving Founder Mental Health

Friday May 22nd: How To Nail A 3-Minute Business Pitch

Katy graduated from Butler University where she studied strategic communications and political science. For seven years she has done marketing and communications for three different nonprofits, accumulating communications expertise of all sorts along the way.

In this workshop, Katy will share specific strategies that will help you structure an informative and engaging 3-minute business pitch.