The Greater Brunswick Area Chamber of Commerce along with Brunswick Main Street and the Brunswick Economic Development Commission joined forces over the past several months to bring essential support to businesses in the area through initiation of the ”Business 101 Seminar Series.”

In November, Christina May, Acting Chair of the Brunswick Economic Development Commission, began the series with three marketing sessions: “Finding New Customers”- An Introduction to Marketing” followed by “Communicating with Your Customer” and “Public Relations”. Local printer Ellis Burruss joined in and spoke about how to use print media to one’s advantage and Phil Graves, President of the Chamber, delivered a presentation on the use of social media for marketing.

Continuing in to December, the topic turned to “Sound Business Management Practices” with two sessions led by Jim George, local accountant from Jefferson. George covered a lot of ground in his seminars including why seeking proper guidance is vital when opening a business and how to avoid common mistakes that can spell trouble.

Mike Dailey, Executive Director of the Frederick Innovative Technology Center, led the first two of three seminars in January. “Planning to Prosper in 2012” was the theme for the sessions and the objectives were: to provide a basic framework for what it takes to develop a business model and business plan, use real life examples for the discussions, identify and explain each of the major sections of a business model and business plan and what you will need to develop it, and identify local resources as you progress on your journey to start a new business.

 About 17 area business people attended the “Planning to Prosper in 2012”seminars held at El Sloppy Tacos in downtown Brunswick on January 12 and 19 to listen as Dailey explained how a business model can simulate profitability, react quickly to changing economic assumptions and provide a baseline for comparison while a business plan makes one work through ideas, predict and solve problems before they occur and also gives forecasted numbers to help track success.

The free series concluded on January 26, 7PM, at the Green Country Inn with “Step by Step Guide to Opening a Business in Brunswick “through the eyes of Kim Mezzanotte from the City of Brunswick Planning Department.