The key to selling to the Manitoba Government is to first understand what the government buys. The range of goods and services required by departments and their programs in the Manitoba Government are extensive and varied.  This round table discussion should answer most of your questions on selling your products or services to the Province of Manitoba.

How do you sell your products or services to the federal government?  Learn the government's buying procedures and find out more about the online bidding process and Contracts Canada.

So you want to start a business. Have you already decided what kind of business? Did you make an informed choice? If you have no solid idea yet, how do you look for a business opportunity or idea? If you think you have an idea, how do you evaluate it? Attend this session that will help you explore business opportunities and ideas, learn about factors and trends that could impact your choice, and how to pick the right business.

Accessibility — it’s more than just moving office furniture and widening doors! It’s not just about finding the best parking space!  The “I am Accessible” workshop is a human resource tool designed to explore various disability issues in the workplace. Participants will receive the “I am Accessible” manual and learn about the following: myths about people with disabilities; the job interview; “invisible” disabilities; and product/service accessibility

Monday, Oct 19            12:30 pm – 2:30 pm Marketing 1 – Marketing Basics

This seminar introduces the participants to the most basic of marketing concepts. The overriding lesson is that marketing is a multi-faceted discipline that involves much more that just selling. We begin laying out the stages of a marketing plan, go over the 4 Ps, and discuss relevant examples.

Monday, Oct 19           2:30 pm – 4:30 pm Marketing 2 – Marketing Research

Market Research is the foundation of any new venture. This seminar will teach you how to put together a research plan using quantitative and qualitative research that will assist you in helping people evaluating a business idea, and evaluating a market. We stress that research is a key to finding financing as a part of your business plan, and will serve as a guide to all your marketing efforts.

Tuesday, Oct 20          12:30 pm – 2:30 pm  Marketing 3 – Advertising and Promotion

Many people mistake advertising for marketing, a mistake that costs business owners money and resources. This seminar teaches how to properly assess the best advertising vehicles for a business, how to do promotion, and how to leverage publicity. We will look at practical Advertising and Promotion solutions for your business allowing you to critically evaluate your options.

 Tuesday, Oct 20           2:30 pm – 4:30 pm Marketing 4 – Developing a Marketing Plan

The marketing plan is an essential part of a business plan. This seminar helps the participant wrap up the lessons learned in Marketing Basics, Market Research, and Advertising and Promotion and put them into a plan of action.

This hour and a half session will provide you with an overview explaining the application of provincial sales tax for businesses operating in Manitoba. Whether your business is selling goods, providing services, or both, find out the registration requirements and how provincial sales tax applies to your business.

Wednesday, Oct 21    12:30 pm – 3:30 pm  GST Information Workshop

This session is designed for business owners who want to learn the basics of the GST/HST. Topics include methods to simplify the remittance of GST and how to complete the GST return.

This course will provide participants with Word advanced tools for professional and consistent document creation. Topics include: styles, table of contents, document map, bullets and numbering, headers and footers, page numbering. Prerequisite: Good working knowledge of Word 2003

This seminar will provide participants with a comprehensive look at formulas and functions in spreadsheets. Topics include: basic formulas, absolute referencing, and several functions (examples: AVERAGE, SUMIF, COUNTIF, IF, VLOOKUP, TODAY, NOW, CONCATENATE, ABSOLUTE, ROUND). Prerequisite: Good working knowledge of Excel 2003.

Tuesday, Oct 27           10:00 am – 12:00 pm   PowerPoint 2003 – Tips for Small Business

This course will introduce participants to advanced tools as well as presenting tips, tricks and best practices on PowerPoint 2003 topics such as organizational charts, graphs, masters, headers, footers, branches, animation, custom shows, hyperlinks, and templates. Also highlighted are the “do’s” and “don’ts” of creating powerful presentations.  Prerequisite: Basic working knowledge of PowerPoint 2003.

This seminar is for people who have just started or are about to start an unincorporated small business. Topics include how to keep books and records, types of income to report and expenses to claim, filing requirements and rights and obligations.

Thursday, Oct 29       10:00 am – 12:00 pm             How to Start a Business in Manitoba

This seminar covers all of the issues you will need to consider when starting your own business, including: forms of business organization; legal considerations; name registration; taxation; licensing requirements; home based businesses; financing options; and more.