What you’ll gain:
• Ideas to implement for your business
• New perspective on your business development
• Face-to-face time with influential business women and men
• Renewed connections to fellow Women’s Initiative alumnae

7:30 am
Registration begins
Pick up your confirmation packet, drink a cup of coffee, and mingle with other business owners.

7:50 – 8:50 am
Courage & Connections Breakfast
Start your day with a dose of inspiration from Cindy Solomon, an internationally recognized speaker, writer, and executive coach who will share her leadership development expertise in the keynote address, “Creating Culture of Courage: The New Leadership Challenge.” In addition to helping you build “courage skills,” the breakfast will help you map out your day so you can get the most out of the conference.

9:00 – 10:30 am
Seminar sessions begin

Session I

Easy Breezy Bookkeeping with Quickbooks ®
Introducing Quickbooks©, the popular, easy-to-use accounting system designed for small-business owners. Whether you’re doing your own accounts or outsourcing to a professional bookkeeper, a working knowledge of Quickbooks© can help you consolidate your information and access your financial status with one click. Know exactly where you stand financially – and learn how to use this information to best benefit your business and your clients.
Diana Cohn, The Corner Office

Operating Your Business In the Green
Whether you have a retail shop or a bookkeeping service or a restaurant, your business operations have an impact on the environment. In this workshop we will review the issues of resource conservation and pollution prevention and the specific things you can do to "green" your business -- water and energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, toxics reduction, greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Learn how to become a certified Green Business!
Susan Sakaki, Environmental Consultant, Alameda County Green Business Program

Creating a Conscious Relationship with Money
Explore your relationship with money on a practical, emotional, psychological and spiritual level. Increase your knowledge and clarity of the financial arena, and discover ways to create success with ease.
Bari Tessler, Conscious Bookkeeping

The Art of Negotiation
Negotiating for Success! You're proud of your business and what you're creating – now learn to negotiate for what you're worth. This workshop will teach you how to prepare for the process, the substance and the emotions of your next negotiation. And provide strategies and tactics for negotiating effectively.
Jeanine Becker

Balancing Life with Your Budding Business: Strategies for Staying Sane
Get life balance strategies from two entrepreneur coaches. Walk away with effective techniques to manage your life so that you can maintain your energy and passion, and maximize your effectiveness.
Merideth Mehlberg, ACC, Fresh Perspective Coaching and Laurie Tennant, Chrysalis Life Coaching

Ten Steps to Financial Greatness: Create Prosperity for Yourself and Your Family
Learn the ten most important steps to build a personal and practical financial plan that allows your goals to become a reality. In laying out the ten steps, you will learn to evaluate what your major life-goals are and what our core values should be in attaining these goals. We will assess your available resources and determine where exactly we should begin to strategize for success. Learn to celebrate your own personal financial success.
Maria LoValvo, Women's Initiative Business Trainer

Generating Business Leads from Newspaper Articles
Learn to recognize sales leads in news articles and feature stories. Knowledge and information are key for effective sales. This seminar teaches techniques for obtaining relevant business information from the news, and for using that information to warm up cold leads.
Jud Walsh, San Francisco Business Times

Building a Successful Business – Expert Panel
Whether you are new to business or a seasoned veteran, we know that you have questions that need to be answered. Starla moderate a panel of attorneys, accounting and banking professionals, a commercial realtor and employment specialists who will answer all of your questions. 
Starla Sireno, The Fearless Entrepreneur

10:40 – 11:40 am
Get Connected Session I
Get Connected sessions are your fast track to networking with influential business women. In these “speed-mentoring” sessions you’ll gain practical advice, tips and direct feedback that will set your business up for success. Bring questions to ask your Connector and topic ideas.

Tradeshow and Resource Fair
The tradeshow highlights our clients’ products and services, so come ready to shop and buy your holiday gifts early. Browse the resource booths to find tools and other agencies that can help you achieve your business goals.

12:00 noon – 1:50 pm
Leadership Luncheon
We will honor local entrepreneur Carol H. Williams, who has grown her business Carol H. Williams Advertising into a national company, with the Pacesetter Award. Ms. Williams will talk about starting her business, being a trendsetter in the industry, and helping companies reach out to the African American market.

Susan Grant, owner of Baja Nights and 2005 graduate, will be honored as our Graduate Volunteer of the Year for her extraordinary commitment to organizing Women’s Initiative tradeshows, serving as an ambassador for the agency, and supporting other women entrepreneurs with her retail skills.

2:00 – 3:00 pm
Get Connected Session II
Get Connected will be conducted in two sessions and provide you with unique opportunities to consult with business women who are eager to share their expertise with you. The tradeshow and resource fair will also take place during this time.

3:10 – 4:40

Session II

Selling Value
Choosing a product or service-provider isn’t about price…it’s about value. Are you positioning your product or service to offer maximum value to potential customers? Being sensitive to the customer’s need, and showing how your product can meet that need, allows you to command a price higher than your competitors.
Jim Healy , LogicVision

Fearlessness –The Key to Building a Successful Business
In this lively and interactive workshop, participants will uncover how fear drains their energy, their creativity and their business.  Join us and learn simple daily strategies for overcoming fear and learn how the habit of fearlessness can propel your business to new heights.Starla Sireno, The Fearless Entrepreneur

Press Coverage for Your Business – Expert Panel
Find out what it takes to get in the news from a panel of seasoned media experts. Dream up ideas that will make your business more newsworthy. Learn techniques to build relationships with reporters. Get your questions answered about the internal workings of media outlets.
Ilana DeBare, San Francisco Chronicle
Mike Consol, East Bay Business Times
Tracy McKean, Oakland Magazine

Financial Planning for Business Success
You can plan for retirement – even if you don’t have a lot of resources. In fact, the more limited your resources, the more vital it is to start planning now! Find the financial balance between personal and business needs, and plan for your future with smart investments.
Dianne Woon, CFP, RFC, Rubicon Capital Analysts

Business Planning for the Real World
If you are longing for a roadmap for your business growth, come to this workshop to explore the One Page Business Plan. Using this simple and effective tool, you can easily define the work that needs your focus in order to make a big impact on the results and bottom line of your business.
Merideth Mehlberg, ACC, Fresh Perspective Coaching & Women's Initiative Business Trainer

Breaking the Profit Barrier with Networking Magic!
Is your company as profitable as it could be? Instantly turn every business relationship into a mega profit center. Relationships can take time or just one moment of real connection. Find the connection and you both come out with bigger bank accounts. Do it every time and you break through the biggest profit barrier over and over again. Jill Lublin

4:50 – 5:30
Closing Ceremony
Come together to enjoy refreshments and to reflect on the day, exchange business cards, and watch the fabulous fashion show featuring clothing, jewelry and accessories designed by Women’s Initiative graduates. Paula Welsh, Welsh Marketing Group, will host the closing party.