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Troy, AL – The City of Troy, The Pike County Chamber of Commerce and the Troy University IDEA Bank have combined resources and knowledge to craft a series of 6 lunch-and-learn workshops, designed to help small businesses with marketing and finance. The workshops will begin promptly at 11:30 a.m. and will be “done by one!” Lunch will be included at each of the 6 sessions, and all of the workshops will be presented at the Troy University IDEA Bank on the Downtown Square.

“Owning a small business is not always easy and there are times when our business owners can benefit from hearing another voice talk about best practices for marketing, promotion, financing a business and making sure your bottom line is where you need for it to be,” said Leigh Anne Windham, Special Projects Coordinator for the City of Troy.

“’IDEA’ is an acronym for ‘Innovation, Design, & Entrepreneurship Accelerator’ and a huge part of our mission is to act as a resource-sharing hub. I can think of no better way to prepare entrepreneurs for business issues that will inevitably come up than to have the opportunity to talk with some of the presenters and panelists we have lined up,” said Lynne George, Director of the Troy University IDEA Bank.

“I agree,” said Bethany Allen, President of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce. “Participants will have the opportunity to hear from some of the best marketers, digital content creators, salespeople, bankers, finance experts and fellow business owners from this area. They will be able to ask them questions about what has led to their sustained success.” “For our younger entrepreneurs just starting their businesses, the information they can gain from these workshops can be invaluable,” said Lynne. “They will benefit from the years of experience and best practices our presenters will be offering.”

“We are very excited about our presenters and know our businesses owners will like them also,” said Bethany. “The lineup of speakers features a wide variety of experienced individuals who have had measurable local success. Jonathan Sellers, Troy University Social Media Manager, kicks off the marketing sessions with ‘Building Your Social Story: easy tips for memorable social media posts’. Jonathan manages social media for all of Troy University and runs his own videography business. He has crafted multiple viral posts and will be sharing his best tips for creating simple, yet engaging posts. We follow up that session with Matt Clower, Senior Director of Communications at Troy University who has years of experience in not only social media and promotions, but also in journalism. He will be sharing his content planner and demonstrating how business owners can easily use it for their own needs, helping you work smarter, not harder.”

The last of the marketing workshops will feature Dr. Charla Brown, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Troy University, who is a scholar in the areas of both marketing and entrepreneurship and has a strong background in pharmaceutical sales. Dr. Brown has interviewed countless entrepreneurs and has studied the best practices of small business marketing. She will be discussing some of the non-digital forms of advertising and promotion, sharing examples and tools.”

July will feature three sessions that focus on the financial side of running a small business.

Travis Colquett, President & CEO of Brantley Bank & Trust. Travis will offer viewpoints about ‘Budgeting & Forecasting for Success.’ Travis has a unique perspective as he has also been a small business owner. The second workshop in this series features Troy Bank & Trust Brundidge Main Office Manager, Isha Tarver. Isha will discuss the various types of products a bank can offer to help a business owner free up time for other tasks. The last workshop on July 31 features Troy University retired professor of accountancy, Dr. Steve Grice, and John Barry (JB) Roberts, owner of Moseley Industrial Supply and Lawrence Hardware and Paint. They will be discussing maximizing profitability and cash flow positivity.

“We believe that we have put together a dynamic and knowledgeable group of professionals to teach topics of interest to our small business owners,” said Leigh Anne. “I know that our owners can learn invaluable information to make their businesses more successful and increase their bottom lines!”

The workshops are scheduled for June 5, 12, 26 and July 10, 24 and 31. Registration is $10 per workshop, which includes lunch, and a discount is offered with the purchase of multiple sessions. Pike County Chamber of Commerce members receive a discount of $5 per session, and you can sign up by going to www.pikecoc.com.