Stipend opportunity: Mendocino and Lake county residents who attend all 4 classes will qualify to receive a $100 stipend for completing the series. Entrepreneurship is a bumpy road, and good money management habits help you grow your business while preparing to handle life’s surprises. Join us in this 4-part webinar series to learn the basics of how to plan your spending, increase your savings, manage debt, and improve your creditworthiness. Classes will be held on Thursdays, 1 – 1:45 PM on Zoom; starting on April 20. Part 1 – The Power of Saving A lot of business owners focus on keeping their expenses down — but don’t realize that savings can have an ever bigger impact on their profitability. Do you have enough money saved to pay for small unexpected expenses? How about big emergencies? If you want to make sure that you and your business won’t get knocked down by life’s surprises, join us to learn how to get started today. Part 2 – Take Control with a Spending Plan Are you struggling with missed payments and late fees? Do you feel like your money is leaking out of your accounts? Do you have difficulty figuring out which bill to pay first? If you don’t have a spending plan (aka budget) for your business you may find yourself running out of money or wondering where it all went. Ready to take control? Business owners of all sizes will learn how a spending plan is the key to reaching all of your financial goals. Part 3 – How to be a Good Borrower Business owners often need to borrow money to start or expand a business — but who you borrow from, how the loan is structured, and how you pay it back determine whether you end up creating more business value or drowning in debt. Make sure borrowing is working for you, and not against you. Part 4 – Build Your Creditworthiness Having “good credit” means that people who lend you money are confident that they will be paid back as promised, on time. Whether the lender is a big bank or a family member, how can you assure them that you are trustworthy? Building a good credit history takes time — so start today. Presenter Christine Rodrigues is a small business owner who previously trained financial coaches for The United Way of the Bay Area and was the Program Director of SparkPoint Marin, a do-it-yourself financial help center for people struggling financially. Christine is passionate about helping people build healthy habits and learn new skills, and she also developed Get Out Of Credit Prison, a hands-on credit rebuilding manual, The Lemon-Proof Buyer’s Guide, a consumer protection guide to buying a car, and self-guided skill-building programs for Internet entrepreneurs.
