The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce is holding its final Business Institute of 2025 on August 7th.
Russell Lahodny, President and CEO of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, told ABD the program was originally going to be called the Small Business Institute, but they realized the information offered benefits for businesses of all sizes. It provides a unique, face-to-face forum to learn tips and tricks to improve their business.
“There are so many opportunities on the internet that you can sit down and watch YouTube videos all day long, but to have the ability to come in person, network and ask questions, that’s the critical piece,” he said. “So, post COVID, we just wanted to bring people back together, but then provide an opportunity for them to get some education, get something out of it, some tools that they can use to apply in their day-to-day business.”
For the August 7 session, Jeb Blount, Jr., Keynote Speaker & Trainer at Sales Gravy, will present Actionable Strategies for Sales Growth. He will offer techniques for modern sales strategies, social selling, and prospecting.
Lahodny said this is the type of broad-based knowledge the institute can offer every type of business.
“A lot of these people, they might be one or two-person shops, and so they’re wearing multiple hats. They’ve got to know customer service, they’ve got to know HR,” he said. “But that’s maybe not their specialty. However, as a business owner, you’ve got to know it all. That’s really the impetus behind this: how do we provide little snippets of information? What I like to say is we’re here to help businesses so that they can focus on what they do best, and that’s being an electrician, being a plumber, being a nurse, a doctor, whatever that profession is that they’re in.”
Past institutes have focused on everything from hospitality to using software to create marketing and design products for beginners, to how to grow and monetize their social media presence.
“The always popular ones are marketing, social media, and things like that, which are in a business owner’s mind a simple way to grow their business,” Lahodny explained. “But there are all sorts of aspects of running a business, and how can we do that? We’re looking at sales training. Everybody who’s in business is in sales, so how can we help people understand how to better set up their sales pipeline?”
The Business Institute runs once a month, May through August. Lahodny said they generally choose a topic and contact an expert to present a program. However, they have also been approached by business leaders interested in presenting a class.
The August 7 session will be in the Community Conference Room at the Golden Harvest Food Bank at 3310 Commerce Drive in Augusta. The doors open at 8 a.m. and the program runs from 8:15-10 a.m. After the presentation, there is time for questions.
To learn more and to register, go to:
https://www.columbiacountychamber.com/business-institute-series/
