Rebuild, Reenergize: A Webinar Series for Business Leaders In a Post-COVID-19 World

Description

We have partnered with Chambers of Commerce from across the state of Illinois to create this series of five monthly webinars to aid in navigating a post COVID world. This series will give business leaders helpful and practical tools to navigate the new normal. Experts in their respective fields will teach you everything from legal considerations to best practices in digital advertising; brand identity to effective sales techniques; actionable advice on marketing and communication best practices to help your business succeed in 2021 and beyond.
 
As part of the webinar series, there will be a webinar held on the third Wednesday of each month from April through August. Webinars will be held from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. via Zoom.
 
You may register for the series as a whole or register for each webinar individually. Each webinar is $15 per attendee. If you would like to register for the entire series (5 webinars) please email our Director of Marketing & Events, Lindsay, at LindsayQ@champaigncounty.org or call 217.359.1791.

 
July 21:
The Art of Pivoting:
Strategies for Developing a Flexible Business Model for the Future
Julie Shields
USASBE (United States Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship)
jshields@usasbe.org
 
The COVID-19 Pandemic has caused changes to business models in every industry. Learn how three business owners pivoted to extend their brand identity using technology and social media. Listening to customer's wants and needs has never been so important. The discussion will include how to use data to make your next move. This session will include time for Q&A on how you can apply these concepts to your specific industry.
 
Takeaways include:

• Tips for "listening" to your customer's new behaviors
• Identifying customers as key influencers

 
Julienne (Julie) Shields is the President and CEO of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) and started in that role in March of 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.  Since that time, she facilitated the transition of the board from an operating board to a governing board, shepherded the organization from its traditional in-person conference to its first virtual conference, and invested in digital and virtual competencies and platforms to prepare for hybrid and additional virtual events in the future. Prior to this role, she was the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Millikin University and an entrepreneur in her own right launching a tech startup out of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s EnterpriseWorks incubator.  When she is not focusing her efforts on USASBE's mission of advancing entrepreneurship education through bold teaching, scholarship, and practice, she raises her four children and operates a Welsh pony conservation program with her husband.