A brand is worthless if it does not connect with the right audience in a responsive and relevant way was one takeaway at the Moraine Park Technical College Economic and Workforce Development’s Business Forum help on Friday, October 18, 2019 at the Fond du Lac campus.

A panel of business professionals shared their expertise on “Digital Recruitment” bringing experience from a diverse range of industries including construction, trucking and manufacturing. Sarah Pantol, HR Director at FLASH, shared her experience with using various platforms to develop relations, stay relevant and be responsive to candidates. She uses a variety of platforms, website landing pages and videos to engage her target audience to stay relevant and speed up the recruitment process.

Mercedes Tucker, Digital Marketing Coordinator at C.D. Smith Construction, Inc., spoke to the importance of spending more time focused on your culture then strategy. She utilizes employee brand ambassadors to promote open positions to their networks.

Jeff Kennedy, Labor Relations Manager at John Deere – Horicon Works spoke to his 3 step approach of researching perceptions, utilizing agency support to manage digital marketing and then restructuring roles to best serve their employees.  Jeff wanted to reduce the number of touch points and interviews a candidate had to do as part of the process so he consolidated skills assessments and automated communication.

There were over 30 attendees representing a broad range of industries from non-profit to manufacturing that are all faced with challenges finding workforce to fill open positions and no longer finding as much success with traditional recruitment practices. During the event, the participants shared best practices during table breakout sessions and had the opportunity to ask questions during the panel presentations.

“MPTC business forums are a great way for a busy professional to get a compact and high value dose of useful information and professional connecting” shared one attendee.

Mark your calendars to save the date for the next Business Networking Forum scheduled on Friday, May 1, 2020 from 8:00 – 10:30 am on the Moraine Park Fond du Lac campus.

Questions can be directed to training@morainepark.edu or 920-924-3449

With the support of the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Regional People of Color, Fit Oshkosh, Wisconsin Public Television, Thelma Arts Center, and Moraine Park Technical College, the showing of “BOSS: The Black Experience in Business” was shown at Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac on Wednesday, September 18. Casa Del Tequila provided dinner before the event and UW-Extension Youth Development Educators provided activities for children during the event.

“BOSS: The Black Experience in Business” is a must see two hour documentary that follows the lives of African American entrepreneurs in America over hundreds of years. It is an emotional story of discrimination and racial violence. Despite these barriers, the film also highlighted stories of courage, resilience, and success.

One such story is about Berry Gordy, Jr., the founder of Motown Records.  In 1957, already a successful songwriter, Gordy borrowed $800 from his family to start an R&B record company. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of America. Gordy had a unique gift for recognizing musical talent. Soul music artists under the Motown label include: Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and Diana Ross and the Supremes. Motown was the most successful record label of soul music for its time. Gordy official retired from the entertainment industry on September 24, 2019

Another story is about Ursula Burns. Burns, the former CEO of Xerox, was the first African American woman to serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Burns started her career at Xerox in 1980 as an intern. She held various positions there before serving as CEO from 2009 until 2016.  She led a workforce of over 140,000 employees. She went on to hold the position of chairman of the board at Xerox until 2017 and has held numerous other board positions, including one at Exxon Mobil. She is currently chairman and CEO of an Amsterdam-based telecommunications provider. 

Talented African American businessmen and women have been building successful companies in America for hundreds of years. Today, building upon their predecessors’ contributions, courage, sacrifices and willingness to help each other, we see African American managers and CEOs in most large corporations. To view “BOSS: The Black Experience in Business” check out the official website: https://to.pbs.org/2Tn9klg. The documentary can be rented or purchased on Amazon or iTunes.

Starting a small business is no small decision. If you’re thinking about taking the plunge and starting a business of your own, there are some key steps you need to take first.

Step One:  Understand Your Own Strengths and Skills.

Take a look inside of yourself and ask the following questions. What is your prior work experience? What are your personal interests and hobbies?  What education or courses have you taken? What skills and talents do you have? What are you an expert in?

Norman Vincent Peale said it best, “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

Looking closely at your strengths and skills can help you identify specific expertise that may lend themselves to starting your own business.

Step Two:  Ask yourself, “Is My Idea Feasible?”

I know this one sounds obvious. Aren’t all things possible to those who believe? Certainly, but quite a few great ideas didn’t make it either because the service or product was not timely or too expensive.

Ask yourself the following questions. Will your product or service serve an existing market in which there is a demand? Will your product or service be competitive in the market based on its price and quality? If you answered yes to these questions, you are on the right track.  If you answered no, you need to carefully assess your business idea before moving forward. A feasible idea has to be right for you and for the market.

Step Three: Seek Support and Guidance.

As you receive the proper support and guidance your confidence will grow. Let those with experience guide you through the steps of business development. Returning to school and taking part in professional development coursework can help you learn more about entrepreneurship, how to create a business plan, marketing and financing a business.

Having the right strengths and skills and matching them with a feasible idea is a good place to start. At Moraine Park, we support your journey  by offering workshops that help you accomplish your goals. Get started today by enrolling in a face to face class in September in Green Lake or take a class in November in Fond du Lac. 

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2ZAvoZz.