August 19: 10 most expensive tax mistakes for business owners

Dirk Dixon, LPA, of Baker & Associates LLP, will be the BIZ guest and speaker at the Business Insights and Networking Luncheon on Aug. 19. Dirk will share the 10 most expensive tax mistakes that cost business owners thousands of dollars each year.

Most business owners pay too much tax because they don’t take advantage of every tax break legally available to them. And most financial advisors actually do a poor job of saving their clients money, according to Dixon. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. Dixon will share the top 10 most common – and costliest – mistakes business owners make and how to avoid them.

A licensed public accountant, Dixon helps his business clients realize tax savings and proactively uncover often-overlooked legal deductions. He also excels at finding legitimate ways to minimize capital gains tax liability through the selective realization of gains and losses.

Dixon has written financial planning articles for publications such as "The Register" and has presented at the National Association of Retired Federal Employees pre-retirement seminars. He also volunteers with the State of Iowa at the Low Income Taxpayer Clinics to help taxpayers involved in controversies with the IRS learn about their tax rights and responsibilities.

Join the BIZ for this important presentation that will help realize greater tax savings for your business.

$12 admission fee

11:30 A.M.
Aug. 19, 2009
Des Moines Partnership
700 Locust St., Suite 100 (map it)

To register or for more information, contact Cathy Spenceri at caspenceri@dmacc.edu.

Pick up your copy of the BIZ's book today!

Biz_bus_practice_coverHow Business Gets Done: Words of Wisdom by Central Iowa Experts

Central Iowa has a thriving business community that is reaching new heights in creativity, collaboration  and success. We’ve asked 32 of the area’s brightest and most innovative professionals to share their best practices and expertise…the result is this book. Part playbook, part inspiration and part reference guide, How Business Gets Done is your inside view into how some of the best of the best get it done every day.

This book provides words of wisdom from:

  • Adam Carroll, Creating an ownership mindset
  • Andy Drish, Networking
  • Ann Selzer, Research
  • Brett Trout, Patents
  • Claire Celsi, PR
  • Cory Garrison, Relationship selling
  • Drew McLellan, Branding
  • Jim Lewis and Andrea Westmeyer, Relationship marketing
  • Joe Kristan, Selecting an accountant and tax advisor
  • Joseph Hinke, Business insurance
  • Katie Roth, Hiring sales people
  • Kelley Ellis, Hiring people
  • Kent Zimmerman, Planning
  • Kris Johansen, SBIR
  • Mary Stier, Leading through change/trouble
  • Michael Kulik and Jason Stone, Formation
  • Michael Libbie, Web advertising
  • Mike Colwell, E-mail; State of Iowa grand and loan programs
  • Mike Helak, Financial implications of doing business internationally
  • Mike Sansone, Blogs
  • Nathan Wright, Social media
  • Pat Martin, Maintaining your corporate structure
  • Phil Corbin, Buying a business
  • Rush Nigut, The partnership prenup
  • Scott Johnson, Copyrights
  • Shirley Poertner, Becoming a better leader
  • Steven Zumbach, Choosing a lawyer
  • Tim Johnson, Project management
  • Tim Zarley, Trademarks
  • Victor Aspergren, ESOP

Visit Lulu.com to order your copy today!

June 17: Choose the Right Business Structure

Choosing a business structure for your business is often an agonizing decision for entrepreneurs. And changing the structure of your business at some time in the future can also be a challenge. Attorney Rush Nigut will help you with those decisions at the Business Insights and Networking Luncheon on Wednesday, June 17. He’ll help you understand how to pick the business entity that’s right for you and know when it’s time for a change.

Rush will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of S corporations, C corporations and limited liability companies; the situations when you might need to switch your business entity; and why it matters.

Rush practices business and corporate law for Brick Gentry, P.C. in West Des Moines, Iowa, advising businesses of all sizes from start-ups to established businesses, including technology and communications companies, franchise operations, banking and financial institutions, contractors, and manufacturers. With 14 years of trial and business transaction experience, Rush provides practical and effective business solutions for today’s corporate and entrepreneurial clients.

Rush has also been active in civic and community affairs. He was a member of The Des Moines Business Record’s 2006 Forty Under 40 and a 2000 graduate of the Des Moines Leadership Institute.
A graduate of Drake University Law School in 1994 and Simpson College in 1991 with a degree in business management, Rush is an early adopter of blog technology: His blog, Rush on Business has been quoted or referenced by hundreds of other legal and business blogs and Web sites, including the blog networks for the Wall St. Journal, Forbes Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine.  In 2008, Rush on Business received awards for the Best Business Blog and Best Resource Blog in the Iowa Web Awards.

Join the BIZ for this important presentation that will help you gain the focus necessary to move your business forward.  

$10 admission fee

11:30 a.m.
June 17, 2009
Des Moines Partnership
700 Locust St., Suite 100

To register or for more information, contact Cathy Spenceri at caspenceri@dmacc.edu.

May 20: Stand Out on the Internet

Drew McLellan, top dog at McLellan Marketing Group, will be the BIZ guest and speaker at the Business Insights and Networking Luncheon on Wednesday, May 20. Drew will share the basics of impacting the search engines via search engine optimization (SEO).

Everyone's worried about being found on the web today and with good reason. Research shows that when a consumer is looking for a product or service, their first step in finding that new vendor is to head to their favorite search engine—even if they plan to shop local.

Drew’s session will cover SEO 101.  What it is, how it works, how you can optimize your website so that Google and the other search engines organically will (over time) rank it higher.  He’ll also cover buying your place on the search engines through AdWords and other options.

Drew McLellan gets branding and marketing, and he’s emerged as one of the most connected voices in social media.  He’s a strong believer in telling stories and asking questions that help clients create authentic love affairs with their customers.

A veteran of years in the advertising and marketing arena, he’s also a published author. Most recently, he co-authored The Age of Conversation and the Age of Conversation 2 about the rise of social media, and his blog, Drew’s Marketing Minute, is one of the most-read marketing blogs on the Internet.

Join the BIZ for this important presentation that will help gain the focus necessary to move your business forward.  

$10 admission fee

11:30 a.m.
May 20, 2009,
Des Moines Partnership
700 Locust St., Suite 100

To register or for more information, contact Cathy Spenceri at caspenceri@dmacc.edu.

The BIZ’s mission is to connect entrepreneurial needs with qualified community and state resources and to provide guided professional and business direction. The BIZ helps entrepreneurs maximize their successes by helping them navigate resources, strengthen knowledge, improve skills, form strategic alliances and secure proper capitalization.

April 22: Manage yourself instead of managing time

Monte Wyatt, platinum master coach and entrepreneur at ActionCOACH Business Coaching, will be the guest and speaker at the BIZ Business Insights and Networking Luncheon on April 22. Monte will help participants focus on self-management instead of time management and on what’s most important to their business, how to identify what to delegate or eliminate, and direct their own actions instead of having others direct them.

When you implement the tools from this workshop you will increase your productivity and focus tremendously. As a bonus, all attendees at this workshop will receive a complimentary coaching session with Monte.

As one of the top coaches in ActionCOACH Business Coaching (www.coachyourbiz.com), Monte brings more than 18 years of leadership and personal development experience to businesses and business owners.  In addition to one-on-one business coaching, he conducts workshops and seminars and is a motivational keynote speaker. He was recently named one of five finalists for Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Longest Client Retention award at the ActionCOACH Business Coaching North American Conference.

Join the BIZ for this important presentation that will help gain the focus necessary to move your business forward.  

$10 admission fee (includes lunch)

11: 30 a.m.
April 22, 2009
Des Moines Partnership
700 Locust St., Suite 100

To register or for more information, contact Cathy Spenceri at caspenceri@dmacc.edu.

March 24: Raising Capital Seminar

Entrepreneurs in search of start-up capital are invited to attend a half-day educational seminar packed with valuable tips, strategic insight and insider knowledge to help them uncover and understand sources of available capital. This seminar is co-sponsored by the Business Innovation Zone (BIZ) and the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

“Raising Capital For Your Business Startup: How to Successfully Plan For Investment in Your Business”

$30 admission fee

8:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 24th
Des Moines Partnership Building
700 Locust St., Suite 100 (map it)

“Many entrepreneurs don’t have a good understanding of the types of capital that start-up businesses can or should raise,” says Mike Colwell, executive director of the BIZ. “This event will be the place to learn about the legal requirements, investor expectations of them, the time frames and the costs involved in raising capital.”

Leading business advisors will deliver presentations on business valuation, fund raising compliance and legal issues, using friends and family as capital sources, angel investor expectations and how to use venture capital and private equity sources.

“The seminar will be a concentrated version of our monthly luncheon presentations so would be entrepreneurs will get six month’s worth of sessions in one morning, then be better prepared to tackle the task of uncovering and connecting with sources of capital that can help grow their business.”

To register for or receive more information about the seminar, contact Cathy Spenceri at caspenceri@dmacc.edu.

Registration is Limited, Sign up Today!

March 25: Win Federal Research and Development Funds

Kris Johansen, with the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at Iowa State University, will be the BIZ guest and speaker at the Business Insights and Networking Luncheon on March 25. Kris will share tips to help applicants win small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding to grow their businesses.

SBIR and STTR are highly competitive programs that award federal research and development funds to small businesses so they can compete on the same level as larger businesses. SBIR funds critical startup and development stages and encourages the commercialization of technology, products or services. STTR awards federal research and development funds to small business and nonprofit research institution partners for projects with commercial potential.

As the program administrator in the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at Iowa State University, Kris helps eligible Iowa companies navigate the highly competitive and rewarding SBIR/STTR process and prepare proposals.

Join the BIZ for this important presentation that will help you see if the process is right for your business.

$10 admission fee

11: 30 a.m.
March 25, 2009,
Des Moines Partnership
700 Locust St., Suite 100 (map it)

To register or for more information, contact Cathy Spenceri at caspenceri@dmacc.edu.

February 18: "Raising Venture Capital: Guidance from an Investor"

Matt Kinley, senior vice president of Pappajohn Capital Resources and Equity Dynamics, will be the BIZ guest and speaker at the Business Insights and Networking Luncheon on February 18, 2009. Matt will discuss raising venture capital from the investor’s point of view.

As an investor, Matt knows what works and what doesn’t work, and will summarize what’s expected of businesses seeking capital from private equity investors.

Matt Kinley has served as senior vice president of Pappajohn Capital Resources and Equity Dynamics, Inc., both venture capital firms owned by John Pappajohn, for the past 14 years. Matt has been involved in the financing and development of more than 30 companies and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of several private technology companies.

Join the BIZ for this important presentation on venture capital.

$10 admission fee

11: 30 A.M.
February 18, 2009,
Des Moines Partnership
700 Locust St., Suite 100 (map it)

To register or for more information, contact Cathy Spenceri at caspenceri@dmacc.edu.

November 19: The Decision Tree on Taking an Equity Investment in Your Business

JD Geneser, Senior Partner, LWBJ Financial Capital Advisors division, will be the BIZ guest and speaker at the Business Insights and Networking Luncheon on Nov. 19. JD will be sharing the decision tree on taking an equity investment in your business.

Capital is a very important part of any business and there are many different options to consider while obtaining it. JD will be talking about what it means to have an investor, company valuation techniques and the different types of investors.

Located in West Des Moines, LWBJ Financial offers financial services, business solutions and consulting for companies, families and individuals. JD’s areas of expertise are capital formation and financing strategies, mergers and acquisitions, business start-ups and product and business development.

Join the BIZ for this important presentation that will help you decide what is financially best for your business!

$10 admission fee

Nov. 19, 11:30 a.m.
Des Moines Partnership
700 Locust St., Suite 100

To register or for more information, contact Cathy Spenceri.

October 14: 3 Marketing Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make

Drew McLellan, Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group, will be sharing his marketing insight at the Business Innovations and Networking Luncheon on Tues., Oct. 14.

In today's economy, you need to make sure your marketing efforts are working like a well-oiled machine. Are you sure you're on the right track? What if one or two little tweaks could get you really cooking? Come hear Drew’s thoughts on marketing mistakes you absolutely cannot afford to make.

McLellan Marketing Group is a full-service agency that specializes in helping clients discover their true story so they can create love affairs with their customers.

Drew is also the author of a nationally heralded blog, Drew’s Marketing Minute (www.DrewsMarketingMinute.com), a marketing column that appears weekly in the Des Moines Business Record.  He has also written the book 99.3 Random Acts of Marketing.

This is an important presentation that you can’t afford to miss!

Registration Fee: $10

Oct. 14, 11:30 a.m.
Des Moines Partnership
700 Locust St., Suite 100

To register or for more information, contact Cathy Spenceri.