Noncredit Continuing Education Courses
Summer 2008

Search Engine Marketing *NEW!*
Learn strategies for improving the ranking of your websites, including key word research, website site links, and pay-per-click advertising. .3 CEUs. $59; $29 computer fee* required at registration.

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Starting a Small Business
Learn from a colleague of the author of Starting a Small Business how to create effective business strategies, how to analyze your competition, how to set up your books for successful financial management, and much more. You will have ample opportunity to ask questions and to develop worksheets specifically tailored to your own business, and you will come away from class with tips, techniques, and an action plan you can start using right away. You will also receive a copy of Starting a Small Business. 1.2 CEUs. $160 (includes $20 materials fee*)

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Business Plan: Developing the Blueprint For Success
Develop goals and objectives for your business ventures. You will examine the many elements of the business plan and the various uses and dynamic nature of the planning process. .6 CEUs. $50

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Part-Time Business Start-Ups
The part-time businesses that will be covered can bring you the independence that you are seeking. You can start a part-time business and develop it into a full-time venture. These kinds of businesses are especially suited for a home-based business, and they require only a minimum amount of start-up capital. $25**

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Contract Opportunities in the State and County
This course is designed to connect businesses with actual contract opportunities in the State of Maryland and surrounding local jurisdictions. $25**

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Building Your Referral Business: Word-Of-Mouth
This course will show you how to build your business year in and year out regardless of fluctuations in the economy or the activities of your competition. Word-of-mouth marketing is truly the "world's best-known and best kept marketing secret." Get more leads, higher sales, less stress and greater confidence. Capture the incredible value of customer referrals and become a master of prospecting. $25**

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Business Subject Odds and Ends *NEW!*
Are you ready to take the plunge as a business owner? Make sure you understand the following issues before you d Do you know how to price your services? Do you know what type of insurance your business needs? Do you know when a person is an independent contractor or an employee? Do you know how to sign your legal documents? What questions should you ask a banker, an attorney, a CPA before you hire them? Do you know what licenses your business needs? What resources are available for the business owner? What other questions do you need answered before you start? A seasoned business advisor will help you get your business started correctly. $25**

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Establishing a Consulting Practice
If you have a marketable skill, you can develop your own full or part-time consulting business by identifying future trends and opportunities in the consulting industry, estimating start-up costs and monthly expenses, locating clients, and marketing your services. .6 CEUs. $50

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Starting Your Meeting Planning Company
Have you ever thought of starting your own meeting management company and didn't know where to begin? Gain the information you need to establish your own business. Learn how to develop a target market and how to reach your clients. Explore the different clients to whom you could market: associations, corporations, individuals, government, weddings, and parties. .6 CEUs. $50

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Family Child Care Provider *NEW!*

This pre-service series satisfies new state training requirements for Family Child Care applicants and new providers to start and operate a home-based child care business. Six modules are required for a total of 24 clock hours of state approved Core of Knowledge content and 2.4 CEUs. Co-sponsored by Howard County Office of Children’s Services Child Care Resource Center (HCCCRC). Call 410-313-1940 to register.

--Jun 10-12 Child Development. Tuesday, Thursday, 6:30-8:30pm

--Jun 21 Curriculum and Special Needs. Saturday, 8:00am-5:00pm

--July 8-10 Professionalism. Tuesday, Thursday, 6:30-8:30pm

--July 19 Health, Safety, and Nutrition and SIDS. Saturday 8:00am-3:00pm

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How to Sell Anything on eBay
Learn the basics of selling on eBay, including how to set up an eBay Sellers Account and how to create a basic auction listing. As you create a basic auction listing, you will also learn how to photograph items, write ad copy, set prices, create titles, answer customer questions, and set shipping profiles. You will actually be able to list items on eBay after the course. Prerequisites: Basic Windows and Internet experience. $59**; $29 materials fee* required at registration.

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Start a Business Using eBay
Learn more advanced eBay selling techniques. Turn your eBay experience into a part- or full-time living. We'll help you identify which products return profits and how to strategically position and display your products in the eBay market. Discover how to manage your auctions to increase profit margins and how to set up an eBay store. In this course you will also explore online marketing methods. Prerequisite: Basic eBay experience. .9 CEUs. $150; $120 computer fee* required at registration.

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You're on the Air! (Voice-Overs)
Voice-overs are hot today! With such notable talents as James Earl Jones, Linda Hunt, and Donald Sutherland lending their voices to commercials, films, and videos, you might think that it would be next to impossible to break into this field. Not so! Come learn about an exciting new way to get around the competition and actually turn voice-overs into a thriving full or part-time business! The classroom will be turned into a recording studio, and the fun begins. You will make a mini-recording that the instructor and Dan Levine will evaluate for you. Dan, Tony Award nominated composer of the Broadway musical Anna Karenina and owner of On the Air Voices, has produced hundreds of commercials and received numerous awards. You will receive information about the process and cost of pursuing a career in voice-overs. Dan teaches this popular course around the country, and many of his students can now be heard on the air. You could be next! $49**

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Be a Wedding Planner
Get the information you need to start a wedding consultant business. Identify the skills and details needed to develop clientele, how to keep the client at an optimal level of comfort, and how to develop lasting business relationships with wedding service providers/vendors while maintaining a high level of professionalism. .6 CEUs. $85

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Franchising: the Safe Business
Seventy-five percent of all businesses today are franchised. Is franchising for you? Come with questions and find out the risks and the rewards, which businesses are hot, and how much money you need. Discuss the opportunities of buying an existing franchise with little up-front money. $25**

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Notary Public Procedures
Documents are notarized to prevent fraud. Prospective and present notaries will be able to notarize properly and legally. Learn how to properly identify clients, protect against fraud, keep adequate records of notaries, and charge proper fees. .5 CEUs. $45

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Applied Notary Practices and Procedures
Review and apply the practices and procedures for performing the different notarial duties empowered to notaries that were introduced in the Notary Public Procedures course. You will also be introduced to steps notaries can take to command higher pay by becoming licensed Title Insurance producers in Maryland. .5 CEUs. $45

*Fees not eligible for waiver.
**Neither XE courses nor their fees are eligible for waiver.
(T) Textbook recommended or required. Purchase at HCC Bookstore before first class.
(S) Supplied needed. Instructor will provide list at first class.