A panel of representatives from television, radio, newspaper and Web design/branding will begin with the ABCs of promotion and continue through 21st Century tools available to today's business owners and individuals. Whether it's promoting a product or event, the attendees will be given tools they can begin using immediately. Topics to be covered include Getting the Word Out, Using the Media, How to Prepare for an Interview, Branding, Using the Internet, Innovative Ideas for Promotion, and Where to Find Help.

Establish your Goals: Before embarking on a media campaign, or a marketing campaign with earned media as a significant element of the campaign, clearly establish and articulate your goals – if you cannot say it, it is neither clearly established nor clearly articulated. Your efforts to earn media coverage are designed to help you attain your goals – your goals drive your media, not the other way around. Target your audience: Set your news in a larger, more dramatic frame. Make the news that you release reflect something bigger, something more dramatic, that will impact more people. Who are you trying to reach? Identify your news: Do not waste the time of reporters, editors or producers. Frame the issue: Set your news in a larger, more dramatic frame. And now that you have customers coming to your business, it’s up to you to keep them coming back. The closing part of this seminar will give you the tools to do that.

How do you match ideas and entrepreneurs? There is a direct correlation between the development of needs, business ideas and niche market gaps and entrepreneurs who want to fill them. What is almost always lacking is the clear vision of what those needs, ideas and niche markets are and why they exist. By creating a think tank and idea incubator across your community you can bridge that gap, create foundations for entrepreneurs to use and grow on, and eliminate the duplicity of 'me too' entities that serve to divide instead of enlarging the pie.

Every small business owner or entrepreneur should have a basic knowledge of the options for business formation, along with an understanding of the many risks associated with running a company. Operating a business in our technology-based economy means that a general understanding of the benefits and risks relating to intellectual property law is needed as well. This presentation will address all of these topics in sufficient detail to help you navigate the legal obstacle course that comes along with owning and/or operating your own business.

The University of Nebraska’s Mentoring by the Masters is Tuesday, Feb. 24, and Mid-Plains Community College will be joining them through an IP connection. The masters are a panel of entrepreneurs and supporting experts who answer questions and interact with new entrepreneurs – and old ones who like to learn! Local experts will be on hand to answer audience questions as well. Find out more here.