Linda LaBelle is available to teach Entrepreneurial Workshops to help your business grow. Below is a list of available workshops. Linda can also tailor a workshop for your group.
TWO HOUR – THREE HOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL WORKSHOPS
How to Market your Art/Craft
Do you know how to successfully market your art or craft? We will look at the following topics in detail to get you started on the path to success!
- Your portfolio
- Artist’s statement
- Learn to self-promote
- Networking
- Internet presence
- Gallery representation
- Competitions
7 steps to successfully market your business (or products) online
Is your business online? Is your marketing working?
Follow these 7 revolutionary steps to creating a successful marketing campaign to grow your sales.
In this hands-on workshop you will be asked to look at each step with your business or product in mind.
Next we will discover how many of these steps you already doing.
The we will go through my list to see which ones you might want to adopt! Bring a pencil and paper and be ready for a fun and informative workshop!
25 steps to becoming a successful Entrepreneur
What makes a successful entrepreneur? Are there common characteristics?
In this hands-on workshop you will be asked to make a list of the characteristics you think makes a successful entrepreneur.
Next we will discover how many of those characteristics you possess.
The we will go through my list see which ones you might want to adopt!
Bring a pencil and paper and be ready for a fun and informative workshop!
Artist’s Bio for the Web and More
When someone buys your art or craft they are interested in not only the art but the story behind it. A properly written artist biography builds your brand and sells your work. Learn the elements of an effective artist biography. By the end of this class you will be writing your own bio!
Artist’s Portfolio – Digital and Print
Come find out what should be in every artist’s portfolio, what your portfolio is judged on, and how to approach galleries. You will also learn how to think outside the box about exhibitions, and some insider tips of how to get your work seen. Learn about how to approach galleries, create a portfolio, and what is the difference between an artist’s bio and statement. We will explore the use of a website and Pinterest as your digital portfolio.
Artist’s Statement
Have you always wanted to know how to write your own artist statement? What should be included in it? How long should it be? Why do I need to include this in my portfolio? If you have asked yourself any of these or other questions relating to the Artist Statement, then this class is for you! You will actually begin to write your statement as a part of the class exercises and walk away with a clearer understanding of what your statement should be.
Connect with Your Customers by Telling Your Story
What is business storytelling?
Simply put – it is presenting your message to an audience, whether that message is you, your product or your business.
Create one story that can be adapted – verbally, for print, for Social Media, the elevator story, the Artist Statement. In this hands-on workshop you will find out
Who is that audience?
What is the essential message?
What details are the most compelling?
Why does it matter?
And by the end of the workshop you will go home ready to write your story!
Create an Effective Window Display for Your Business
Having an effective window display will increase customer traffic to your business. Design an arrangement to lure in those potential customers by learning what appeals to customers and their buying habits. Learn what works and what does not work when setting up visual marketing. Whether you are a seasoned merchant looking for some new tips or an emerging small business, this seminar will equip you to increase traffic and sales to your business.
The Exhibition Proposal
There are many organizations offering exhibition opportunities to artists, but these opportunities require a submission of an exhibition proposal. Come learn what an exhibition proposal is and what goes into creating a strong submission. We will view a variety of Call for Artists and look over how the requirements can vary from site to site. Here is a short preview of what we will cover: what is a call for artists, submission photos, visual support materials, artist’s eligibility, application requirements, fees, etc.
How to write a business statement
Have you always wanted to know how to write your own business statement?
A business statement is a concise paragraph about your business that is used for social media profiles, your website, advertising and more.
What should be included in it? How long should it be? Why do I need a business statement?
If you have asked yourself any of these or other questions relating to the Business Statement, then this class is for you! In this hands-on workshop you will begin to write your statement as a part of the class exercises and walk away with a clearer understanding of what your statement should be.
Social Media for Business
In this workshop, you will learn the importance of Social Media for business marketing. We will cover Facebook™, Instagram™, Twitter™, and Pinterest™, and their use to market your business. We will also cover scheduling a Facebook post, reading and interpreting Facebook Analytics, how to boost a post, and how much time to spend on Social Media
Facebook for Business
In this workshop you will learn how to Set-Up a Business Facebook Page
If you own a small business, having a Facebook page will get you more customers. A Facebook page provides an avenue to interact and market to individuals who are likely to be interested in you and what you sell. Your interaction on the social network gives customers the sense that they know you and your business, which can increase loyalty and make them more likely to buy your products or services. With a little help you can make your own business Facebook page for free. Let us help you get started! Instructor and merchant Linda LaBelle will help you get a log in and business Facebook page started. She will also share tips on what makes an effective Facebook page for business.
Introduction to Canva for your Business
Canva is a free graphics program that is simple and easy to use. This seminar will introduce participants to Canva. Learn how to create flyers, business cards, web postings, and more. Please bring a laptop – PC, Mac, or iPad or tablet (with power adapter) to class!
How to resize your photos for the web using Photoshop.
In this workshop you will learn how to resize your photos for the web.
These photos can then be uploaded to your web page or any Social Media.
This is also useful for submission photos.
We will cover:
How to properly save and archive your photos (so you can easily find them again).
The importance of renaming your photos.
Three steps to tweak your photos – unsharp mask, curves and levels
What do all those endings mean – .tiff, jpeg, png?
Cropping
Convert Profile to sRGB (for web)
Changing the resolution from megabytes to kilobytes (without losing image quality)
Saving for the web
Uploading your images
How to Tell Your Story
Telling stories is how we identify, learn, and share our history. If your goal is to educate, persuade, or simply connect in a meaningful way with a particular audience, storytelling is the single most powerful communication tool available to you and can be your best selling tool. Come learn how to tell your story as a craft maker. The teacher will teach you the importance of learning how to tell your unique story and hone your skills at story telling. We will talk about the three steps in a good story and group exercises will lead you through each step of YOUR story.
How to engage a Visitor in Your Studio
Do you like having visitors in your studio, but don’t know how to engage them? Do you want to participate in your area’s studio tours but don’t know what to do to prep your studio? Do you know the right questions to ask a potential customer to get them to buy?
Product Descriptions that Sell
What a user reads about your product influences whether or not they will buy. Learn how to write an effective product description that will entice your buyer. In this two hour workshop, instructor, artist, and e-commerce expert, Linda LaBelle will give tips on what makes a product description that will lead to sales. By the end of the class you will be writing product descriptions of your own.
E-commerce is it for You?
In this two-hour workshop we will talk about the pros and cons of having your own e-commerce website, look at alternatives and talk about Etsy. We will look at Shopify, one of the leading platforms for building your own e-commerce site, talk about PayPal and spend a little time on shipping options.
Be sure to bring your questions!
How to create & market your workshops and classes
In this 2 hour workshop, we’ll cover how to pitch a class with your creative skill (painting, writing, embroidery, etc) to a teaching space, and how to fill it up with students. I combine teaching with worksheets and class discussion, so you’ll work on your own class idea and can ask for feedback and ideas throughout. By the end of the workshop, you’ll leave with the beginnings of your own class marketing plan, including how to sell it to a teaching space and your potential students.
How to create a vision & mission statement
Before you begin sharing your work with the world as a true business, you must first have a clear picture of what you would like to do and what that looks like.
To do this, it is most helpful to have a clear Vision and Mission of who you are and what your business is about. In this hands-on session you will begin crafting your vision and mission as an artist, entrepreneur or small business owner. You are guaranteed to leave this session with the beginning of your vision and mission, if not the final statements.
Learn how to take great product pictures with your smartphone!
In this hands-on workshop you will learn how to use your smartphone to shoot product photography. Today’s smartphones are a budget–friendly alternative to high-end DSLR cameras. We will cover the camera’s own editing features plus free editing apps, shooting video, AirDrop (for Mac users) and much more!
EXTENDED ENTREPRENEURIAL WORKSHOPS
Building a Basic WordPress Website ( Three 4-hour sessions)
Prerequisites:
This course assumes you have no prior knowledge of programming or creating websites. We do assume you have a general familiarity with browsing the web and using the internet as an information resource.
You must bring a laptop with wireless Internet capabilities and administrative access/password. Please have the Chrome browser already mounted on your laptop.
Please bring any images already mounted on your laptop or on a thumb-drive.
This is a hands on workshop that will take you from a blank slate to a fully functioning website. You will be guided through the first steps needed to get your website up and running.
Questions: contact Linda LaBelle at info@lindalabelle.com
Session 1: Installing and setting up WordPress
Starting with your domain name and hosting account, we will create a basic WordPress site and look at the different settings available to us. We’ll also discuss ways in which you can ensure your site is always up to date and secure.
We will begin getting content on your website – basic pages used on most websites (Home, About, Contact, etc.); your first Post, how to use Categories (vs Tags) to group similar content
Finally, we’ll begin to explore the world of themes. This is an important topic since it’s the way WordPress allows you to alter the styling and layout of your site
Session 2: Managing your content and site structure
In this session, we’ll introduce the basic content management aspect of WordPress, theme selection for the “look” you want, Sidebars and Widgets, and Social Media connections.
We will also look at several themes and explore how different themes utilize the content that you create to build the site layout – creating pages, posts, and menu items. After you get a chance to activate and try out several themes on your site, we’ll begin a discussion about plugins and how they can help you to extend the functionality of your site.
Session 3: Plugins, e-commerce, and beyond
Plugins to enhance your websites functionality and appearance
What do you ultimately want to do with your site? This session is aimed at helping you to identify and experiment with the tools at your disposal for reaching the goals you have set for your website.
We will focus part of the discussion on e-commerce, and you will get a chance to install and use several different plugins that are all potential solutions for turning your basic WordPress site into your own store front, portfolio or informational site.