Presenter: Drake Vant Hul, CEO of Performance Financial, LLC Date: February 1, 2022 Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm Location: Online Registration: Click Here Whether you are starting your first business or an experienced business owner, accounting is a crucial part of your operations. For many entrepreneurs, this responsibility falls on them and can cause major headaches if it is not taken care of. Join Drake Vant Hul, CEO of Performance Financial, LLC as we cover the top things you need to know about the accounting platform, Quickbooks. About Our Speaker... Entrepreneurship has been a staple in my life for a long time, from my startup called Ice Auger Machines, to the cell phone repair business I started and ran in College. Since then, I've worked to become as valuable as possible to business owners, finishing my CPA in 2018, and continuously searching for ways to help small businesses improve their bottom line. I've been married to Callie since 2015, and we love our adopted old dog Momo. Click here to register!  The Iowa Center Women's Business Center is funded in part by U.S. Small Business Administration.

Presenters: Taufeek Shah, CEO of Lola's Fine Sauces Date: February 4, 2022 Time: 12 – 1pm Location: Online Register: Online Come and listen to the stories of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community members making their mark in Iowa. As you create your own story, treat yourself to this time each month to rekindle your entrepreneurial spirit and connect with others. Join us as we listen to the story of Taufeek Shah the CEO of Lola's Fine Sauces. Taufeek will share his entrepreneurial journey from his time in corporate America to running his own company. Taufeek believes the company is all about family and embracing your heritage, and what better way to do that than to share Lola’s family hot sauce recipe with the world. About our speakers Taufeek Shah Taufeek Shah is the CEO of Lola’s Fine Sauces, but before he began his entrepreneurial journey he worked in corporate sales at Principal. It was there, during an employee potluck that he truly realized the possibility of turning a generational family hot sauce recipe into a successful business. After realizing the popularity of his mother’s family hot sauce recipe, he opened a stand and sold it every Saturday at the Des Moines Farmer’s Market. After its continued success, Taufeek officially established Lola’s Fine Sauces located in West Des Moines in 2015, before continuing to collaborate with his mom, Lola and his sister Hannah to open Lola’s Fine Kitchen restaurant in Ankeny, Iowa in 2018. Most recently, Taufeek was named one of the top entrepreneurs in Making it with Lowes and has since launched Lola’s products in all 1300 stores nationwide. He gives all the credit to his mother, Lola for the success the company has had and for establishing his burning passion for the company. Taufeek believes the company is...

Presenter: Russ Dale, PM of Classes + Coaching and Jose Venales, Director of Microloans Date: February 9, 2022 Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm Location: Online Register: Here Turn your dream into a plan with this small group, one-hour business planning class. The Iowa Center staff will help you kickstart your business plan by providing you a road map on completing your plan and taking the next steps towards business ownership. Also connect with other aspiring small business owners to refine your business ideas as you put them into real plans. About our hosts Russ Dale is our Classes and Coaching Project Manager. Russ spends his time working with clients, assisting them through their entrepreneurial journey. Russ also manages the IT initiatives for The Iowa Center, assists with the loan department as needed, and manages our CRM database. Russ is proud to say that he's the intern that never left!  Jose Venales is the Director of Microloans. Jose manages, develops, and implements The Iowa Center microloan programs. At the same time Jose has the responsibility to maintain a healthy loan portfolio to ensure the availability of these resources for future entrepreneurs.  Click here to register! 

Presenter: Megan Rector, Regions Bank Date: February 15, 2022 Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm Location: Online Registration: Click Here In this session, business owners will learn the value of creditworthiness and how to maintain a good business credit score. They’ll also discover the documents necessary to make a successful application for a business loan. This workshop will answer these big questions: How do small businesses build and maintain credit? How is creditworthiness measured for small businesses? What is the connection between personal and business credit? What documents are needed for small business credit applications? About Our Speaker... Megan is a Financial Wellness Relationship Manager with Regions Bank. She has been with Regions for more than 9 years. Regions believes in providing advice, guidance and education to all the organizations in the communities we serve at no cost and Megan is the representative for that effort. She has a passion for helping people understand their finances and meet their financial goals. She is actively involved in several organizations in the community. Click here to register!  The Iowa Center Women's Business Center is funded in part by U.S. Small Business Administration.

Presenter: TJ Daniels, WBC Program Director & Alex Polzin, Dir of Finance & Administration Date: February 23, 2022 Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm Location: Online Register: Here As a small business owner, you won’t ever really know the unexpected challenges or opportunities that await you in life and business. Always Ready: Financials is a working session for you to learn how to financially prepare your small business for the next step in your journey. The Iowa Center staff will show you what you need to do to always be ready to make financial moves in your business, including applying for a loan or buying/selling new goods. This class is especially for you if you’ve ever been denied a loan or need a helping hand to get your financials on track. About our speakers TJ Daniels is the official cheerleader of The Iowa Center. She’s a vibrant supporter of our mission, programs, clients and staff. As a Certified Credit Counselor, she assists clients with their credit, budget, financial statements and so much more. She also works with our lending programs assisting clients from start to finish, and often times well after the loan has closed making many friendships along the way. Alex is responsible for Iowa Center accounting and governmental reporting, he also helps with lending and education programs provided by the Iowa Center. Click here to register!