Events

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Location: In Person Register: Here Growing your business means reaching new customers in meaningful ways. In this session, you'll explore marketing strategies designed to increase brand awareness, connect with your target audience, and support long-term growth. Learn how to create a marketing plan that can scale alongside your business and measure the impact of your efforts. What You'll Learn Understand the role marketing plays in business growth. Identify and reach new target markets. Create a scalable marketing strategy with measurable results. Click here to register!   

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 Time: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312 Register: Here Getting started in your small business journey can be daunting…let us help you make the process and little easier as we outline some basic steps to Getting Ready! What are the first steps needed to business ownership? What’s a business plan and why do you need one? What are the various types of legal business entities? How do you register your business? Click here to register!

Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2026 Time: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. Location: Fort Dodge Growth Alliance Community Room (24 N 9th St, Fort Dodge, IA 50501) Register: Here Whether you are already using QuickBooks or still deciding, this session covers what QuickBooks does well, what it will not do, and what to have in place first. You will leave knowing whether to set QuickBooks up for your small business, keep what you already have, or hand it off. Dr. Humburg is a Fort Dodge CPA who sets up QuickBooks for small businesses. • QuickBooks: friend or foe? • Q & A Please bring your smartphone, to participate in an optional, interactive quiz. (No studying ahead of time necessary.) Click here to register!

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:00 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: Lending 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. Click here to register!

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Location: Online Register: Here Growing your business means reaching new customers in meaningful ways. In this session, you'll explore marketing strategies designed to increase brand awareness, connect with your target audience, and support long-term growth. Learn how to create a marketing plan that can scale alongside your business and measure the impact of your efforts. What You'll Learn Understand the role marketing plays in business growth. Identify and reach new target markets. Create a scalable marketing strategy with measurable results. Click here to register! 

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312 Register: Here Running a small business requires more than having a passion and a vision. To be successful you need to have your financials in order. Unless you are familiar with bookkeeping basics, you might not know how crucial having the right financial documents are to your success. Join The Iowa Center staff as we go over the most useful and important financial documents for your small business. We will discuss and define: Income Statement/Profit and Loss Statement Cash Flow Statement Balance Sheet Accounts Receivable Budget Click here to register!

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Thursday, October 15, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312 Register: Here As your business grows, so does your team. This session will help you prepare for the people side of expansion by covering effective hiring practices, employee development, and retention strategies. You'll also gain an understanding of key HR responsibilities to help you build a strong, compliant workplace that supports continued growth. What You'll Learn Recruit and onboard employees for a growing business. Strengthen employee development and retention efforts. Understand payroll, benefits, and HR compliance considerations. Click here to register! 

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:00pm Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312 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. Click here to register! 

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Thursday, October 22, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Location: Online Register: Here As your business grows, so does your team. This session will help you prepare for the people side of expansion by covering effective hiring practices, employee development, and retention strategies. You'll also gain an understanding of key HR responsibilities to help you build a strong, compliant workplace that supports continued growth. What You'll Learn Recruit and onboard employees for a growing business. Strengthen employee development and retention efforts. Understand payroll, benefits, and HR compliance considerations. Click here to register! 

          Date: Thursday, October 22, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm Location: Online Register: Here Are you an aspiring entrepreneur or small business owner looking to make a big impact with a limited marketing budget? Look no further than "Marketing for Startups with a Small Budget - A Blueprint for Small Business Marketing." This course is designed to empower you with the knowledge and strategies needed to effectively market your startup or small business without breaking the bank. In today's competitive business landscape, creativity and resourcefulness can be your greatest assets, and this course will show you how to leverage them to achieve remarkable marketing results. Throughout this course, you will delve into innovative, cost-effective marketing techniques tailored specifically for startups and small businesses. From crafting a compelling brand story and harnessing the power of social media to mastering guerrilla marketing tactics and optimizing your online presence, you'll gain a comprehensive toolkit for maximizing your marketing efforts on a shoestring budget. Join us on a journey to discover how to reach your target audience, generate leads, and build a loyal customer base, all while managing your resources efficiently. By the end of this course, you'll have a solid blueprint for navigating the world of marketing as a small business, setting you on a path toward sustainable growth and success. Don't let a limited budget hold you back – learn how to market smarter, not harder, and watch your business thrive. Click here to register!

Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff Date: Thursday, October 29, 2026 Time: 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312 Register: Here Growth requires thoughtful financial planning. This session will help you evaluate your business's financial readiness, create a budget for expansion, and understand the funding options available to support your goals. You'll leave with practical tools to help you make informed financial decisions as your business continues to grow. What You'll Learn Assess your business's financial readiness for growth. Create an expansion budget and cash flow projections. Explore funding options and measure financial performance. Click here to register!