Elevate Your Business: Marketing Strategies for Expanding Your Customer Base
2025-11-20 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | The Iowa Center, 2210 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA, 50312, United States
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Register: Here
Elevate is The Iowa Center’s more advanced 5-class series that helps our clients develop growth strategies for their established small businesses. The series is open to clients who received assistance to launch and grow their small businesses and are ready for the next step, as well as existing businesses seeking education and support to strengthen, stabilize and grow.

Topics:

Branding and messaging consistency
Digital marketing (SEO, social media, email marketing)
Content marketing, lead generation, and building customer loyalty
Measuring ROI on marketing efforts

Action Items:

Build a basic marketing campaign
Craft a 3 minute business pitch

Click here to register!

Always Ready: Marketing (In-Person)
2025-11-20 15:00
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
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!

SmartHER Money Financial Literacy Course – Part 4
2025-11-19 17:30 - 19:30
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Register: Here
A four-part series designed to build financial confidence and long-term security.
This four-class series offers crucial financial literacy skills, including budgeting, credit scores, saving strategies, fraud prevention, health insurance, and retirement planning. In the first session, participants will learn how to create and maintain a budget and understand credit scores. The second session will focus on developing effective saving habits and recognizing financial fraud. The final two sessions will cover navigating health care options, planning for retirement, and understanding estate planning for long-term financial empowerment. Additional individual coaching will be available between each session to provide further support.
Questions about the course? Contact Nick Meyer at nmeyer@ls2group.com

Click here to register!

Getting Ready for Business Ownership: Muscatine (In-Person)
2025-11-19 17:30 - 19:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: Muscatine Community College, 152 Colorado Street, Rm 8 Strahan Hall, Muscatine, IA 52761
Register: Here
From Idea to Plan:
Starting your small business journey can feel overwhelming—but you don’t have to do it alone. In this small-group session, The Iowa Center staff will walk you through the first steps of launching your business, from understanding legal business entities and registering your business to creating a business plan that turns your ideas into actionable goals.
You’ll learn why a business plan is essential, how to start building one, and get a clear road map for completing it. Along the way, you’ll connect with other aspiring entrepreneurs, share ideas, and gain the confidence to take the next steps toward business ownership.

Click here to register!

Always Ready: Financials
2025-11-19 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: Online
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!

Always Ready: Business Plan
2025-11-18 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 4:00pm
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.

Click here to register!

AARP: Work for Yourself at 50+
2025-11-17 09:00 - 11:00
Date: Monday, November 17, 2025
Time: 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Virtual
Registration: Click Here
Work for Yourself@50+ is a workshop to help you gain the knowledge, support, and resources you need to make informed decisions about working for yourself and take the right first steps toward successful self-employment.
The decision to start your own business can be both exciting and daunting. Work for Yourself@50+ breaks the choices down for older adults in an approachable way through five steps:
1. A careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks of working for yourself
2. Exercises to help develop the self-employment idea
3. A realistic overview of what it takes to pursue a self-employment opportunity
4. Guidance to help avoid pitfalls and scams
5. Ways to find trustworthy support and services
This is an online webinar. In order to access the webinar, you will need either a laptop, tablet or smartphone that is connected to the internet. Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email that provides access information to join the webinar.
Click here to register!
The Iowa Center Women’s Business Center is funded in part by U.S. Small Business Administration.

SmartHER Money Financial Literacy Course – Part 3
2025-11-12 17:30 - 19:30
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Register: Here
A four-part series designed to build financial confidence and long-term security.
This four-class series offers crucial financial literacy skills, including budgeting, credit scores, saving strategies, fraud prevention, health insurance, and retirement planning. In the first session, participants will learn how to create and maintain a budget and understand credit scores. The second session will focus on developing effective saving habits and recognizing financial fraud. The final two sessions will cover navigating health care options, planning for retirement, and understanding estate planning for long-term financial empowerment. Additional individual coaching will be available between each session to provide further support.
Questions about the course? Contact Nick Meyer at nmeyer@ls2group.com

Click here to register!

Always Ready: Lending (In-Person)
2025-11-12 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
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!

Small Business Essentials: Sales Tax (In-Person)
2025-11-11 15:00 - 16:00
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
Register: Here
Navigating sales tax doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Join us for a practical, beginner-friendly session on the basics of Iowa sales tax. We’ll cover key topics like:

What’s taxable (and what’s not)

When use tax applies

How to determine the correct rate to charge

We’ll also walk through the essentials of staying compliant — from setting up your tax account and registering for the right permit to filing and paying on time. Plus, we’ll explain what to do if you ever receive a letter from the Iowa Department of Revenue.
The presenter for this session is Tim Reilly, Counsel at BrownWinick law firm, who previously worked for the DOR as a tax attorney and sales tax policy director and as a state and local tax expert at an accounting firm.

Click here to register!

DreamBuilder Graduation (In-Person)
2025-11-06 17:30 - 19:30
Day/Time: Thursday, November 6, 2025, 5:30-7:30 PM (for full details and class schedule, click here!)
Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
In our final session, we’ll celebrate your hard work and growth throughout the course. This graduation class is your opportunity to put everything you’ve learned into action by presenting your business pitch and sharing your marketing strategy with your peers and instructors.
You’ll have the chance to showcase your brand story, creative marketing ideas, and the strategies you’ve developed to reach your audience on a budget. This is a supportive and engaging space to gain feedback, network with fellow entrepreneurs, and be inspired by the innovative approaches others have crafted.
We’ll close out the course by recognizing your accomplishments and setting the stage for your next steps as a confident, resourceful business owner ready to make an impact.

Elevate Your Business: Marketing Strategies for Expanding Your Customer Base (In-Person)
2025-11-06 15:00 - 17:00
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
Register: Here
Elevate is The Iowa Center’s more advanced 5-class series that helps our clients develop growth strategies for their established small businesses. The series is open to clients who received assistance to launch and grow their small businesses and are ready for the next step, as well as existing businesses seeking education and support to strengthen, stabilize and grow.

Topics:

Branding and messaging consistency
Digital marketing (SEO, social media, email marketing)
Content marketing, lead generation, and building customer loyalty
Measuring ROI on marketing efforts

Action Items:

Build a basic marketing campaign
Craft a 3 minute business pitch

Click here to register!

SmartHER Money Financial Literacy Course – Part 2
2025-11-05 17:30 - 19:30
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Register: Here
A four-part series designed to build financial confidence and long-term security.
This four-class series offers crucial financial literacy skills, including budgeting, credit scores, saving strategies, fraud prevention, health insurance, and retirement planning. In the first session, participants will learn how to create and maintain a budget and understand credit scores. The second session will focus on developing effective saving habits and recognizing financial fraud. The final two sessions will cover navigating health care options, planning for retirement, and understanding estate planning for long-term financial empowerment. Additional individual coaching will be available between each session to provide further support.
Questions about the course? Contact Nick Meyer at nmeyer@ls2group.com

Click here to register!

Financial Health Chase Money Skills - Understanding and Building Credit (In-Person)
2025-11-05 15:30 - 16:30
Presenter: Marcia Treichel & The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Time: 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Location: 2210 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312
Register: Here
Financial Health Chase Money Skills is a financial education program designed to help students and communities improve their financial health. The program offers practical guidance on topics like budgeting, saving, credit management, and fraud prevention.

Click here to register!

Always Ready: Getting Ready
2025-11-04 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Time: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: Online
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!

DreamBuilder (In-Person)
2025-10-30 17:30 - 19:30, 2025-10-16 17:30 - 19:30, 2025-10-02 17:30 - 19:30
Day/Time: Thursday evenings from 5:30-7:30 pm from September 18th to October 23rd (for full details and class schedule, click here!)
Cost: $250 per participant (+ ticket fees)
Refund Policy: Ticketing fees are not refundable. No refunds will be given after September 13, 2025.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

A personal laptop
An active email account
Availability to complete 2 hours/week of homework
Commitment to attend all in-person sessions

Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
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!

Small Business Taxes: Getting Ready for Tax Time (In-Person)
2025-10-30 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Thursday, October 30, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 4:00pm
Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
Register: Here
Small business taxes can be complicated. Understanding your obligations and keeping good records makes the process easier, and helps you avoid costly surprises. Join The Iowa Center’s in-house Small Business Tax Professional for a one hour class to learn strategies to prepare for tax time. We will also share information about Iowa Center Services that can help you plan for tax time success.

Click here to register!

SmartHER Money Financial Literacy Course – Part 1
2025-10-29 17:30 - 19:30
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Register: Here
A four-part series designed to build financial confidence and long-term security.
This four-class series offers crucial financial literacy skills, including budgeting, credit scores, saving strategies, fraud prevention, health insurance, and retirement planning. In the first session, participants will learn how to create and maintain a budget and understand credit scores. The second session will focus on developing effective saving habits and recognizing financial fraud. The final two sessions will cover navigating health care options, planning for retirement, and understanding estate planning for long-term financial empowerment. Additional individual coaching will be available between each session to provide further support.
Questions about the course? Contact Nick Meyer at nmeyer@ls2group.com

Click here to register!

Elevate Your Business: Strategic Business Planning and Growth Strategies
2025-10-23 15:00 - 17:00
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Register: Here
Elevate is The Iowa Center’s more advanced 5-class series that helps our clients develop growth strategies for their established small businesses. The series is open to clients who received assistance to launch and grow their small businesses and are ready for the next step, as well as existing businesses seeking education and support to strengthen, stabilize and grow.

Topics:

Setting SMART goals and KPIs
Business models and market positioning
Scaling strategies and market expansion
Adapting to industry trends and market changes

Action Items:

Create a business plan
Identify growth opportunities in your market

Click here to register!

Always Ready: Marketing
2025-10-23 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025
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!

Taking Your Business to Market: Muscatine (In-Person)
2025-10-21 17:30 - 18:30
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Location: Muscatine Community College, 152 Colorado Street, Rm 9 Strahan Hall, Muscatine, IA 52761
Register: Here
Are you an aspiring entrepreneur or small business owner in Eastern Iowa looking to make a big impact on a limited marketing budget? Taking Your Business to Market will give you the practical strategies and tools to promote your business effectively without breaking the bank.
This workshop covers cost-effective marketing techniques tailored for startups and small businesses—from crafting your brand story and leveraging social media to guerrilla marketing tactics and optimizing your online presence. Learn how to reach your audience, generate leads, and build a loyal customer base while managing resources efficiently. Walk away with a clear blueprint to market your business smarter and set yourself up for growth and success.

Click here to register!

Always Ready: Business Plan (In-Person)
2025-10-21 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
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!

AARP: Work for Yourself at 50+
2025-10-20 09:00 - 11:00
Date: Monday, October 20, 2025
Time: 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Virtual
Registration: Click Here
Work for Yourself@50+ is a workshop to help you gain the knowledge, support, and resources you need to make informed decisions about working for yourself and take the right first steps toward successful self-employment.
The decision to start your own business can be both exciting and daunting. Work for Yourself@50+ breaks the choices down for older adults in an approachable way through five steps:
1. A careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks of working for yourself
2. Exercises to help develop the self-employment idea
3. A realistic overview of what it takes to pursue a self-employment opportunity
4. Guidance to help avoid pitfalls and scams
5. Ways to find trustworthy support and services
This is an online webinar. In order to access the webinar, you will need either a laptop, tablet or smartphone that is connected to the internet. Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email that provides access information to join the webinar.
Click here to register!
The Iowa Center Women’s Business Center is funded in part by U.S. Small Business Administration.

Financial Health Chase Money Skills - Understanding and Building Credit (In-Person)
2025-10-15 15:00 - 16:30
Presenter: Marcia Treichel & The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Location: 2210 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312
Register: Here
Financial Health Chase Money Skills is a financial education program designed to help students and communities improve their financial health. The program offers practical guidance on topics like budgeting, saving, credit management, and fraud prevention.

Click here to register!

Always Ready: Financials (In-Person)
2025-10-14 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2025
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!

Elevate Your Business: Strategic Business Planning and Growth Strategies (In-Person)
2025-10-09 15:00 - 17:00
Date: Thursday, October 9, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: 2210 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312
Register: Here
Elevate is The Iowa Center’s more advanced 5-class series that helps our clients develop growth strategies for their established small businesses. The series is open to clients who received assistance to launch and grow their small businesses and are ready for the next step, as well as existing businesses seeking education and support to strengthen, stabilize and grow.

Topics:

Setting SMART goals and KPIs
Business models and market positioning
Scaling strategies and market expansion
Adapting to industry trends and market changes

Action Items:

Create a business plan
Identify growth opportunities in your market

Click here to register!

Always Ready: Lending
2025-10-08 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Time: 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Location: Online
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!

Always Ready: Getting Ready (In-Person)
2025-10-07 15:00 - 16:00
Presenter: The Iowa Center Staff
Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
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!
