Join the Mountain Plains Minority Supplier Development Council and the University of Nebraska for Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) University, a 13-hour, 6-track certification program held online over six weeks. Facilitated by expert faculty from the University of Nebraska, the program will help entrepreneurs and small business owners transform and grow their business.
Tracks are 2 hours each and include:
- Track One: Planning for Growth
- Track Two: Professional Selling Track
- Track Three: Managing Your Money with Metrics Track Four: Human Resources—Keys to Building a Successful Business Instead of a Job
- Track Five: Building Your Leadership & Entrepreneurial Skills
- Track Six: Customer Relationship Management
Planning for Growth – February 18th and February 25th
Dr. Brent Clark will discuss some of the differences between Good and Bad Strategy that both large and small companies often struggle to understand. The discussion will also cover value propositions, business model basics, and analyzing the strategic landscape. In particular, he identifies how to understand your competitive environment, industry trends, and core competencies so you have the insights needed to provide unique value to customers and find a durable advantage over competitors.
Customer Relationship Management – March 4th and March 11th
Dr. Phani Tej Adidam discusses the importance of building relationships with customers via proper positioning, branding, and customer service. He shares insights on how to differentiate your product from your competitors. He will also offer ideas on how to develop and offer brand promise. Finally, he will discuss how having a customer-oriented mindset will lead to satisfaction and loyalty, and eventual profitability.
Managing Your Money with Metrics – March 18th and March 25th
Dr. Dale Eesley reviews key ratios for managing your business. He then demonstrates the power of knowing your numbers by showing five ways to improve profit and three ways to increase cash based on what can be learned from your financial data.
Professional Selling – April 1st and April 8th
Dr. Anne Herman covers the essential ingredients of highly successful salespeople. In this webinar, you will learn how a better understanding of yourself, your customers, and the selling process will maximize the potential for your products and services to meet customers’ needs and drive sales. Human Resources—Keys to Building a Successful Business – April 15th and April 22nd Dr. Dale Eesley discusses the critical importance of hiring, incentivizing, and retaining the right people. He shares insight on where to look for good people, hire them, and how to cultivate talent. He shows how having a strong set of values and a positive culture can lead to a high-performing workplace.
Design Thinking – April 29th and May 6th
Dr. Shana Redd in this final session, Dr. Redd, discusses how organizations often struggle with new business challenges because they are stuck doing things the way they have always been done. She then introduces Design Thinking, which is a way to think differently about creating better business solutions for you and your team. In this track, Dr. Shana Redd outlines the steps involved in the Design Thinking process. Finally, she demonstrates how this process can be used to solve a plaguing problem or make the most of an opportunity within your organization.