Free business advice and guidance available at upcoming event in Santa Maria

Santa Maria Valley entrepreneurs have an opportunity to receive valuable information designed to enhance their small business at an upcoming event that is free of charge.

The Santa Maria Small Business Summit is scheduled for Wednesday, April 26 at the Radisson Hotel.

The five-and-a-half hour event is a partnership between national business mentoring non-profit organization SCORE, as well as the City of Santa Maria and the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Business owners, as well as employees, will attend seminars that focus on eight different business-related topics, such as marketing strategies, funding options, human resource issues and much more.

“What they’re going to leave with is actionable items,” said SCORE mentor Carol Kerwin. “The vendors that are there and presenting are giving them things that they can do today and tomorrow to make their business better.”

Starting at 7 a.m., the summit will feature 16 seminars that last 50 minutes apiece. Each seminar topic will be presented by an expert in the industry and will be held twice.

In addition, a large expo will also take place, allowing business owners the opportunity to network with the experts and other business owners.

The summit was created by SCORE, which includes 325 chapters spread across the United States. The San Luis Obispo County chapter expanded its scope to include the Santa Maria Valley three years ago.

The summit is part of its effort to create more awareness for the organization that provides confidential mentoring services to small businesses.

​​​​​”We offer face-to-faced mentoring and there’s always two of us when we meet with the business and we also have the ability to meet via email or video, so you don’t necessarily have to come to an office to meet with SCORE. You can also work with them over the telephone, Skype or Google hangouts,” said Kerwin.

For more information on the Santa Maria Small Business Summit, visit santamariasummit.org