With the Small Business Administration resuming their Paycheck Protection Program earlier this week, and other organizations such as Prestamos CDFI joining in to offer other forgivable loan programs, University of Nevada, Reno Extension will offer free online town halls with representatives from these organizations and other lenders, as well as Extension experts, explaining eligibility, the application process and other details on the assistance programs. An English-language session will be held next Wednesday, Jan. 20, and a Spanish-language session will be held the following Wednesday, Jan. 27.

“Thankfully, there is still assistance out there to help our small businesses with the challenges they are facing due to COVID-19,” said Buddy Borden, economic development specialist with Extension’s Business Development Program. “But, navigating the process to access the programs is never easy. We’ll have representatives online who can explain the programs and answer questions. These sessions help our small business owners make connections with the lending organizations, as well as with other small business owners.”

In addition to the online town halls, Extension will also offer free webinars, an English-language session on digital marketing next Friday, Jan. 22, and a Spanish-language session the following Friday, Jan. 29. Extension has been offering a series of online town halls and webinars for small businesses, “Coping With COVID-19,” since April 2020, to help entrepreneurs and businesses plan strategically, adapt and succeed. Details on sessions for the next two weeks are as follows:

The Jan. 20 and Jan. 22 sessions are for English speakers:

• The town hall, “New Rounds of Paycheck Protection Programs,” is Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 9 a.m. Panelists include:
  • From the Small Business Administration – Saul Ramos, deputy district director
  • From Prestamos CDFI – Noe Gonzalez, senior business advisor
  • From U.S. Bank – Gabriela Wyett, business banking development consultant
  • From Extension – Reyna Mendez and Juan Salas, business development instructors; and Mike Bindrup, research associate
• The webinar, “Digital Marketing: Basic Concepts,” is Friday, Jan. 22, at 9 a.m. Mendez will discuss:
  • The importance of digital marketing in business
  • The three principals of social media: traffic, conversion and retention
  • Identifying good and bad social media campaigns
  • Creating a weekly plan for social media

The Jan. 27 and Jan. 29 sessions are for Spanish speakers:

• The town hall, “New Rounds of Paycheck Protection Programs” is Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 9 a.m. Panelists include:
  • From the Small Business Administration – Alfredo Cedeño, outreach/marketing specialist 
  • From Prestamos CDFI – Gonzalez
  • From U.S. Bank – Wyett, business banking development consultant
  • From Extension – Mendez, Salas and Bindrup
• The webinar, “Taxes and My Business,” is Friday, Jan. 29, at 9 a.m. Salas will discuss:
  • Tax formulas and the importance of estimation
  • The three main taxes related to business income and profits
  • Taxes related to employees at the federal and state level
  • Identifying compliance dates and documentation

 Both the town halls and the webinars usually run about an hour. To register:

• The Jan. 20, 9 a.m., English-language town hall.
• The Jan. 22, 9 a.m., English-language webinar.
• The Jan. 27, 9 a.m., Spanish-language town hall.
• The Jan. 29, 9 a.m., Spanish-language webinar hall.

Persons in need of special accommodations or assistance should call at least three days prior to the scheduled event. For more information, go to the Extension Business Development Program website. There are also other resources at the website to assist businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. For more information, email Borden.