You may have noticed that Matt Cheuvront of lifewithoutpants.com and I hang out a lot online.  It all started over a meeting about this very website.  Since then, our friendship has grown and so has our list of co-projects.

Today we are announcing our first official project- Social Media 101.  We will be hosting social media workshops in the Chicagoland area to educate small businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profits how to get more out of their marketing while spending less money.  Since we love the online space and have experienced serious growth because of it, we thought we should let others experience the same thing.

The workshop will be held on Saturday April 10 from 9am-1pm in Elgin, IL. We are offering the workshop for FREE because in this economy, small businesses need to stretch their dollar as much as they can.

Social Media can change a small business. Yet small business owners are usually the ones wearing so many hats that they don’t have time to think about learning social media basics too.  After leaving our workshop, attendees will be equipped with the confidence and knowledge to have the voice of a large company with the marketing budget of a small company.  We will provide new ideas that are crucial to today’s small business marketing strategy.

Don’t believe it? We know it sounds far fetched for those who are new to the space.  Therefore, Mari Luangrath of Foiled Cupcakes will be sharing how social media has played an instrumental role in her business.  It’s no accident that Foiled Cupcakes are Chicago’s most coveted cupcakes.  Not only are they delicious, but Mari has relied on social media and online marketing to create the buzz.  She’ll be sharing her story and answering all of your questions.

Also, Matt and I will are co-authoring a “Social Media 101″ e-book which will be 100% FREE for all attendees.   The e-book includes some of our best practices and case studies from small business owners. We’re not reinventing the wheel here, but are instead focusing on providing a tangible resource to all workshop attendees and anyone else interested in learning more about Social Media.

I’m pretty excited to give back to my hometown community by doing something I’m passionate about.  Plus, working with Matt Cheuvront is an honor.  Our meetings are just as fun as they are productive (and trust me they are really fun!).  I imagine the workshop will be the same way.  Matt knows his stuff, he has a knack for design, and he knows from experience what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to small business marketing.

For those of you who are in the Chicagoland area, please pass this info on to anyone you know who may benefit from our free workshop! You can register using the form below or here.

Hi Lovely Readers,

I wanted to let you know that I will be giving my first teleseminar presentation tonight at 7pm CST on how to build your personal brand via social media.  I was invited to be a presenter by Dawn Yerger, founder of DiamondMind Coaching and Consulting.  Check out and join DiamondMind’s cool social network made up of several stellar young professional women here.  You can never network with fabulous like-minded women enough, right? 

Dawn Yerger, MSW is the president and CEO of DiamondMind Coaching & Consulting. She earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. It is her personal mission to bring out the best in herself and others by connection to our inner and outer resources.

Dawn is the creator of the P.O.L.I.S.H.ed framework, a six-step strategic framework on which all of DiamondMind’s services and programs are based. She is also the founder and Executive Director of the Urban Diamond Foundation, a fundraising and philanthropic organization focusing on community development, historic preservation, youth philanthropy, and youth entrepreneurship for inner-city communities.

Dawn is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and is currently studying to complete her PhD in Holistic Life Coaching. She resides in Northwest Indiana with her daughter Khailah. She can be reached at dawn@polishyourdiamond.com.

The info I’m presenting on is very relevant to small business owners, entrepreneurs and those who would like to be viewed as “experts” in their field.  I’ll be giving some basics on social media, introducing you to some new tools, and also giving a case study example of how “Hannah the Hairdresser” can use social media to get new clients for her business.   

Let me know if you plan on listening in!

Nicole

If you are a social media, marketing, advertising or PR person who wants to learn more about social media and its role in business, I highly recommend you attend sohobiztube’s “Naked Biz Growth” all day seminar on Tuesday May 12 in Milwaukee, WI from 8am-4pm.

First, you should come because I will be there.  (If you are in the Chicago area, I’d love to even drive you there because I will be bored out of my mind driving alone.  Even Twittering on my Blackberry will get old.)

Second, somehow it is only $55. 

Third, Brian Kalma-User Experience and Web Strategiest for Zappos.com- is the lunch keynote speaker!  How awesome is that?!

Fourth, if you’ve been out of college for a while, you could probably use to spice up your life.  You can also benefit from meeting experts in the field, and learning something out of the ordinary which you can bring back to your company and impress someone with. 

For more information and to RSVP, click here.