Business owners and potential entrepreneurs are busy people who barely have time for lunch, let alone step away in the middle of the day.

To make taking a break more productive, Sno-Isle Libraries will offer a series of free webinars from noon-1 p.m., every Monday in November. The “Plan for Profit” sessions will focus on resources and skills business owners and entrepreneurs can put to use. Presenters will include members of the Sno-Isle Libraries Business Services Team members.

“We know that business owners want training, but need flexibility,” said Kassy Rodeheaver, Lead Librarian for Business Services. “By hosting these trainings online and as a lunchtime series, we hope to make it easier for business people to participate.

“People can join the webinars by computer or their phone and learn how the library can help their business, all while eating lunch.”

The webinars will be interactive Rodeheaver said: “Attendees will be able to ask us questions, participate in polls and give us their feedback on what’s most useful for them in their businesses.”

For those who can’t take a lunch break, the webinars will be recorded and available online for later viewing. Information about registering for the free webinars is available at sno-isle.org/profit. The webinars are scheduled for:

Plan for Profit: Write a Business Plan

Nov.  6 – Did you know that business owners who put their plan in writing have a higher success rate? Learn why it’s important to write a business plan, the basic components of a plan, how to find sample business plans that match your business concept, then find resources to guide you through the process.

Plan for Profit: Find Your Customers

Nov. 13 – Entrepreneurs, come learn how to do strategic market research for your business by discovering your B2C (business to consumer) customers. This class will cover how to identify the names, addresses, and phone numbers of potential new customers based on their interests, incomes and buying potential. Note: If you are operating a B2B business, attend “Find Your Competitors” to learn how to find your business customers.

Plan for Profit: Understand Your Competitors

Nov. 20 – This class will cover how to find information about your competitors and understand where you fit in the market. You will learn how to quickly analyze your competitors or B2B (business to business) customers using built-in data visualization tools.

Plan for Profit: Market Potential & Your Market Share

Nov. 27 – Entrepreneurs will learn how to maximize their market share by looking at industry trends, finding customers and competitors, and determining your market potential.

Once registered, attendees will receive a confirmation email and reminder emails in the days leading up to the event.

“These webinars will expose business people to the array of market research tools that they can access for free with their library cards,” Rodeheaver said. “And for those who don’t yet have a card, those are also free with online registration available.”