• Magnetic Marketing: Session 4: Social Media & Content Strategy

    oin the Urban League of Louisiana this September and October for the 6-part marketing series, “Magnetic Marketing: Leveraging the Power of AI to Grow Your Small Business,” sponsored by Louisiana Economic Development and Mastercard. This series is designed to guide small business owners and marketing leaders through a structured, hands-on process of building a strategic, actionable marketing plan that aligns with your business goals - with a focus on brand development, digital marketing, customer engagement, and AI tools - using Orhan McMillan’s Strategic Marketing Workbook as a foundation. Session 4: Social Media & Content Strategy Friday, September 26, 2025 I 10:00am-12:00pm During this session, participants will learn how to plan and align content with brand and customer journey. This session will cover: How to choose the right social media platforms Defining content pillars and voice consistency Content calendars & batching content Tracking engagement This session will be facilitated by Orhan McMillan, Founder, dezinsINTERACTIVE and Orhan McMillan, LLC. This series is sponsored by Mastercard and Louisiana Economic Development’s Small and Emerging Business Development Program, and funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. To participate, attendees must be or become certified by the LED Small and […]

  • Magnetic Marketing: Session 5: Email, Ads, & Budget Planning

    Join the Urban League of Louisiana this September and October for the 6-part marketing series, “Magnetic Marketing: Leveraging the Power of AI to Grow Your Small Business,” sponsored by Louisiana Economic Development and Mastercard. This series is designed to guide small business owners and marketing leaders through a structured, hands-on process of building a strategic, actionable marketing plan that aligns with your business goals - with a focus on brand development, digital marketing, customer engagement, and AI tools - using Orhan McMillan’s Strategic Marketing Workbook as a foundation. Session 5: Email, Ads, & Budget Planning Friday, October 3, 2025 I 10:00am-12:00pm During this session, participants will learn how to build connection and conversion through outreach strategies. This session will cover: Lead magnets, list-building, and email funnels Paid Ads: where to start, boosting vs. strategy Marketing Budget planning Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Mailchimp & Meta Ad Manager basics This session will be facilitated by Orhan McMillan, Founder, dezinsINTERACTIVE and Orhan McMillan, LLC. This series is sponsored by Mastercard and Louisiana Economic Development’s Small and Emerging Business Development Program, and funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. To participate, attendees must be or become certified by […]

  • Magnetic Marketing: Session 6: Analytics, KPIs & Action Plan

    Join the Urban League of Louisiana this September and October for the 6-part marketing series, “Magnetic Marketing: Leveraging the Power of AI to Grow Your Small Business,” sponsored by Louisiana Economic Development and Mastercard. This series is designed to guide small business owners and marketing leaders through a structured, hands-on process of building a strategic, actionable marketing plan that aligns with your business goals - with a focus on brand development, digital marketing, customer engagement, and AI tools - using Orhan McMillan’s Strategic Marketing Workbook as a foundation. Session 6: Pulling It All Together: Analytics, KPIs & Action Plan Friday, October 10, 2025 I 10:00am-12:00pm During this session, participants will finalize their marketing strategy and set up a 30-day plan This session will cover: Workshop Review Campaign mapping: What to launch, how to measure Finalizing your strategic marketing plan 30-day Action Plan This session will be facilitated by Orhan McMillan, Founder, dezinsINTERACTIVE and Orhan McMillan, LLC. This series is sponsored by Mastercard and Louisiana Economic Development’s Small and Emerging Business Development Program, and funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. To participate, attendees must be or become certified by the LED Small and Emerging […]

  • Visibility Matters: Crafting a Winning Capability Statement

    Join the Urban League of Louisiana on Wednesday, February 4, 10:00am-11:30am, for “Visibility Matters: Crafting a Winning Capability Statement.” This virtual session is hosted in collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s DBE Supportive Services program. During this interactive workshop, participants will learn the key components of a capabilities statement and will be given guidance on crafting these elements to fit their business model and offerings. With an increase in the number of viable contractors available to support public and private projects, contracting across the region is now more competitive than ever. However, the critical factors are the same. Procurement leads need to understand your capabilities, your value proposition, cost competitiveness, and how well you have performed on previous projects. But, with a sea of contenders, these elements need to be even more clearly and effectively conveyed than ever before. As a contractor, whether you are providing labor, materials, or professional services, your capability statement serves as your business card and should set your apart from your competitors. It is a tool that will show potential clients how your achievements, core competencies, accreditations, financial health, and experience will create value for their projects. Writing a capability statement is […]

  • Creating a Business Development Plan for Your Business

    Join the Urban League of Louisiana on Wednesday, March 4, 10:00am-11:30am, for “Opportunity and Preparation: Creating a Business Development Plan for Your Business.” This virtual session is hosted in collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s DBE Supportive Services program. Business development in construction management refers to a strategic and actionable plan for pursuing new business and fostering relationships with your most preferred clients. Your business development plan outlines how you identify prospects, share your capabilities, and nurture business relationships so that prospects become clients when the time is right. Business development is strategic integration of marketing, sales and customer service efforts. It also is most successful when everyone in the business understands and works towards a common goal for bringing on new business. During this session, contractors will learn how to increase profitability and scalability by creating and managing a business development strategy – one that maximizes its strengths and experience and one that targets and converts its most preferred client types. The goal is to convert prospects to clients and to turn bids into awards! This session will be facilitated by Courtney Elzey, Principal, MCDS, LLC. There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required. […]

  • Utilizing Bid Platforms to Identify Contracting Opportunities

    Join the Urban League of Louisiana on Wednesday, April 8, 10:00am-11:30am, for “Utilizing Bid Platforms to Identify Contracting Opportunities”. This virtual session is a part of a series of monthly workshops hosted in collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s DBE Supportive Services program. This session will equip construction professionals, subcontractors, and small contractor business owners with the skills needed to effectively navigate and leverage online construction bid platforms. Attendees will learn how to identify and evaluate contracting opportunities, as well as , how to strategically position their firm for competitive bidding. By the end of this course, participants will be able to confidently use platforms to discover high-potential projects to bid and expand their contracting pipeline. This session will be facilitated by Frank Johnson, Director, Contractor’s Resource Center, Urban League of Louisiana. There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required. Register today to reserve your spot! After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training. Link