Session Topics

The introductory session covers the entrepreneurial mindset, how to access additional tourism resources, and networking with fellow participants. 

This session looks at mental health in rural businesses/organizations, organizational structures, strategic management of your organization, and a customer profile & journey exercise. 

This session breaks down the differences between marketing and advertising, how to build a personalized marketing strategy, and a branding exercise where participants are able to establish or tweak their unique brand identity & their brand positioning.

This session covers the best practices for hiring & staffing in the tourism industry with a special focus on applications for rural tourism businesses and organizations.

This session covers topics that will help build stronger and more collaborative partnerships such as cultural competencies, effective communication, inclusive language, and a personalized tourism partnership exercise.

This session looks at an overview of financial management with specific topics such as estimating costs, effective product pricing, and the best practices of bookkeeping.

This session covers all-things-funding, with topics such as accessing funding resources, limitations with funding, identifying your personalized resource needs, advanced funding concepts, and pitching your concept to potential funders.

This session offers a general overview of risk management for rural tourism businesses and organizations, featuring an exercise for participants to create their own personalized risk management & mitigation plans.

Our closing session will be a celebratory overview of all we have learned, next-steps, and plans for continuing education through one-on-one mentoring sessions.