Contact: Chris Gallegos, 202-224-5054

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today encouraged Mississippi small business owners to take advantage of an upcoming free workshop to learn how to increase their online presence and attract more customers.

The “Mississippi Get Your Business Online” workshop is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday, Aug. 6, at the Jackson Marriott, 200 E. Amite St., Jackson.  The event is sponsored by Google in partnership with the Mississippi Small Business Development Center, SCORE and Intuit.

“This workshop is tailored to help Mississippi small businesses tap into the growing number of consumers who use the Internet to shop for products and services.  Establishing a presence online can open new avenues for small businesses to market themselves,” Cochran said.

The workshop will give business owners access to experts who will provide step-by-step guidance for creating a website, advertising online and using other tools to market products.  As part of the training event, small businesses will be offered a domain name (website address), as well as tools and resources for maintaining the site.

“Mississippi Get Your Business Online is designed to help small businesses develop a web presence,” said Will Houston, a Mississippi native and Strategic Partner Manager at Google. “This program makes it fast and easy for Mississippi small businesses to claim their place on the web and expand their customer base.”

According to Google, 97 percent of people research local products and services online, but nearly 60 percent of small businesses do not have a website.

WHAT:  “Mississippi Get Your Business Online” Workshop, sponsored by Google

WHEN:  8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday, Aug. 6

WHERE:  Jackson Marriott, 200 E. Amite St., Jackson

REGISTER:  www.MississippiGetOnline.com or 1-800-986-6958

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