Selling with Confidence: Practical Tools for Brave New Businesses

On May 16, the Latvian team hosted another hands-on seminar for participants from the first cycle of the project. Held in the heart of Old Riga, the seminar was titled “Sell with confidence” and was facilitated by Jelena Sterhova, a leading expert in non-formal business education. Speaker opened the session with an ambitious presentation: “Target audience: your business is not for everyone.”

She kicked off with a common beginner’s mistake—when asked, “Who is your target audience?”, many aspiring entrepreneurs confidently reply: “Everyone! Well… almost everyone!” Jelena then guided the participants through the five key characteristics of a target audience: demographic, social, geographic, psychological, and behavioral. She broke down each category with lively, real-world examples and kept the participants engaged with interactive tasks and exercises. The first session wrapped up with an energetic discussion about cultural differences and their impact on business.

In the second session, Jelena introduced the sales funnel—the pathway that connects a product to its customer. She chose a six-stage funnel and walked the participants through each step, focusing on effective communication channels and promotion methods. True to her style, Jelena illustrated her points with sharp, memorable examples from social media posts and her own client portfolio. She finished the session with practical tips on how to shorten the journey from product to customer.

The final session brought Galina Shalkovska to the stage—a tax expert and head of the Riga department at the State Revenue Service of Latvia. Speaker provided a clear, step-by-step explanation of what it takes to start a business as a self-employed person in Latvia. She explained what qualifies as economic activity, when registration is required and how to go about it, outlined the various tax payment schemes and how taxes are calculated, and clarified what information must be submitted to the State Revenue Service.

Her presentation sparked lively interest—participants asked plenty of practical questions, demonstrating their readiness to take their first steps in business the right way.

We are proud of our participants and wish them every success on their entrepreneurial journey!