Making Austin a more Business Friendly Environment means providing supports to businesses of all sizes already in Austin as well as attracting new business. The Austin Area Business Forum is designed to serve both of those goals by offering free education to business owners and those who would like to be.

The topic for September at the Austin Area Business Forum is “Complaint Handling: Dealing with Tough Customers” presented by Julie Kiedrowski and Lisa Hiebert of the Better Business Bureau-Minnesota/North Dakota.

AABF is held on Tuesday, September 15 at noon at the Pizza Ranch. Guests can purchase a Pizza Ranch buffet lunch if they so desire. The presentation starts promptly at noon so that the ending time of 1 p.m. can be honored. If you can, plan ahead to be seated by noon.

Speaker Juile Kiedrowski is the Vice President of Business and Consumer Services at the Better Business Bureau. In less than a year at the BBB, she has rolled out a new system-wide rating system and an updated Request-A-Quote system to connect businesses with potential consumers. Prior to BBB, Julie worked for Target Corporation for 10 years both at the headquarters and in the stores. Outside of work Julie enjoys time with her husband and two young children.

Speaker Lisa Hiebert  is the Director of Strategic Marketing for the Better Business Bureau. She coordinates consumer and business marketing efforts throughout the region to help build brand awareness and engagement with BBB. Lisa currently serves on the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ brand committee. Prior to joining BBB, Lisa served as the Director of Marketing and Communications for Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys. Under her leadership, the Girl Scout council’s 2010 cookie sales program exceeded goals to become–at the time—the second-largest campaign in the country. Lisa’s favorite title is “Ryan’s mom” (her 9-year-old son), and she has degrees in journalism and sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

Plan to attend on Tuesday to hear insights from Julie and Lisa on how to handle customer complaints and build trust with the public. Any business owner or employee who deals with customers will find the program worthwhile.

AABF is sponsored by the Development Corporation of Austin, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and the Hormel Foundation. The coordinator of the AABF is Mark Thein. Mark is also a business consultant with the Small Business Development Center. He works with Austin clients to provide a variety of free business consulting including: business plan development, manufacturing assistance, financial packaging and lending assistance, exporting and importing support, disaster recovery assistance, procurement and contracting aid, market research help, program support, and healthcare guidance. Contact Mark at 507-459-3060 or mthein@hbci.com or contact the Development Corporation of Austin at 507-433-9495 for more information.