2026 Ignite Conference Seminars
2026 IGNITE CONFERENCE KEYNOTE
“CREATE THE GOOD: WHEN YOU CAN’T FIND IT, BUILD IT”
Kate Gladdin
When life or business doesn’t go to plan, most people are told to “look for the positives.” But real resilience isn’t about ignoring challenges — it’s about learning how to respond to them with clarity, purpose and intention. In this powerful and relatable keynote, international speaker and Sheridan resident Kate Gladdin shares her signature CREATE THE GOOD framework, blending storytelling, neuroscience-backed strategies and practical tools leaders can apply immediately. Through her 3R Strategy — Recognize, Reflect, Redirect — attendees will learn how to interrupt reactive thinking, navigate uncertainty and turn “now what?” moments into opportunities for growth in both work and life. Participants will leave feeling energized, understood and equipped with tangible concepts they can implement right away.
Choose the seminars that best fit YOUR professional development needs.
AMPLIFY THE APPLAUSE: TURNING CUSTOMER REVIEWS INTO MARKETING FUEL
Jason Wille
Jason Wille will take participants through this practical session on gathering, responding to and repurposing customer reviews across social media and owned channels. Participants will walk away with practical and easy-to-implement strategies for engagement etiquette, policy review and step by step workflows to transform standout testimonials into high impact content that drives trust, conversions and loyalty.
BE AMAZING
Matt Melinkovich
Learn how to amaze your customers, impress your coworkers and outperform the competition. Garner the skills to make yourself and your organization amazing and create habits that will benefit you at work and at home. Matt will share why it matters to be amazing and how to develop and change habits, focus on excellence and continually improve yourself and your organization.
BETTER TEAMS, BETTER RESULTS: WHAT MAKES AN IDEAL TEAM PLAYER
Stacia Skretteberg
Strong teams don’t happen by accident — they’re built by people who consistently show up in the right ways. In this engaging and practical session, Stacia will explore the three essential qualities of an ideal team player: humble, hungry and people-smart. Designed for professionals at all levels and across industries, this session focuses on real-world application — not theory.
BUYING PERSONALITIES: CLOSE MORE SALES
Jeffrey Nichols
Stop using the same sales pitch for every client and start closing more deals. In this session, you’ll learn how to identify and respond to different buying personalities by listening for key words and phrases that signal how each customer makes decisions. By tailoring your approach, you can improve your closing ratio and drive stronger revenue growth.
GROWING YOUR COACHING SKILLS AS A LEADER
Stacia Skretteberg
Coaching moves you from being the “doer” to the “facilitator,” which can have a positive impact on employee performance and building the capacity of your team. This session will focus on the different ways to incorporate coaching to improve employee engagement, problem solving, self-awareness and accountability for development and performance.
PUBLIC SPEAKING MADE EASY: TRANSFORM YOUR FEAR INTO FEARLESSNESS
James Ishoy
Are you tired of feeling anxious every time you need to speak in front of a group of people? Do you wish you could communicate your ideas with confidence and clarity? You’re not alone. Many business leaders struggle with public speaking, but you can turn that around! Don’t let fear hold you back! This presentation promises to equip you with practical tips and strategies that will elevate your public speaking skills to new heights.
TRUST: A LEARNABLE LEADERSHIP SKILL
Matt Melinkovich
Trust affects everyone in an organization. When trust is low, individuals are suspicious and business slows down. Productivity and profits are dramatically adversely affected. When trust is high, communication, creativity, employee engagement and overall enjoyment increase. Productivity increases. In this session, you will learn how to increase your trust by developing your own personal credibility as well as learning the behaviors that demonstrate high trust.
CHAOS, CHANGE AND CALM IN LIFE, WORK AND BUSINESS
Douglas D. Lee
Learn how to recognize and navigate chaos in both your personal and professional life. This session will guide you through assessing challenges, leading effective change and creating a path toward stability. You’ll gain practical steps to evaluate situations, implement change with confidence and recognize and sustain periods of calm, supported by a real-world example.
MAKE YOUR ADVERTISING FUN!
Jim Schellinger, Bob Grammens, Julie Chadwick & Steven Schreffler
Create a more effective and memorable marketing and branding campaign with your media mix. Participants will learn about using unusual ideas in the development of an ad campaign as well as the do’s and don’ts for website, digital, social, video, television, print and billboard design. The return on investment formula and branding questions also will be addressed.
SOCIAL STYLES: TOOLS FOR WORKING MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH OTHERS
Stuart J. McRae
Training in social styles equips participants with practical insight into how people think, communicate and make decisions differently, enabling more effective and respectful interactions. By learning to recognize and adapt to varying styles, participants improve collaboration, reduce misunderstandings and navigate conflict with greater confidence and empathy, achieving better outcomes in both professional and community settings.
WHILE YOU SLEEP: AUTOMATING THE JOBS YOU HATE DOING
Connor Sullivan
Every missed call is a missed customer. Every forgotten follow-up is money walking out the door. Every hour you spend on repetitive tasks is an hour you’re not growing your business. In this session, you’ll watch a real AI system handle customer calls, capture leads, send follow-ups and notify the owner — completely automatically, live in the room. No tech background required. You’ll leave knowing exactly what automation can do for your business today, and what it would take to make it happen.
FINANCIAL CLARITY THAT FUELS CONFIDENT BUSINESS DECISIONS
Stefanie Gilbert
Financial decisions impact every part of a business, yet many professionals operate without true clarity around cash flow, debit, credit and long-term planning. This session breaks down the key financial principles every business owner, manager and employee should understand to make confident, informed decisions. Attendees will walk away with practical tools to assess financial health, avoid common mistakes and create a clear path forward for sustainable growth.
PARTNERING FOR ADVANTAGE: BUILD ECOSYSTEMS THAT ATTRACT COLLABORATION AND REVENUE
Lisa Mueller & Brooke Welch
In today’s business environment, growth often comes from the right partnerships. This session explores how local businesses and organizations can build collaborative ecosystems that expand capacity, strengthen visibility and create new opportunities for revenue. This session will offer real-world examples and practical tools for identifying strategic partners, building effective collaborations and communicating a shared value proposition that supports growth for everyone involved.
STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH CHANGES YOU WOULD NEVER CHOOSE: LESSONS FROM DEBRA SEARLE
P.J. Burns
Running a small business means constantly navigating uncertainty — but some changes hit harder than others. Whether it’s losing a key client, shifting markets, economic downturns or personal challenges that impact your business, how you respond can make all the difference. In this powerful and practical session, we draw lessons from the remarkable journey of Debra Searle, who found herself alone in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after her rowing partner had to leave their expedition.
COMING SOON!
Description
EXECUTIVE TRACK SEMINARS
THE CHILD CARE GAP: A BUSINESS COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
Kristen Czaban
Childcare isn’t just a family issue—it’s a workforce issue. In Wyoming’s tight labor market, an estimated 10,000 parents may be sidelined from the workforce due to childcare gaps, limiting businesses (and families) and their ability to thrive. This session will break down the impact, highlight how other communities are responding and surface ideas for Sheridan.
FINANCIAL STRATEGIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
Rob Johnson, CFP and Jim Schellenberger, CFA, CFP
Explore practical strategies to strengthen your business and your future. This session covers common retirement plan options for small businesses, the pros and cons of different business structures and tax-smart strategies to maximize your financial results. You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of how to save for retirement, use benefits to attract and retain employees and make informed decisions that help keep more of your money.
MAINTAINING WORKPLACE CULTURE DURING TIMES OF CHANGE
Tara Wilcox and Emma Shears
Workplace culture is often most tested during times of change, yet it remains one of the strongest drivers of business performance, retention and trust. This session explores how businesses can maintain and strengthen workplace culture during periods of transition by
treating culture as a strategic and tactical advantage. Participants will learn practical tools to help put culture into action-supporting alignment, engagement and resilience even as conditions evolve.
MEETING MOXIE: USING GRACIOUS SPACE TO GATHER WITH INTENTION AND PURPOSE
Amy Albrecht and Julie Greer
Are you looking for new and different ways to connect, build trust and create shared purpose? What if you learned how to do this in a fun, interactive and engaging environment in under 90 minutes? In this session, you’ll get the tools to walk out of the room energized, inspired and ready to bring people together to intentionally create meetings where they can speak openly, listen deeply and learn together.
DIY OR CALL THE PROS? WHAT TO OUTSOURCE IN YOUR MARKETING PLAN
Kristen Czaban
You’re a small business owner and you simply don’t have time to do it all. So, what should you handle in-house—and what’s worth outsourcing? This session breaks down how to make smart marketing decisions at any budget, helping you maximize impact and avoid wasting time.
ENTREPRENEURIAL TRACK SEMINARS
Whether you’re just exploring a business idea or navigating the early stages of growth, our Entrepreneurial Track offers practical, real-world guidance to help you move forward with confidence. Led by P.J. Burns and Jeff Engell of the Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network, these sessions are designed to equip aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs with the tools, insights and strategies needed to start strong and build a sustainable business.
START YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Are you thinking about starting a new business, side hustle or just have a great idea for a business? WY Small Business Development Center’s NE Regional Director, P.J. Burns will help answer the initial questions every entrepreneur has in this overview of how to start your own business. Join this session to learn how to answer these questions and discover free and low-cost resources, like the WY SBDC, who want to help your business succeed.
HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN
Business planning is important when you are starting a business. It is required if you are seeking funding through a lender or investor, and even if you don’t need outside funding, a fully developed business plan is your roadmap for business success. Join P.J. Burns, NE Regional Director for the WY Small Business Development Center and learn how to write a comprehensive business plan and the free and low-cost resources available to help.
MARKETING: KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER
Identifying your customer base will help you refine your products and services and is crucial for building targeted, effective marketing strategies that boost conversions, improve retention and differentiate your brand. Learn how “Knowing Your Customer” focuses on moving beyond basic data to build genuine human connections and long-term loyalty.
FINANCING YOUR START-UP OR EXPANSION
Join Jeff Engell, South Central Regional Director for the Small Business Development Center, for an in-depth session on funding options for small business startups and capital for expansion. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, this session will provide you with actionable insights on exploring funding sources, understanding your financial needs and what it takes to be “lender ready.”
HIRING YOUR FIRST EMPLOYEE
Hiring your first employee in Wyoming involves specific state-level registrations alongside standard federal requirements. Beyond the operational and regulatory requirements, hiring that first employee involves finding the candidate that is right for the position and right for your organization. Learn how to find, hire and train to make you boss ready and help you find that perfect employee to grow your business!
BONUS WRAP-UP SESSION
SCOTT LEE
“DEFINING MOMENTS DEFINE YOU”
What determines whether a leader emerges to meet the challenge of the hour? More to the point, what will determine whether you will step forward to successfully meet the challenges you face? The determining factor is how you handle certain critical moments in your life. The choices we make in critical moments help to form us and to inform others about who we are.
Register Today!
Thank you to our 2026 Ignite Conference sponsors!
