SANFORD - Current and would-be small business owners are invited to attend a series of seminars on the basic knowledge critical to starting and running a small business - and earn a certificate from Central Carolina Community College in doing so.
The college's Small Business Center offers the Entrepreneurial Foundation Series, seminars covering the five "core curriculum" topics of small business ownership: How to Start a Business, Financing Your Small Business, How to Write a Business Plan, Market Research and Marketing, and Record Keeping and Taxes.
The series will be presented several times a year by the college's SBCs in Chatham, Harnett and Lee counties. Anyone attending all five of the seminars will receive a certificate through the Small Business Center on the completion of the series. The individual seminars can be taken at any of the designated locations. They do not need to be taken in order, but it is recommended since the information in each builds on that in previous seminars.
To date 15 SBC clients have received certificates.
"It takes commitment for current and would-be business owners to attend these seminars and educate themselves for success," said Dale Fey, director of CCCC's Small Business Center. "This certificate recognizes that and can be hung in an office to let clients know that these business people are serious about success and serving their clients."
The N.C. Community College System's Small Business Center Network developed the core curriculum. The 58 SBCs throughout the state, including CCCC's, are part of the network. The NC SBCN members support the development of new businesses and the growth of existing ones by providing community-based group training, one-on-one counseling, and resource information.
Each Small Business Center is permitted to offer variations of the topics as long as the offering stays close to the "core" topics. This allows for consistence and continuity among all 58 centers and their training.
"We encourage and recommend that any individual, whether current or prospective business owner, attend the Entrepreneurial Foundation Series, as well as any of the other interesting seminars offered by the SBC," Fey said.
A schedule of all the seminars offered by Central Carolina Community College's SBC can be found on its websites: www.leesbc.com, for Lee County, www.trianglesouth.com for Harnett County, and www.chathamsbc.com for Chatham County, under "Services."
For more information by phone, contact the SBC directors: Gary Kibler, in Pittsboro, (919) 545-8013; Nancy Blackman, in Dunn, at (910) 892-2884; or Dale Fey, in Sanford, at (919) 718-7424.