BCCC Schedules Entrepreneurial Core Curriculum Classes | Eastern North Carolina Now

    The Small Business Center at Beaufort County Community College announces a schedule of upcoming classes this winter that serves as the core curriculum for potential and existing small business owners.

    The classes are designed to help entrepreneurs understand the basics of starting, advertising, financing and keeping records for their existing and potential small businesses as well as business plan development.

    Those students who complete all five of the core courses will receive a certificate that acknowledges their studies. Students can use the certificate to help prove to potential business lenders and investors that they have the skills to successfully operate a small business or they can use the certificate to bolster their resumes when applying for positions as small business employees.

    Participants can register to attend one or more of these classes. All classes will be 3 to 5 p.m. in Room 828 of Building 8 on the BCCC campus and will be taught by volunteers from SCORE unless otherwise noted.

• How to Start a Business, Monday, Jan. 5. This workshop is designed to help budding entrepreneurs start their own businesses. The topics to be discussed include the following: Advantages and disadvantages of owning a business; factors to be considered in starting a business; how to obtain permits and licenses; where to find tax information, and how to know if you are ready to start a business.
• How to Write a Business Plan, Monday, Jan. 12. This workshop will help students create a plan for their small businesses. A business plan is the foundation for success when future business owners are deciding whether to start a new business or buy an existing business. Some of the topics to be discussed in the seminar are writing the executive summary of a plan, describing the business, developing a marketing plan and writing a financial plan.
• Financing Your Small Business, Monday, Jan. 26. This workshop will teach participants ways to finance their small businesses including information on grants and loans available to help. It will also provide information on where entrepreneurs can obtain good, solid and reliable financial advice.
• Advertising and Marketing for Small Businesses, Monday, Feb. 9. This workshop is designed to teach participants low-cost advertising and marketing strategies and methods. Students will learn to create a marketing plan and score greater sales with current customers.
• Recordkeeping and Taxes for Your Small Business, Monday, March 16, 6 to 9 p.m. This seminar will help participants understand the financial aspects of their businesses including financial statements, working with bankers, filing federal and state reports and financial terms that may be confusing. The instructor is Keith Kidwell, a tax professional with H & R Block in Washington.

    Attendance is free of charge for all of these seminars but pre-registration is recommended in order to reserve seating and to allow the college to adequately prepare materials.

    To pre-register, contact BCCC's Business and Industry Services at 252-940-6375 or email Eva Peartree at evap@beaufortccc.edu or Lentz Stowe, director of BCCC's Business and Industry Services at 252-940-6306 or by email at lentzs@beaufortccc.edu. During the Christmas and New Year's holidays, please leave a message and your telephone call will be returned.

    The workshops are co-sponsored by the Washington/Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce and SCORE, a national nonprofit organization that provides professional guidance and information that improves the success of America's existing and emerging small businesses.

    The BCCC Small Business Center is part of the N.C. Community College's Small Business Center Network. This network assists in starting an average of more than 650 businesses each year. Small Business Centers statewide help create and retain over 3,000 jobs annually.

    For more information about other services offered by BCCC's Business and Industry Services' Small Business Center, including targeted seminars for business owners, visit BCCC's Website at www.beaufortccc.edu/coned/contin.htm.

    Beaufort County Community College is a public comprehensive community college committed to accessible and affordable quality education, effective teaching, relevant training, and lifelong learning opportunities for the people served by the College.