Classes can keep business on course

By Joyce M. Rosenberg
Associated Press

NEW YORK — Among the millions of students preparing to go back to school this fall are plenty of small-business owners seeking a better grounding in finance, marketing and other subjects that will help them run their companies.

Many will be enrolling in courses offered at local colleges, while others will take seminars run by chambers of commerce and industry groups. And many others will be learning online.

Small-business owners who have gone back to school say the experience helped them build their companies.

Trina Sheridan took a five-week course at the Women's Business Development Center in Chicago to help her start her gourmet kitchenware and cooking-class business, The Wooden Spoon. The course taught her about putting together a business plan, which helped the company get financing. She also learned some retailing basics, such as always keeping the shelves stocked so the store looks like it's prospering.

A key lesson was about managing — the need to delegate to employees. Her instructor told students to focus on running the business, not waiting on customers.

"Working on the business, not in the business, that was a big part" of what Sheridan says she learned.

Sheridan's class covered general business topics and was the kind of survey course that can be invaluable for a new entrepreneur. Many groups offer similar basic courses, and so do colleges across the country. In most cases, it's not necessary to enroll in a degree program or pay a lot of money to take the classes.

Schools that host Small Business Development Centers — Small Business Administration-sponsored offices that are set up to help small-business owners — offer a variety of courses that teach the basics.

The centers also offer advanced classes, generally on specific issues. Some of the courses are free, while others have very low fees, often $100 or less.

There are more than 1,000 SBDCs across the country, including centers at vocational schools, churches and elsewhere. To find them, visit the SBA's Web site at www.sba.gov/sbdc.

The Delaware SBDC, for example, offers courses such as "Understanding Cash Flow," "Help for Writing Your Business Plan" and "So You Want to Start a Business."

You can also contact your local chamber of commerce. If it doesn't have classes, it probably can point you toward a group that does.