Free business training classes to start Sept. 12

    PRESQUE ISLE — Starting Sept. 12, Women, Work, and Community will offer a free 12-week course in business planning. If you are a new entrepreneur or business owner in the start-up stage, New Ventures will help you create a written business plan from start to finish with feedback from facilitators and fellow entrepreneurs. Topics include: your customer, your competition, marketing, financial recordkeeping, cash flow projections, taxes, legal aspects, financing and more. The class will meet on Mondays from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Sept. 12 through Dec. 12 at the Presque Isle Career Center.
    Erica Quin-Easter, trainer for the New Ventures class, noted that, “Creating a written business plan is the key to building a sustainable business. New Ventures will help you research and write your business plan, explore financing options, gain confidence in promoting yourself and get ready to launch your business with the tools you need to succeed.”
    The New Ventures course is open to entrepreneurs of all ages, incomes and business sectors. Women, men and entrepreneurs from throughout Aroostook County are encouraged to attend. There is no fee for the course.
    Class size is limited to 15, and an application and interview are required. Applications are due by Thursday, Sept. 8, and individual interviews will be scheduled following the class orientation on Monday, Sept. 12.
    To request an application and register for the orientation or to get more information about the New Ventures course, contact Erica Quin-Easter, microenterprise coordinator at Women, Work, and Community, at 764-0050 or e-mail eerica.quineaster@maine.edu. For more information on the New Ventures program and other classes and services offered by Women, Work, and Community, visit www.womenworkandcommunity.org.