Small-business owners and budding entrepreneurs in Kings County can take advantage of AcceleratorOnline, a nine-week online business plan course created in 2001 by the University Business Center at California State University, Fresno.

The course is offered in association with the Kings County Economic Development Corp. and the Central California Small Business Development Center. The University Business Center is the outreach arm of the Craig School of Business at Fresno State. The course fee is only $50, thanks to funding from UC Merced, the lead center for the Small Business Development Center 15-county regional network.

Weekly sessions will take place on Wednesday evenings at the College of the Sequoias computer lab in Hanford, starting Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. Trainees have the option of taking the course from their own computers, or they can attend the weekly session at COS in Hanford.

AcceleratorOnline is the valley's only online learning program designed to help entrepreneurs create a comprehensive business plan from the comfort of their home. Because the program allows for flexibility, it is popular among existing and potential business owners who want to create a business plan without taking time away from the office, their customers or their day jobs.

Trainees receive online instruction, training and consulting from top business educators over a nine-week period. The online course provides easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions that guide entrepreneurs through the process of putting together a thorough, fundable business plan.

"The structure of the course, the content and the encouragement of the instructor and classmates provided me not only the ability, but the commitment and courage to pursue opening my business," said Greg Boucher, a recent AcceleratorOnline graduate who opened his own business, Medical Staffing and Services. "This course gave me knowledge and confidence that the Is were dotted and the Ts were crossed."

More than 300 small-business owners and entrepreneurs have completed the course. AcceleratorOnline graduates have garnered more than $5 million in loan funds.

For more information call Amy Chubb, University Business Center, at 559.278.2352.

Web links:
University Business Center www.craig.csufresno.edu/ubc/