SBN has become a platinum sponsor of the Premier FastTrac II Entrepreneurial Program conducted by the University of Akron Center for Small Business.
The program, open to businesses of all sizes, begins Feb. 24, with enrollment running through Feb. 8.
The program is an 11-session, 45-hour program designed by and for existing business owners to help them evaluate all aspects of their business operation and generate a vision and a means for achieving greater growth.
“We think the program blends perfectly with the information provided on the pages of our magazine,” says SBN Editor Bob Rosenbaum. “The goal is to help entrepreneurs build their companies by learning about new tools for growth and then putting those tools to work.”
The program, which is offered in a number of cities across the nation, appears to have done just that. Since January 1986, the FastTrac program has graduated more than 20,000 entrepreneurs. The program is broken into two curricula. FastTrac I, which is not currently offered in Akron, is for start-up entrepreneurs. FastTrac II targets owners of existing businesses.
Between 10 and 25 percent of FastTrac II graduates have more than doubled their company’s sales within a year of graduation and 40 to 55 percent did so within two years of completing the program. More than 90 percent were still in operation five years after graduation.
Program topics include market research, financial management, cash flow analysis, market penetration, management building and planning an exit strategy. Participants are expected to leave the program with a viable business plan for achieving growth.
The cost of the program is $549 per person; discounts are available for multiple participants from the same organization. Each session has three parts: small group workshop, dinner/networking, and topic presentation by experts. Each class is limited to 25-28 participants.
For more information about the Premier FastTrac program, visit the Web site at www.fasttrac.org or the University of Akron program, through which applications can be filled out, at www.uakron.edu/cba/entre/index.html or call the Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at (330) 972-7038.
