This press release, announcing a new program, Entrepreneur's Forum, was written for the North Bay Career Resource Center.

Where Ideas Turn Into Profits

If you have always worked for someone else, self-employment can seem like an impossible undertaking. And yet, more people are deciding that this is the next positive step in their careers. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a low-cost, structured, and comprehensive program to help them make this major transition. That is, until now.

Starting in January of 1994 The Entrepreneur's Forum will begin serving individuals who either are already running a business of their own or are considering this career option. "We will offer a dynamic environment where ideas turn into profits," said Roberta Delgado, coordinator of the Forum, "as well as focus and structure not available elsewhere."

The Entrepreneur's Forum will consist of three modules that are designed to serve people at various stages of self-employment. One module will consist of monthly networking meetings, where owners of small businesses can meet to discuss common challenges and serve as mutual resources to one another. "We will provide a place where independent business owners can build flexible 'management support teams'," Delgado said.

Another module is designed for people who are thinking about entering self-employment for the first time. It will help them to understand the personal transition involved in starting a business and to identify their entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses.

The third module focuses on the practical steps involved in business start-up. Participants will receive instruction in choosing a business type and structure, developing business plans, and handling the technical details of getting a business going.

"The Entrepreneur's Forum will help people take advantage of the current trends favoring small business," Delgado said. "The Forum is based on the premise that independence doesn't have to mean isolation; being your own boss doesn't have to mean doing it all yourself."

The Entrepreneur's Forum is one of the many programs offered by North Bay Career Resource Center, a California not-for-profit corporation.