Peters Township Library to host small business workshop
The Peters Township Library and the Peters Township Chamber of Commerce are hosting a workshop March 3, aimed at providing tools for want-to-be entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.
The workshop, which will be held at the library, is called Simple Steps for Starting Your Own Business. It is designed to give a person the basics of testing a business idea and identifying the key factors that will help get his fledgling business off the ground. The program will be hosted by the Pittsburgh chapter of SCORE, a national nonprofit made of retired executives who serve as mentors to start-up businesses and small businesses, which accounts for 99.7 percent of all U.S. employers, according to the Small Business Administration.
“This event gives us the chance to be at the beginning of something,” said Brian Schill, executive director of the Peters chamber. “A percentage of small businesses fail in the first five years. With this seminar, you get all the information upfront.”
“It’s a no brainer,” he said.
Indeed. The SBA said seven out of 10 new businesses make it 10 years, and 51 percent last at least five years.
The SCORE program, which is free, will focus on the skills and tools needed to start a business. It will also detail the advantages of owning a business, how the business should be formed, marketing, cash flow and funding sources. SCORE is a resource partner of the SBA.
Bob Carlson, a SCORE volunteer with 34 years in the glass industry, will be leading the workshop at the library. He said the 90-minute program will go into specifics about whether a grant or a loan is the appropriate way to fund a business and whether the business idea is realistic.
“We also answer basic questions, like whether you can start a part-time business while keeping your day job,” said Carlson, adding that funding options is usually the most discussed topic at these workshops.
Register by calling 724-941-9430 or emailing programs@ptlibrary.org.