The Rush County Economic and Community Development Corporation (ECDC) will be sponsoring their third 10-week series of small business training workshops.

NxLevel for Entrepreneurs is a business training course designed to enhance entrepreneurial skills and will assist in the creation of a comprehensive business plan. This program is being offered throughout the state by the Indiana Small Business Development Centers.

The course will be taught by a certified NxLevel instructor who is also an SBDC business advisor, and will feature local guest speakers as well.

NxLevel for Entrepreneurs is designed to help small business owners, or those who plan to open their own business, learn the skills needed to create, develop and strengthen successful business ventures.

Unlike other educational programs, NxLevel is designed to address the special needs of the entrepreneur by providing a practical, hands-on common sense approach to developing their business.

According to an ECDC press release, it is the best, most comprehensive, non-university business training course available.

The ECDC, through a grant from the USDA’s Rural Business Enterprise program, will sponsor the class for qualified small business owners and their employees, or a Rush County resident who is considering opening a new business here.

To qualify, your business must have 50 or fewer employees, less than $1 million in annual revenue and be located in Rush County. The up-front cost for each attendee is $100 ($99 for each additional person from the same business) and is due at the first class.

Each attendee that successfully completes at least nine of the 10 weekly classes will have their upfront fee reimbursed by the ECDC, making the entire program free of charge. In addition, those that complete the program will qualify for applying to ECDC for their low interest small business loan program, or for micro-enterprise loans offered through MainSource Bank.

In early 2005 the ECDC sponsored their first NxLevel program and had 14 graduates, and last year they had 14 more. Past participants have been very impressed with the instructors and the usefulness of the training.

Classes will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Chamber of Commerce’s conference room starting March 14 and will run through May 16.

To sign up for the classes, or if you have any questions about the classes or the loan programs, contact Mark Sloan at 938-3232, extension 11, or via e-mail at ecdcmsloan@hotmail.com.

Class size is limited so you should indicate your interest quickly.

Rushville Republican staff writer Elizabeth Gist can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 or via e-mail at elizabeth.gist@cnhimedia.com. To add a comment visit our Website at www.rushvillerepublican.com.