Business First

Have questions about starting a business? We have answers—and they’re on CD

The Mississippi Small Business Development Center, which in June made its most-requested information available on compact discs, has added four new seminars to its CD series.

Produced by the MSBDC state office at The University of Mississippi in cooperation with other SBDCs throughout the state and with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the CDs are available at libraries and extension service offices. Depending on each facility, they can be used either on site or checked out.

Bob Lantrip, MSBDC manager of technical services, says the newest CDs provide the “type of information most needed by customers.” Included in the offerings are seminars on highly sought-after assistance with new inventions, he says.

“New business information CDs are based on the needs of our clients,” Lantrip says. “We are trying to make the information readily available.”

While CDs do not replace the one-on-one counseling available to business owners and those starting a business, they do allow customers to get basic business information at their convenience, says Doug Gurley, MSBDC state director.

The newest seminar titles are “Managing by the Numbers: Understanding and Using Financial Ratios”; “Home-Based Business”; “Ideas to Market Guidance for Inventors”; and “Determining Entity Type (Inc., LLC, Sole Proprietor, etc.).” Other available seminar titles are “So You Want to Start Your Own Business?”; “Developing a Business Plan”; “Developing Cash Flow Statements”; “What the Banker Wants”; “Accounting by the Numbers”; “Basics of Exporting”; “Basics of Importing”; “Getting the Most for Your Advertising Dollars”; and “Secrets to Saving Your Business.”

For more information, including the location of the SBDC nearest you, call 800-725-7232 or visit www.olemiss.edu/depts/mssbdc. MSBDC is partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration. —Deidra Jackson