By Maria Meyers

Each fall, the new school year beckons, reminding us of the promise and potential of fresh starts.

Even small business owners can get caught up in the romance of new learning, new connections, new partnerships and new business. Fall is the perfect time to dust off the books and business plans, recharge the batteries and hit the halls of learning.

Classroom Connections
For many small business owners, getting re-educated and refreshed is more than a nostalgic luxury. For some, it's a way to network and to find new tools to facilitate growth. And for those new to business ownership, it's a way to meet some friendly faces who can serve as guides (or hall monitors) through the small business labyrinth of rules and unknown challenges.

One place to start shopping for your course schedule is online. Several organizations offer online calendars, including Kansas City Small Business Monthly's business event site at www.kcbizcalendar.com and KCSourceLink's ClassLink at www.kcsourcelink.com. This online calendar allows users to search resource partner organization's courses by stage-start-up, early growth and sustained growth—or by topic.

Another resource can be found in these very pages of the Kansas City Small Business Monthly. And twice a year-in January and July-the publication runs a comprehensive Small Business Event Planner, Course Catalog and calendar. Here, you can plot your learning for the next six months, tapping into the wide array of educational opportunities for start up, emerging and expanding businesses that is offered by the region's universities, colleges and nonprofits.

Business Basics
Only 44 percent of new businesses survive the first four years, according to the Small Business Administration, and other organizations give even more dismal statistics. Although there are many reasons for such narrow survival rates, one thing is certain: small business ownership can be a lonely place. Many business owners feel isolated or overwhelmed-not an optimal breeding ground for success and growth.

Businesses classes, such as those outlined below, put new and seasoned entrepreneurs in touch with like-minded and similarly challenged business owners, and help them fill in the blanks so they can move their business in the right direction.

"FastTrac NewVenture" helps aspiring business owners develop entrepreneurial skills and build a strong business foundation. The Kauffman Foundation and the Kansas Women's Business Center offer the 10-week course.

SCORE, the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), and the Kansas Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) at Johnson County Community College all periodically offer business basics on a less time-intensive scale and for modest fees.

SCORE's Minding Your Business is an all-day Saturday class that provides an overview of business essentials, including the "what" and "why" of business plans, financial reports, marketing and more.

The SBTDC at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) offers "Starting a Small Business: The First Steps," a three-hour crash course in the critical first steps entrepreneurs need to take in launching a business.

In one evening, the KSBDC's "Success Right from the Start" class gives entrepreneurs a tour of government requirements, record keeping and financial planning. In one afternoon, "How to Start and Manage a Home-based Business" gives attendees the management tools, skills and resources to successfully launch a business from home.

Charting a Course for Growth
The learning never ends. New business challenges hover on the horizon-whether they're about developing a diverse workforce or software updates.

Even seasoned pros can find something among Kansas City's rich educational opportunities to help better organize, manage and grow their businesses. Courses range from skill specific-how to navigate through QuickBooks, legal issues, taxes, advisory boards, multicultural marketing, government contracts, federal grants or microloans-to broad strategic sweeps.

FastTrac is one such program that grows with entrepreneurs. In addition to "FastTrac NewVenture," entrepreneurs can tap other programs, such as "FastTrac TechVenture," "FastTrac GrowthVenture" or "Listening to Your Business." The series offers a breadth of courses that addresses entrepreneurs at various stages of business growth. A half-day course, "Listening to Your Business," for example, helps entrepreneurs set a three-year vision, determine and evaluate where they are in the planning process, and translate their goals into action steps. "Listening to Your Business" is offered throughout the year by many organizations, including the Kauffman Foundation, Missouri Women's Business Center and UMKC's Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Like FastTrac, other Kansas City courses and programs push entrepreneurs to work on their business, not just in it. KSBDC's "Strategic Business Planning for Profitable Growth," for example, challenges business owners to plan for profit and growth. And the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce's "Business Brain Food" series offers targeted and affordable one to two-hour sessions on sales, marketing, leadership and management.
But these courses do more than answer questions and distribute resources and tools. They give entrepreneurs, struggling or successful, an opportunity to listen, to be heard and to share the stories and strategies that will make small businesses stronger.

Maria Meyers, network builder, leads the KCSourceLink and U.S.SourceLink team. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at UMKC and the U.S. Small Business Administration founded KCSourceLink, a program of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UMKC. KCSourceLink connects small business owners to a network of more than 140 business-building resource organizations in the Kansas City region. KCSourceLink's services are free. For more information, visit www.kcsourcelink.com, call (816) 235-6500 or (866) 870-6500 or send e-mail to