Thanks to a grant from the Delta Regional Authority, the Innovation Center's entreprenurial training program has been taken to the next level, or the 2nd tier, if you will.  The newest small business training is titled, Operation Jump-Start: the Business Success Series.  This 2nd tier training is free and open to the public, but geared towards small business owners who have already attended the six-week Operation Jump-Start course.  

The first session kicked off Jan. 22, 2008, in Park Hills, Mo., with a timely, one-night course entitled: Planning for Tax Time.  Cindy Cherry, owner of Cynthia Cherry CPA, LLC., is a local certified public accountant who spent three hours speaking to business owners about the importance of record keeping,  new tax laws and tax filing deadlines for both personal and small business income taxes.  

"The grant we received was to pay for the guest consultants for the 2nd tier training,"  said Gina Harper, who coordinates the entreprenerial trainings for the Innovation Center. "This has become the perfect compliment to our six-week course.  We know every business has different issues depending on the number of employees it has or where the business is located," Harper said.   

On Jan. 28, 2008, the Business Success Series training class, Planning for Retirement, was offered in Cape Girardeau.  Local retirement expert, Cheryl Mothes of Edward Jones, spoke to a group about retirement plan options for small businesses and about individual IRA accounts.

"With the knowlege I gained in that two-hour class, I discovered that I can afford to save for retirement, and I plan to start doing so immediately," said Nancy Norman, who owns two businesses in the Bootheel, a travel agency and a bookkeeping and payroll services firm.   

Additional 2nd tier training courses are planned in the areas of marketing, human resources and public relations.  The human resources course will be offered on April 22, 2008 at the Innovation Center.  Harper said the next seminars after that will probably be offered in April and May at different locations throughout the 19-county service area. 

"We feel fortunate to be able to offer additional information and training to our Operation Jump-Start graduates who have started businesses and who probably have new business-related questions every day," Harper said.  "The goal is to choose some topics and qualified guest speakers who can cover some of the most common small business issues."