SBA and Trump University Launch Innovative Online Training Course for Entrepreneurs

The U.S. Small Business Administration and Trump University
have teamed together to develop a new free online training course on How
to
Start a Business on a Shoestring Budget, designed to help entrepreneurs
understand how to take their small business ideas to market despite
limited
outside resources.

The SBA and Trump University have combined the best that each
organization
offers, bringing together a vast array of resources, information and
experts to guide students through the essentials of planning and
executing
a business idea by bootstrapping, a common method used to minimize the
amount of outside debt and equity financing needed from banks and
investors.

How to Start a Business on a Shoestring Budget is a self-paced course
available through the SBA’s Small Business Training Network, a virtual
campus of business courses, trainings, education resources, learning
tools
and information assistance at http://www.sba.gov under the "Training" icon. It
is
a creative training experience and interactive assessment tool that
features fictional entrepreneurs who are engaged in raising money for
their
small businesses, while the student entrepreneur provides advice on how
to
help evaluate readiness for starting a business. An added highlight is
the
availability of "Ask the experts" video clips, which are strategically
featured throughout the course.

"We are pleased to work with an experienced leader in online education,"
said SBA Administrator Steven Preston. "The cosponsorship with Trump
University is an inventive partnership that provides the best in small
business resources to students of entrepreneurship, while offering a
unique
opportunity to learn about one of the most challenging areas of starting
a
small business-business financing."

The course helps to evaluate eight key areas of business start-up on a
shoestring, including what it takes to make something out of nothing,
market research for the budget minded, budget branding and what to do
when
you outgrow your bootstraps.

The SBA’s Small Business Training Network at http://www.sba.gov/training offers
a
range of online business training and counseling tools to assist
entrepreneurs with business start-up, from developing marketing
strategies
to effective employee management. It also provides valuable information
for existing small business owners. The training network is an
easy-to-use
tool that provides 24-hour access to business courses via the Internet.

About the SBA:

The U.S. Small Business Administration is the nation’s largest financial
backer of small businesses. The SBA’s programs and services help
business
owners start, run, and grow their businesses, and provide a range of
financial, technical, and management assistance. The SBA also plays a
major role in the government’s disaster relief efforts by making low-
interest recovery loans to both homeowners and businesses. America’s 25
million small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the private work
force, generate more than half the nation’s gross domestic product, and
are
the principal source of new jobs in the U.S. economy.

About Trump University:
Trump University, an online educational institution, has been teaching
its
thriving community of members everything from real estate investing,
marketing, entrepreneurship skills and business planning, to management,
wealth creation, and many other subject matters that appeal to aspiring
entrepreneurs and business professionals.

SBA’s participation in this cosponsorship does not constitute an express
or
implied endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any
cosponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs, services and
cosponsored activities are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory
basis. Cosponsorship Authorization #07-7630-02.

***

(Thanks to Sandi Boughton, CP Director, USDA Rural Development, 1835 Black Lake Blvd Suite B, Olympia WA 98512 http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/wa for passing this along. Russ)