Community colleges are finding that our 14 session course is providing an ideal resource for students seeking to launch entrepreneurial careers. Incorporating all the lessons learned since 1992 about how to conduct the My Own Business classroom course, MOBI Trustees Daina Johnson and Peggy Holland, both educators, created the new MOBI classroom format.

The Instructor's Guide provides everything an instructor needs to conduct the class with ease and expertise, including recommendations for presenting the course. Instructors are also furnished with ideas and suggestions which allow for flexibility in scheduling and teaching the course. A template is available to create a Certificate of Completion for students successfully completing all sessions.

The materials furnished include the MOBI Textbook which provides each student with a permanent manual of information for future reference. Also included is a CD containing a PowerPoint presentation for all 14 sessions, which allows the instructor to successfully cover the fundamentals of starting a business. If you would like to preview the classroom program, a CLASSROOM PREVIEW KIT is available to order.

In Whittier, California, Rio Hondo College found that initial enrollment exceeded the classroom space which resulted in a waiting list of students to enroll in the next class. Here's a view of the initial Fall 2006 class at Rio Hondo.

Last January, the State Department's worldwide eJournal was focused on entrepreneurship and our founder Phil Holland was invited to contribute an article, "So You Want to Start Your Own Small Business." Irene Marias, in the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, read Phil's article and the result was that the State Department invited Phil to conduct a two week tour of five South African cities to share the basic do's and don'ts of starting a business.

Phil was reassured from his August visit that the basic disciplines of starting a business are the same everywhere. The feedback he received was enthusiastic, included this from Protas Madlala, CEO of the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) in Durban: "Our sincere gratitude for facilitating a very informative, enriching and empowering seminar. It is almost unheard of in the world of training for the number of trainees to grow as the seminar continues! Yours was unique...your invaluable input will never go in vain because most participants already own businesses and could easily follow and relate to your input. You have planted seeds, ours now is to nurture and watch them grow."

In Google's words "Google Apps for Your Domain lets you offer our communication and collaboration tools to your entire organization — customizable with your branding, color scheme and content through the administrative control panel, and with no hardware or software to install or maintain."

What are the applications you ask? Well here is a brief overview:

		Google Page Creator – A free tool for creating attractive looking web pages. The tool allows users to choose from various templates and publish to their website right from the web!
		Google Calendar – An online calendar that lets multiple users share some or all of their schedules with others.
		Gmail – Google believes that users should not be forced to delete e-mail because of storage issues. Gmail offers web based e-mail accessible from anywhere with an internet connection with over 2 plus gigabytes of free storage. You will not have any trouble finding an old e-mail again because Gmail offers the power of Google search to find what your looking for.
		Google Talk – This is Google's version of an instant messenger with the added feature of voice conversations.

To gain access to these great applications visit Google Apps For Your Domain.You Choose which applications you would like to use and which applications you do not. Signing up is easy:

Looking for word processing and spreadsheet applications? Google is working on free word processing and spreadsheet web versions as well so stay tuned!

We welcome your questions to be answered in this Newsletter feature! Here is our Q and A for this edition:.

I am not sure whether it is because of the particular industry I am dealing with or just a general business practice but I am having a very hard time getting wholesale pricing for products I want to sell in the small retail business I want to start.

A good number of these dealers ask for multiple forms of BUSINESS identification BEFORE I can even get a wholesale price list! How can one forecast any kind of cash flow without that information prior to venturing into it?!

Although I am in the process of organizing the business (s-corp), applying for a FEIN as well as a state (IL) business license and opening a business checking account... all of which are asked of me by these dealers... I am also required to provide a photo of my storefront (not there yet) and/or a copy of the business ad or telephone listing in the phone book (yellow and/or white) or a copy of my phone bill (not there yet)! They haven't yet asked for my first born, but gee... isn't this extreme???

Any suggestions or advice on how to proceed with forecasting cash flow without this info would be appreciated!

Answer:

It Ain't Easy

First of all, I wouldn't even think of preparing a cash flow projection or an income statement projection until you have a firm hold of what your costs and selling prices will be. Sure, the wholesalers will make you jump through hoops, but remember by making sure you will indeed be a legitimate retailer will help you in the future from having your customers accessing supplies through your wholesalers. You may find that the better the wholesaler, the higher they may ask you to jump. So, your first selling job is with your suppliers.

Also, I would use the major search engines to locate wholesale suppliers, including the use of the "local" function to find suppliers that are close to you. If you're opening a toy store, enter "wholesale toys", etc.

Phil Holland, Founder of My Own Business, Inc.