Woodward, Okla. — Local business owners are invited to participate in a small business management course that is being offered through the Woodward Main Street Program.

Main Street Director Janet Fitz said the course is offered in partnership with the Small Business Development program out of Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

The course, which will be held once a month for 6 months, will be led by different instructors from the Northwestern business development program, Fitz said.  The first class is slated for 8 a.m. on Jan. 24 and will be held at the Woodward Main Street Program office at 11th and Main.

Fitz said the course will teach business owners how to be better managers of money and people

"This teaches them about finances, cash flow, how to work with customers and not only with customers, but how to work with employees," she said.

The class will be limited to 12 participants in order to allow those who attend the opportunity to get the most out of the class as possible, Fitz said.

"The reason we have such a small class size is so that the business owners can interact with each other," she said.  "For example, if one is having a financial problem, maybe with cash flow, they might find out that there's other people in the class who have been through the same thing.  So they can learn from and help each other.  There's just a lot of interacting."



CONVENIENT FOR LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS

Fitz said the Woodward Main Street Program is offering the class "just as a way we can show support to small business."

She said she has tried to make the scheduling of the class as convenient as possible for the business owners.

"So many times merchants cannot get away from their businesses to attend a seminar or class outside of Woodward," she said.  "So we partnered with the Small Business Development Program and are bringing the seminar to them."

In addition, Fitz said the class is only held once a month "because it makes it easier for them to get here when they're not having to be away from their business for multiple days."

All 6 classes will be held on the 4th Thursday of the month, starting at 8 a.m.

Fitz said that even the time of the day that the class is held is meant to provide convenience for the business owners.

"We hold it of a morning at 8 a.m. so they'll be out by 9:30 a.m. and can go back to their business," she said.



A LEVEL 2 MANAGEMENT CLASS ALSO BEING OFFERED

Fitz said this will be the second time that the management course has been offered for local small business owners.

"We already held one class in 2012 and now they are fixing to go to level 2," she said.

She said the level 2 course "will be expanding even more on whey they learned in the first classes, plus it will take them into taxes and different things like that which they didn't learn in level 1."

Out of the 12 participants from the first management class, Fitz said 11 have returned to continue developing their skills.

"They got a lot out of it and want to keep learning," she said.

The Main Street director added that she hopes to keep the management courses going .

"I'd like to keep having 2 classes a year," she said, noting "once we get through with this year's level 1 class, they can go to level 2 and we'll start a new class."



CALL SOON TO SIGN UP

For those interested in participating in the upcoming business management course, Fitz encouraged them to call her soon at 254-8521 to sign up.

"I'll take the first few who call me," she said, noting that as of Monday there were only 7 spots remaining.

The class is open to anyone who would like to improve their business management skills.

"I want to stress that they don't have to be a member of the Main Street program," Fitz said.  "If they want to take the class, I'll take them in.  Plus you never know when I'll get a new member out of it."

There is a literature fee charged per class, but Fitz said the fee is minimal compared to what someone may have to pay for a similar seminar offered through another program.  To find out more about the fee, contact Fitz at the number listed above.

"I think this is a great opportunity for small and new business owners to get some more education on how to run a business," she said.