'Build Your Business: A Bootcamp for Entrepreneurs' is Jan. 22

Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center, Whatcom Community College and the NW Innovation Resource Center are collaborating on “Build Your Business: A Bootcamp for Entrepreneurs,” a program geared toward aspiring and existing entrepreneurs who want to learn the critical steps to starting or growing a small business.

The course includes weekly face-to-face workshops, combined with access to self-paced online content and Business Plan Pro's LivePlan, and is being held through WCC’s Community and Continuing Education program. The live workshops will be facilitated by WWU SBDC’s Jennifer Shelton and NWIRC’s Lara Merriam-Smith. Classes begin Feb. 12, and run through March 19.

Western Washington University’s SBDC and the NW Innovation Resource Center are cohosting a no-cost, pre-course information session from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22 at Whatcom Community College’s Foundation Building, Room #105, 333 Calluna Court, in Bellingham.

To RSVP for the information session please call the WCC Community & Continuing Education office at 360-383-3200 or visit the Whatcom Community College website.

NW Innovation Resource Center is an organization dedicated to advancing economic opportunities through entrepreneurial innovation. The NWIRC’s Build It program is designed specifically to help inventors take their ideas and turn them into revenue generating realities. For more information about their Build It and other entrepreneurship programs, contact Lara Merriam-Smith at 360-255-7870 or lsmith@nwirc.com.

Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center is part of the most comprehensive small-business alliance in the U.S., with more than 1,000 active SBDC programs across the country. Western Washington University’s SBDC receives support from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Whatcom County, the Port of Bellingham, and the City of Bellingham.

Since 1983, Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center has given back to the business community and helped to shape the economic future of Whatcom County by providing free, confidential advising, technical assistance, and research to business owners and managers in an effort to help businesses thrive.

Whatcom Community College is an accredited, comprehensive two-year college with an accomplished faculty and staff who serve 11,000 students annually. On its campus in Bellingham, and through online courses, Whatcom offers transfer degrees, professional and technical training programs, as well as basic education, job skills, and Community and Continuing Education classes. For more information, visit www.whatcom.ctc.edu.