Aspiring Entrepreneurs Gain Edge with New Online Program

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Dec. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- With the U.S. unemployment rate expected to exceed 9 percent through next year, twice as many people are starting their own businesses. The Business Start-Up Institute based in Colorado Springs, CO, is helping create jobs by teaching entrepreneurs how to successfully build their first business via affordable online courses.

The Institute's new Entrepreneurship Program is a 21 course program that takes aspiring entrepreneurs through three steps: Planning, Launching , and Growing a Venture. The Entrepreneurship Program features Dr. Thomas Duening, a professor of entrepreneurship and renowned author of 12 books on business and entrepreneurship. In hour long courses such as: "Raising Capital," "Financial Forecasting" and "Risk Management," Dr. Duening shares both the practical expertise he acquired while starting several businesses, along with the fundamental principles of entrepreneurship he's learned through 20 years of teaching and research.

The Business Start-Up Institute was created by Jim Holley, an experienced entrepreneur who left a secure position in aerospace engineering to pursue his own venture 20 years ago.  After selling his business, Holley set out to help aspiring entrepreneurs avoid the trials he had encountered on his own journey.

Mr. Holley recruited Dr. Duening, a professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, to share his expertise via The Business Start-Up Institute.  "Dr. Duening, has been working to generate growth in Colorado Springs, to combat the bad economy and create more opportunity," says Holley. "Real growth comes from small business successes. We hope to create jobs by helping more entrepreneurs succeed the first time."

The Entrepreneurship Program curriculum, which has drawn classroom crowds at prestigious U.S. universities for many years, is available online at http://www.BusinessStartUpInstitute.com.  All courses feature video lectures and allow students to learn at their own pace. Along with links to online resources, the courses include tools such as a financial forecast template and a guide for writing a winning business plan.

Dr. Duening is enthusiastic about The Business Start-Up Institute.  "I've been able to reach a lot of entrepreneurs through my books," says Duening, "but this online delivery system is the most exciting thing I've done in my career.  Through this system I'm now able to communicate with aspiring entrepreneurs beyond my classroom, and potentially around the world.

"I believe anyone can join the 10% club, those entrepreneurs who succeed,"  Duening says. "They just need to take action."  Take Dr. Duening's advice: register for the first course, "Opportunity Evaluation" – absolutely free. "In just 40 minutes, you'll learn to evaluate the viability of a business concept," says Holley. "Then, further courses can provide the knowledge and  mentoring you  need to succeed on your first start-up."

About The Business Start-Up Institute

The Business Start-Up Institute (http://www.BusinessStartUpInstitute.com), was created by parent company Businesses2Learn, LLC, in 2010 to offer online curriculum.

SOURCE The Business Start-Up Institute