MDA Pilot Entrepreneur Training Program

The Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA’s) Entrepreneur Center supplies entrepreneurs and small businesses with the resources needed to launch, develop and sustain a successful business. In January 2011, the Entrepreneur Center launched its pilot Entrepreneur Training Program, an exciting new initiative partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

Throughout the nine-month program, small businesses and entrepreneurs that were accepted into the program from the 19 qualifying counties in the Mississippi Delta, northeast Mississippi and southwest Mississippi will obtain the knowledge and skills required to establish and maintain a successful business.

The 19 qualifying counties are:

• Mississippi Delta region – Coahoma, Holmes, Humphreys, Quitman, Sunflower, Tunica, Yazoo
• Northeast Mississippi region – Alcorn, Benton, Marshall, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo
• Southwest Mississippi region – Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Jefferson, Walthall, Wilkinson

These three regions and the 19 counties within them were selected based on unemployment rates, instances of plant closings and per capita income levels. These areas have higher unemployment rates and lower per capita income levels than the state as a whole.

The intensive program met monthly to provide participants with personalized instruction, mentoring and technical assistance. The course consisted of a combination of classroom meetings and online webinars, and it covered topics such as:

• Introduction to Business, Business Planning and Resources in Mississippi
• Legal Aspects of Business and Management
• Human Resources, Hiring and Firing, and Managing Employees
• Location, Leasing and Insurance
• Developing a Marketing Plan and Planning
• Market Research, Market Analysis and Market Penetration Tactics
• Understanding Financial Statements
• Financing the Business (Traditional and Alternative Sources)
• International Trade and Exporting
• Minority- and Woman-Owned Business Programs
• Government Contracting
• Buying a Business, Expanding a Business, Home-Based Business

Each participant completed a business plan as part of the course.

This program featured some of the top business development experts in Mississippi, and all of the courses were designed to provide beneficial information that is critical to developing and maintaining a prosperous business.

For more information on the Entrepreneur Center and the Entrepreneur Training Program, please visit entrepreneurcenter.mississippi.org, or call 601.359.3593.

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