NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
25 March 2003

CITY AND COMMUNITY FIRST FUND TO OFFER LOW-COST SMALL BUSINESS START-UP CLASSES; SESSION BEGINS FIRST WEEK IN MAY

Harrisburg, PA—City and area residents who dream of owning, operating or expanding their own small business can benefit from the nationally renowned CORE-FOUR business planning course being offered by the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development and the Community First Fund(CFF), Mayor Stephen R. Reed announced today. The 8-week long course begins May 6 and will be taught by noted midstate financial expert and CFF Capital Region Director John Sider and other financial, tax, insurance and small business professionals, and is designed to provide budding entrepreneurs with the skills, knowledge and understanding of small business operations and dynamics.

The Mayor said that although the course is taught in other areas of the country for up to $295.00 per person, all course materials and the full eight weeks of instruction will be offered for a small registration fee of just $25 for city residents, and $55 for non-residents. Some tuition assistance may be possible for persons interested in attending, but still unable to afford the low-cost registration fee.

Reed said after the course is completed, the City and CFF will work closely with the course participants to further develop their businesses. Course teachers will guide the students through all aspects of small business start-up and operations, with course subjects ranging from marketing, cash flow planning, operations and much more. The course, first developed by the Minneapolis-based Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, is being used around the country by Community Development Financial institutions.

“We believe that small businesses are a fundamental element of our ongoing economic development efforts in Harrisburg,” said Mayor Stephen R. Reed. “Small businesses provide jobs, tax-base revenues, neighborhood stability and the promise of a better life. They are the lifeblood of America’s and our city’s economic strength and vitality, and it is important that we do all we can to both sustain and enhance our existing small businesses, as well as provide the tools and impetus for the creation of more.

“We have had great success with the start-up of small businesses in Harrisburg, and are proud of the fact that the city’s business base has grown from only 1,908 businesses in the early 1980’s, to the more than 5,600 businesses which operate in the city today. We will always welcome more.”

The Mayor lauded the Community First Fund for their significant commitment to the effort: “This is an important investment in the future economic well-being of our community, and we are delighted to work with the CFF on this unique new initiative.”

Sider said the Harrisburg-based course will be the sixth such training effort undertaken by the CFF in the greater Central Pennsylvania region, with more than 125 participants so far. The Harrisburg class will be limited to the first 25 participants on a first-come, first-serve basis. Interested persons should contact the Community First Fund at 717.920.1520 for more information or to register. The classes will run from May 6 to June 24, and will be held in the city’s Public Safety Auditorium. Registrants are encouraged to sign up soon as space is limited and expected to be quickly filled.

Sider said the Community First Fund is a non-profit community development corporation established in Lancaster in 1992. The Fund provides one-on-one business counseling, business training programs and loans in Central Pennsylvania, with the Downtown Harrisburg office responsible for the four-county midstate area of Dauphin Cumberland, Perry and Franklin Counties.

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