Small Business Administration offering free training program for small business owners in the region

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Spokane Branch Office is offering a free training program that provides entrepreneurs with tools to grow small businesses and jobs in the region.

The Emerging Leaders program provides entrepreneurship education and training that includes nearly 100 hours of virtual classroom time.

It also provides opportunities for small-business owners to work with coaches, attend workshops and connect with peers, local leaders and the financial community, according to a news release.

“Dozens of small businesses have benefited from the successful Emerging Leaders program in the Inland Northwest,” SBA Spokane Branch Manager Joel Nania said in a statement.

“We’ve graduated small business owners from north Idaho, the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, Colville and Spokane,” Nania added.

The SBA’s Emerging Leaders Initiative has trained more 5,000 small business owners across the country since 2008.

Space is limited for the SBA’s Emerging Leaders program, with 20 seats available in Spokane. The program will run from late April through October.

The SBA Spokane Branch Office is accepting online applications through March 26 at: www.sba.gov/about-sba/organization/sba-initiatives.

To qualify for the program, participants must be a small-business owner; have annual revenues from $250,000 to $10 million; have been in operation for at least three years; have more than one employee; and demonstrate the business is on the brink of growth or transition.

For more information about the SBA Emerging Leaders Initiative, visit www.sba.gov/EmergingLeaders.Amy Edelen can be reached at (509) 459-5581 or at amye@spokesman.com.