From North Iowa Area Community College, www.niacc.edu

John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center News
NIACC JPEC Graduates 17 FastTrac® Students
May 19, 2008

Ref. 2890

Front row: Debra Bauer, Kyera Reams, Jordan Clark, Cleo Martinez; Second row: Brenda Dryer, Karen VanderLee, Trisha Hemesath, Tina Marth, Tami Vetter, Scott Jordan, Cathy Kirchner; Third row: Brian Bruesewitz, Steve Hubert, Mike Weber, Stacy Ackerson, Keith Woods, Patrick Palmer, Ben Villarreal

Seventeen entrepreneurs from ten different North Iowa communities recently graduated from FastTrac® NewVenture™, a ten-week “business boot camp” designed to help new business people develop their business concept and business plan.  As part of the curriculum, FastTrac® NewVenture™ graduates go through all the steps in developing a business plan including feasibility, marketing, insurance and financing.  The North Iowa Area Community College John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center offers the FastTrac® NewVenture™ course.

Working in close partnership with the economic development directors in Charles City and Osage, NIACC was able to deliver the program in those two communities.

The graduates (and their companies) are:
Basset:  Stacy Ackerson (Alternative Building Concepts)
Floyd:  Deb Bauer (The Hairstyling Center)
Osage:  Brian Bruesewitz (Bree’s Tire); Lynn Peaster (Kountry Kupboard); and Kyera Reams (Delizioso)
Charles City:  Jordan Clark (J’s Fabarication); Stacy Clark (The Picnic Basket); Trisha Hemesath (Progress Financial Counseling); Steve Hubert; Tami Vetter (The Rustic Corner)
Rockford:  Tina Marth (Memories for You)
Mason City: Cleo Martinez and Ben Villarreal (Maria’s Kitchen Tex-Mex Carry-Out)
Manly: Rhonda Nesheim-Kauffman
Hampton: Pat Palmer (The Computer Guy)
Greene: Keith Woods

The class was facilitated by certified FastTrac® instructors, Rich Peterson and Shelly Hagarty with the support of guest content experts from the North Iowa business community.

Do you have an innovative idea and have been wondering how to turn it into a business opportunity?  Do you already have a business that you want to take to new levels?  It’s time to look into the NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center’s FastTrac® classes.  The next class will be held in September.   For more information; call the NIACC Pappajohn Center at 422-4111 or 1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4111.

The Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center is located on the North Iowa Area Community College campus in Mason City, Iowa, and provides college level courses and degree programs in entrepreneurship, regional venture capital funding information, as well as comprehensive consulting services for business start-ups, existing industries and owner transitions in the North Iowa region.  NIACC’s Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center offers fast, focused and flexible services to meet your small business needs.

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