BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Central Oregon Community College’s Small Business Development Center, or SBDC, is now accepting applications for its popular Small Business Management Program, with a new cohort launching on Oct. 11 at the Bend campus.

The nine-month, interactive program offers a unique combination of one-on-one business advising — customized to individual business needs — and practical instruction. Apply via the Small Business Management Program’s webpage.

Limited to 20 participants, the Small Business Management Program meets once a month on Wednesday afternoons for three hours of class time, over nine months, and includes ongoing one-on-one consultations. Cost is $999, and scholarships are available to eligible businesses.

Covering an entrepreneur’s full handbook, the curriculum encompasses goals, strategy, operations, marketing and management. Business owners will develop a plan for growth, expansion, sale or exit, obtain a financial analysis and engage in peer-to-peer business discussions. Program prerequisites: Businesses need to be in operation for at least a year, have one full-time employee besides the owner and produce monthly financial statements.

“We provide strategic help with setting goals, and achieving them,” said program coordinator Keith Sherrill, MBA. “Each class spans traditional business fundamentals and processes.” The former U.S. Army Ranger, who founded and operated an Alabama-based, award-winning craft brewery, brings firsthand business savvy to the sessions.

For more information and an application form, contact the SBDC at 541-383-7290 or sbdc@cocc.edu.

Hundreds of Central Oregon small businesses — including Pine Mountain Sports, Wahoo Films, Dana Signs, Silver Moon Brewing and others — have gone through COCC’s Small Business Management Program. No-cost business advising is also available at the college’s campuses in Bend, Redmond, Madras and Prineville.