Classes offered for new businesses

BLUFFTON — The Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs (BCE) has announced the return of the Small Business Information Series and Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition.

The Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition is open to any entrepreneur with a business idea or a business that has been in operation for less than 3 years. Participants will have the opportunity to compete for over $5,000 in prizes, as well as automatic entry for the Regional Pitchfest 2023 sponsored by the Small Business Development Center(SBDC) at Rhodes State College, the Lima Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and the Walter C. Potts Center for Entrepreneurship, with over $6,000 in prizes.

To help participants prepare for the competition, the Small Business Information Series, sponsored by the Small Business Development Center at Rhodes State College, the Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs, the Lima Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and the Walter C. Potts Walter C Potts Entrepreneur Center, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays starting on March 7, 2023, and ending on April 11, 2023. The classes will be hosted on the third floor of the Bluffton Town Hall and will be broadcast live from the Borra Center at Rhodes State College. Online, remote class opportunities will also be available for those who cannot attend every session. The classes will provide the guidance and necessary instruction for participants to create a complete business plan. Those completing the series will receive a certificate of completion from the SBDC.

For more information about the Small Business Information Series and the Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition, visit the BCE website at blufftonce.org or contact the BCE office at (419) 369-2985.

Reach Dean Brown at 567-242-0409

Dean Brown
Dean Brown joined The Lima News in 2022 as a reporter. Prior to The Lima News, Brown was an English teacher in Allen County for 38 years, with stops at Perry, Shawnee, Spencerville and Heir Force Community School. So they figured he could throw a few sentences together about education and business in the area. An award-winning photographer, Brown likes watching old black and white movies, his dog, his wife and kids, and the four grandkids - not necessarily in that order. Reach him at [email protected] or 567-242-0409.