Roadtown, Tortola - The Small Business Bureau (SBB) in the Department of Trade and Consumer Affairs will take its series of business plan writing workshops to Virgin Gorda in May.

The six-session workshop entitled Writing an Effective Business Plan will begin May 11 at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College Campus in the Enid Pickering Building. Divided into three-hour sessions, the workshop will expose participants to a number of areas including success, market, cash flow and operations planning.

Head of the SBB Ms. Yvonne Crabbe told the Department of Information and Public Relations that “one of the key elements to starting or maintaining a successful small business is an effective business plan and at the Small Business Bureau, we seek to enable and foster the growth of such businesses.”

She added that “having staged a similar workshop on Tortola, the Small Business Bureau is now happy to be affording the residents of Virgin Gorda with a similar opportunity.”

Ms. Crabbe said “the bureau has clientele from the sister islands and we are keen on reaching them where they are, in the hope of making the exercise more relevant to their needs.”

Encouraging existing entrepreneurs and potential ones to register and attend the workshop, Ms. Crabbe said “the current global economic climate is not all doom and gloom; instead it provides an ideal opportunity for persons to re-evaluate business models and consider alternative ventures that would meet the needs of their community.”

Participants are required to pay a $50 fee which will help cover the cost of course material and refreshments. “The fee is actually a reduction of what was charged for the previous series of workshops but in recognition of the increasing financial constraints brought about by the global economic climate, we thought it necessary to make the workshop more affordable, even though it already offers significant value for money,” Ms. Crabbe stated.

The six sessions will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. over the three-week period, starting May 11 and ending May 27 with a closing ceremony and the awarding of certificates.

The Small Business Bureau functions as an advocate for programmes that address the issues affecting small businesses in the Territory. Its duties include ensuring that businesses obtain the required assistance, training and counselling through extensive training programmes, motivational seminars and workshops designed to empower entrepreneurs to develop better business practices.