Fresh out of chiropractic school and too “frightened and hesitant” to start her own practice last fall, Farmer City native Lindsay Roseman found that Parkland’s new FastTrac New Venture classes calmed her fears, gave her more confidence, and helped her expand her dreams.
The eight-week business planning program will again offer instruction, mentoring, and other tools this spring to help new and aspiring entrepreneurs refine their business ideas.
“The information I received from this program is worth more than I can explain,” said Roseman, who earned her doctorate from Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, Missouri, before entering the program. “I have a better understanding of the nitty-gritty details that go into small businesses: I learned what’s important in financial statements, what to put into a contract, where to go with questions, and how to communicate with attorneys and accountants. I’ve also created a timeline in order to accomplish all these goals and plans.”
FastTrac NewVenture entrepreneurial certificate classes for spring will meet on Thursdays, March 7 to May 2, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Rantoul Business Center, 601 S. Century Blvd. The program is a joint effort of Parkland College and the University of Illinois EnterpriseWorks’ EDA University Center.
Parkland has been offering the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac NewVenture course since the fall 2012 semester; 20 community residents have completed the course. A member of Parkland's full-time business faculty, Mark Kesler, has become a certified trainer for the course, designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs evaluate their early-stage business ideas and build a plan to take them to market.
The Rantoul Business Center aims to reach out to the community and help people who have a goal of starting their own business but find it difficult to enroll in traditional courses at Parkland or the University of Illinois. The program is a service of the East Central Illinois University Center, a partnership among local educational institutions and business development resources to promote and foster entrepreneurship in the region.
Roseman plans to put her FastTrac NewVenture training to good use.
“My partner and I would love to open a multi-disciplinary practice with a rehab facility, where medical doctors, surgeons, and chiropractors work together for the betterment of the patient,” she said.
Spaces are still available, though limited, in the program. The course fee, including instruction and student manuals, is $100. To register, please consult the Parkland College spring 2013 Community Education schedule, 505, or call Community Education at 217/353-2055; registration ends February 28. Questions may be directed to FastTrac facilitator and Parkland instructor Mark Kesler (mkesler@parkland.edu or 217/351-2213) or to UIUC Research Park Program Coordinator Alexandra Thompson (althomp2@illinois.edu or 217/300-2147).
[Image: Aspiring entrepreneur Lindsay Roseman and son Jackson greet well-wishers after she receives her doctorate from Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, Mo.]