Crater center launching online business training program

PETERSBURG -- The Crater Small Business Development Center of Longwood University is launching a free online business training program Tuesday for Crater District entrepreneurs.

The center, located in Petersburg, is introducing a Web-based resource from Element K, a provider of e-learning solutions for information technology and business skills.

Classes are available to local business owners or people interested in starting a business. More than 100 classes are available in such areas as communication, negotiating, marketing and teamwork.

The center, which has more than 200 clients and serves the counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George, Charles City, Surry and Sussex and the cities of Colonial Heights, Emporia, Hopewell and Petersburg, offers group training and one-on-one advice to entrepreneurs. Many of the center's services are free.

The e-learning program is provided through a partnership among the center, the Crater Planning District Commission, the Southeastern Virginia Partnership for Regional Transformation and the Virginia Electronic Commerce Technology Center at Christopher Newport University.

The program is geared to businesses in all stages of development and promises to benefit small-business owners who are too busy to attend in-person training, said Pat Hood, director of the development center.

"Students can log on 24 hours a day -- at home, at the office or on the road," she said. "They can take the classes at their own pace."

Hood said the goal is to have up to 10,000 users of the online program.