Gannon University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will offer a seminar on “Writing a Winning Business Plan.”

The seminar will be offered at the Corry Higher Education Council, 221 N. Center St. in Corry, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on March 22, and at the Gannon University SBDC, 120 West Ninth St., from 6-9 p.m. March 29.

The cost is $35 per person. If two or more people are sharing the seminar materials, the fee is $20 for each additional person. Pre-registration is required.

Developing a sound and viable business plan is one of the most important steps for any new business, experts say. Many businesses that fail in their first five years do so because they lack a formal, written plan.

Topics to be discussed at the seminar include: how to develop a plan, how to make an objective and critical evaluation of the business, how to pinpoint needs that previously may have been overlooked, how to spot potential problems before they become actual problems and how to provide the basis for a financing proposal.

For more information, call 814-871-7232, or visit http://www.sbdcgannon.org/.

-from staff reports