Center for Business Innovation and Trades

Earn credits and learn how to launch a business.

In addition to offering business and management courses, CCBC also offers a unique course, MNGT 216, that allows students to serve as consultants to a start-up so they can apply the principles and concepts in the classroom to a real business.

Students earn three credits in this unique elective. There are no exams and there are no textbooks. Instead, students evaluate each other's performance as they work in teams to help a business get started. Leading the students is Associate Professor Dennis Sullivan, who has launched more than 100 products and businesses in his career.

The Center for Business Innovation features a series of 60- and 90-minute topical workshops with an opportunity for participants to network and learn from experts in the entrepreneurial world. Past topics include digital and social media marketing, Intellectual Property in entrepreneurship and Communicate with Charisma, Clarity and Compassion.

The Small Business Ownership Program emboldens entrepreneurs to succeed in today’s competitive business landscape. Experienced professionals provide practical guidance and valuable insight to help students strengthen their existing businesses. Those who have completed the Small Business Ownership program are eligible to participate in CCBC’s Annual Business Plan Competition.

This comprehensive program is a 12-session series where students will learn how to utilize practical business principals and strategies like:

• Business Management Basics
• Effective Sales and Marketing Strategies
• Fundamentals of Business Law
• Accounting and Bookkeeping Principles
• Acquiring Funding for Your Small Business
• Pricing for Profitability
• Social Media Marketing Tactics
• Understanding Business Insurance
• Conducting Market Research

Learn more about CCBC's Small Business Program. 

Note: This program is recommended for small business owners who have been in business for at least six months. However, this is not a requirement.

Center for Business Innovation’s Elite 10 Accelerator Program is available by invitation-only to the top 10 companies that have been part of CCBC's Business Plan and Pitch Competitions. The purpose of the Elite 10 Accelerator Program is to support early-stage, growth-driven companies through education, mentoring and financing as they continue to take their business to the next level.

Members work with one of the area's top business minds each month as a group and they also receive one-one-one coaching. Costs for similar accelerator programs run about $20,000, but thanks to the generous support from the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation, the Elite 10 Accelerator Program is provided at no charge. In addition, members receive a grant for their successful participation to help them fund new initiatives.