Central Oregon Community College
Directory
Student Login
Employee Login

This is the searchbox for the COCC website

Small Business Management Program

Now accepting applications for Fall of 2026.

Boost your business’s success through hands-on coaching, peer support, and practical tools you can apply immediately.

  • When: Second Wednesday of each month, October 2025 – June 2026, 9 a.m.–noon
  • Where: COCC Bend Campus, Cascades Hall, Room 104
  • Cost: $1499 (additional participants from the same company: $199 each)
  • Eligibility: Must be in business for 1+ years, have at least 1 employee, provide monthly financials, and commit to working on your business.
  • Deadlines:
    • Application Deadline: Sept. 8
    • Acceptance Decisions: Sept. 15

Submit Your Application Today!

What is the Small Business Management Program?

The Small Business Management program (SBM) meets the second Wednesday from October 2025 to June 2026. Each 3-hour session is designed to give you the space to keep working on your business while making real progress through hands-on business coaching, strategic peer learning, and real-world case studies. You’ll walk away with clear goals and the tools to reach them.

Is This Program Right for You?

  • You have an active business you’re committed to growing.
  • You’re open to learning from peers and sharing challenges.
  • You have a specific goal and want practical feedback.
  • You want to create a positive impact in your community

If you said “yes” to these, this program is for you.

What You'll Do

  • Work with real-world case studies from actual businesses.
  • Prepare and test new ideas before each session.
  • Define a strategic project and develop it throughout the program.
  • Collaborate in small peer groups for accountability.
  • Take the lead in flipped-classroom discussions.
  • Wrap up with a live pitch event and compete for a share of a $10,000 prize pool.

Why Case Studies?

Real-world business stories let you analyze successes and mistakes in a safe, discussion-based environment so you can apply insights directly to your own business.

What I'll do as Your Instructor

  • Facilitate discussions to keep them practical.
  • Bring case study training from Harvard Business School.
  • Provide an extra hour of one-on-one advising each month.
  • Organize a well-attended pitch event with media coverage.
  • Ensure ongoing improvements and provide a welcoming environment (coffee included!).

You will also have free access to our other SBDC advisors. Our team brings a wide range of expertise, most of us are experienced entrepreneurs or trained MBAs and some of us are both (that is me).

  • When: Second Wednesday of each month, October 2025 – June 2026, 9 a.m.–noon
  • Where: COCC Bend Campus, Cascades Hall, Room 104
  • Cost: $1499 (additional participants from the same company: $199 each)
  • Eligibility: Must be in business for 1+ years, have at least 1 employee, provide monthly financials, and commit to working on your business.
  • Deadlines:
    • Application Deadline: Sept. 8
    • Acceptance Decisions: Sept. 15

Ready to Grow Your Business? 

For more information, please contact the COCC Small Business Development Center at sbdc@cocc.edu or 541-383-7290.

Submit Your SBM Application Now!

No payment is due before a company is accepted into the program. Grants from the "Lindsay Stevens Scholarship" below may be available to eligible applicants. 

 

Donate to the Lindsay Stevens Scholarship for Small Business Management

The SBM program gives small business owners the tools and skills needed to build a sustainable business. Hundreds of business owners have benefited from this program, adding economic vitality to the Central Oregon community. A scholarship was created to honor a beloved former SBM instructor, Lindsay Stevens; if you would like to contribute, please click on the blue button below!

Lindsay Stevens Scholarship - Give Today

*Minimum donation amount $5

"Lindsay Stevens devoted his professional life to inspiring, encouraging and challenging business owners to think differently and to be committed to their budgets, values and goals. He was the single reason some businesses in Central Oregon succeeded and grew. He loved his clients and was committed to the success and vision of their companies. Lindsay was also committed to the community where he donated so much of his time. He brought a new perspective to operational issues as a coach, cheerleader, mentor, adviser, and friend. He has left a legacy of conducting business correctly and making students' dreams a reality." Wendie Every, Every Idea Marketing