{"id":202488,"date":"2026-02-09T22:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T03:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=202488"},"modified":"2026-02-09T22:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T03:04:11","slug":"business-boot-camp-to-begin-in-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/02\/09\/business-boot-camp-to-begin-in-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Boot Camp to begin in March"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

VW independent staff\/submitted information<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation reported a strong increase in participation following Saturday\u2019s Business Boot Camp Introductory Workshop, with attendance growing from seven participants last year to more than 20 attendees this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop served as the kickoff to 2026 Business Boot Camp, a free six-week program designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners develop a strong, actionable business plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday\u2019s workshop featured a panel of local professionals and business owners who shared practical guidance and real-world experience with attendees. Panelists included Rob Slusser of GreenWay Bank, Alex Brown of Truitt Law Offices, Amber Davis of Red Oak Realty, Kyle Strawn of Leland Smith Insurance Services, Stacey Baer of Shultz Huber + Associates, Inc., and local business owners Mike Lichtle of Laudick\u2019s Jewelry and Shana Mosier of TAG Clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe turnout we saw this year is a clear sign that interest in entrepreneurship is growing in Van Wert County,\u201d said Brent Stevens, executive director of VWAEDC. \u201cBusiness Boot Camp is about giving people the tools, guidance, and confidence they need to turn ideas into viable businesses, and we\u2019re excited to build on this momentum as the full program begins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Attendance at Saturday’s VWAEDC Business Boot Camp Workshop was nearly triple the size of year’s edition. Photos submitted<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The 2026 Business Boot Camp courses will be held at Northwest State Community College\u2019s Van Wert campus on E. Sycamore St. from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays from March 3 through April 7. Each session will go in-depth on key considerations needed to craft a strong, competitive business plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants will have the opportunity to submit completed business plans to the Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation by April 17, with final presentations scheduled for April 21. During the final presentations, participants will compete for a range of prizes designed to support new or expanding businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prizes for the 2026 Business Boot Camp from generous sponsors and community partners include cash awards, a free Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce membership, free booth space at a Main Street Van Wert event, and one month of free rent in a downtown Van Wert space provided by the Van Wert County Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone with an interest in starting or growing a business in Van Wert County is encouraged to register for the free, six-week Business Boot Camp by calling the Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation at 419.238.2999.<\/p>\n\n\n

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VW independent staff\/submitted information The Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation reported a strong increase in participation following Saturday\u2019s Business Boot Camp Introductory Workshop, with attendance growing from seven participants last year to more than 20 attendees this year. The workshop served as the kickoff to 2026 Business Boot Camp, a free six-week program designed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-202488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-02 01:09:14","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202488"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202515,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202488\/revisions\/202515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}