NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax; 713/743-8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2004

UH System at Sugar Land
Contact: Eric Gerber
713/743-8189 (office)
281-627-2065 (cellular)

EXPERT ADVICE AVAILABLE FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
AT UHS SUGAR LAND SEMINAR
Additional Workshops Offered at Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS, Feb. 18, 2004 – Aspiring small business owners can get expert advice at an upcoming series of training seminars and workshops being offered through a partnership between SCORE, the University of Houston System at Sugar Land and the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce Business & Professional Division.
An all-day seminar titled “Starting and Running Your Own Business” will be presented on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004, at the UH System at Sugar Land, 14000 University Boulevard at Highway 59. The seminar will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and costs $25. The seminar will cover Personal Factors & Management; Business Opportunities; Marketing; Organizations, Regulations & Insurance; Requirements and Sources of Funds; Business Records and Business Plans.

In addition to the seminar, a series of three separate workshops will be held at the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, 445 Commerce Green Boulevard in Sugar Land. The workshops will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday evenings and will cover the following topics: Business Plans (March 11), Marketing (March 18) Cash Management (March 25). Each workshop costs $20, or attendees can pay $50 for all three.

These seminars and workshops are presented by members of SCORE, a resource partner to the U.S. Small Business Administration. SCORE advises new and current small business owners in the areas of finance, operations, human resources and marketing. Their representatives have been presenting seminars at the UH main campus and UH-Clear Lake campus for many years. This workshop and series of seminars are part of an initiative to increase educational opportunities in Fort Bend County for individuals interested in starting a business, seeking ways to reinvigorate their business, or learning more about the world of small business.

Seminar and workshop attendees will receive materials on the topics being presented. For more information or to register for the all-day seminar, contact Deborah Wible McGraw at 281-275-3368. Registration and information about the three workshops is available through Kristin Ferguson at the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce at 281-491-2497.

About the University of Houston System at Cinco Ranch and UH System at Sugar Land
The UH System at Cinco Ranch and UH System at Sugar Land are collaborative efforts of the four UH System universities: University of Houston, UH-Clear Lake, UH-Downtown and UH-Victoria. Students apply to the university that offers the degree they are seeking and then take courses at either UH System at Cinco Ranch or UH System at Sugar Land. For more information about the teaching centers visit www.cincoranch.uh.edu and www.sugarland.uh.edu.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.