SANTA ROSA, Calif. – A series of classes to determine whether entrepreneurial ideas have merit and how potential small business owners can plan, setup and fund a business will be held on Saturdays throughout October at the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster.

The “A-B-Cs of Business Startups” series is hosted by the North Coast SCORE chapter which serves entrepreneurs in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake and Humboldt counties.

SCORE, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), provides free business counseling and offers a variety of low-cost small business workshops.

About 70 percent of the North Coast SCORE chapter’s clients are involved with startup businesses.

Sessions will be given in five seminars and cover such topics as startup business basics, business plans, marketing, financial projections and access to capital.

There’s a $30 charge for each training session.

Experienced SCORE mentors will serve as instructors and will be available for private, no-cost mentoring to students after the classes.

• Session No. 1: Start-Up Basics, Oct. 1, 9 a.m. to noon.

• Session No. 2: Writing Your Business Plan, Oct. 8, 9 a.m. to noon.

• Session No. 3: Marketing, Oct. 15, 9 a.m. to noon.

• Session No. 4: Financial Projections, Oct. 22, 9 a.m. to noon.

• Session No. 5: Funding Sources, Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to noon.

All classes will be held at the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster, 1300 Valley House Drive, Rohnert Park, CA 94928.

To register for classes, go to http://northcoast.score.org, send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or phone 707-571-8342.