Local consulting group Small Business Advisors is offering the workshops. According to company president David Hills, the idea is to assist people in "developing cohesive, co-ordinated, and effective strategies for managing their businesses".

It's a service Mr. Hills has offered since 1987. Based on that success, he decided to formalise the process and present it to the public as a workshop series.

"I've been working with small businesses for the last 25 years," he explained. "In that period, I've dealt with over 1,000 small businesses, mainly in Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean, but also in Europe and South America.

"Bermuda is incredibly entrepreneurial. International business obviously has a major impact on our economy here and it creates a tremendous opportunity for individuals to start a business in any number of areas ? plumbers, electricians, landscape maintenance, pool maintenance, painting.

"There's such a great cross-section and, as in any country, they're really the backbone of the country. When you look at the people they employ, the earnings they get, the payroll taxes that they pay ? it's substantial.

"I have seen definite success with many organisations here in Bermuda. They do very well, because they pay attention ? not just to what I tell them, but to all the other signals that their business sends them ? and they take the necessary steps to do a better job and be more effective.

"Much of what I do is about helping businesses put together business plans. I've worked with many companies to try and help them figure out where they wanted to go and how to get there. These courses are a continuation of that, in effect. What I've done in putting this programme together is formalise that concept and offer it to more people at the same time."

Small Business Advisors opened its doors to Bermuda in 1990. Since then, it has provided counselling services to more than 350 local businesses.

"My aim has always been to make business owners not only survive, but also to grow the business beyond the hopes they establish for themselves," Mr Hills said. "We hope to help entrepreneurs in establishing both personal and business goals and provide the tools to achieve them. (In doing so), we basically focused on helping them come up with a strategic plan and a business plan ? where are they? Where do they want to be? How they're going to get there?"

The consultant explained that prior to 1990 many small businesses did not keep financial records. Their need for his advice grew as local regulations changed.

"As the banks strengthened their requirements that need grew quite substantially," he said. "I spent a lot of time in the early years helping small businesses in Bermuda to establish accounting programmes or processes; helping them to produce financial statements and then assisting them in interpreting and understanding them.

"We work fairly closely with the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation. As you probably know, its main mission is to provide loan guarantees for small business, working in tandem with the major banks. We assist in producing business plans with the client and then we visit the Small Business Development Corporation with them, to help the client answer any questions and position themselves to get their loan guarantee so they can get the loan from the bank so they can expand their business."

Despite there being some 4,000 small businesses on the island already, Mr. Hills believes room exists for substantial growth.

"I've been, I suppose, associated with Bermuda for 40 years, and working here for almost 20, and I would say the opportunities are greater today than ever. If we ignore the political things we all read and hear about, and just look at the economics of Bermuda, if we drive from one end of the island to the other, the amount of construction going on is greater than any of us have ever seen.

"Somebody has a great deal of confidence in Bermuda. They've been investing, quite literally hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars. And that all has to be serviced. There is tremendous growth in that sector. You just have to watch the legal notices in the paper to see the number of new businesses being formed. (Entrepreneurial Bermuda) is very healthy and it's growing."

To aid that growth to success, Mr. Hills helps them steer clear of common pitfalls. The most frequent mistake is where people try to do it all themselves; a close second is not securing sufficient cash flow.

"Most people start a business because they're good at doing whatever it is. As the business starts to grow, they will find themselves doing less of what it is they wanted to do and more of the stuff they probably don't like to do, the kind of stuff I call 'administrivia' ? non-productive-but-has-to-be-done stuff which includes doing the accounts, filling out forms for Government, even just keeping the office neat and tidy.

"Their answer is they have to do it themselves because they can't afford to hire someone else. My argument would be, if we organise the business properly, then you can't afford to be doing those things. You should be focusing on revenue-generating activities and delegating those other things either to people you hire, or people outside of the organisation, so you're focused on what you do best. However, the most common mistake people make in setting up business or going into business is not doing enough homework before they go in. Planning ahead really helps you avoid an awful lot of the pitfalls.

"The main thing you have to be concerned about in starting a business is the same thing that an operating business has to be concerned with and it's down to that one little thing called cash. You can run out of it. You have to plan and make sure you don't or else there are pretty severe consequences.

"If you tell me your business is going to double in the next year, my next question is, 'Have you been down to see any of the people at our three banks?' If you double your sales, you double your receivables and you double your purchases, you're going to run out of cash if you haven't organised your financing properly. Most of them haven't done a plan to figure out how to do that."

Mr. Hills cautioned that the upcoming programme is aimed at entrepreneurs who have already gone into business rather than people interested in starting a company. "It's aimed at people who are already successful. People who are working maybe 60 or 70 hours a week. People who aren't sure how to grow their business; how to get out from under the monster they've created."

q Small Business Advisors' Bermuda Business Coach seminars will consist of six modules, with one held every two months beginning in January next year. A location has yet to be selected, although the sessions will be held in Hamilton during the evening. Each will last around four hours with each session limited to 12 participants. The cost of the programme is $995. For more information on the seminars, telephone Small Business Advisors on 238-1682 or via e-mail, infosmallbusinessadvisors.ca