Phil Holland's Online Free Course - My Own Business Inc., (MOBI)

www.myownbusiness.org

The online free course on entrepreneurship is developed by My own Business Inc., (MOBI), a not-for-profit organization.MOBI was founded by Phillip Holland in response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots . Successful entrepreneur and founder of Yum Yum Donut Shops, Inc., Phil Holland wanted to share his expertise and experience in creating businesses with the people whose neighborhoods most required rebuilding. In 1992 Phil decided to take action and started conducting a free night course in Compton, California to teach people how to start their own businesses. The material presented drew upon Phil's personal experience and from two books he had published, The Entrepreneurs Guide, and How to Start a Business Without Quitting Your Job. Phil's wife Peggy, a school principal, took the material from these books and organized an instructional eight session business curriculum. Phil then began teaching free night classes at the Compton Job Training Center.

One of the first students was Ezequiel Padilla, who after completing the course said that he would like to conduct the course in the Spanish language, and he did just that. The Los Angeles Hispanic newspaper La Opinion ran a three-line announcement: "Free Course in How to Start a Business: Conducted in the Spanish Language." People came from all over Los Angeles, and even bused in from distant towns. The course received so much attention that the Mexican Counsel-General came into the classroom and presented the completion certificates.

As classrooms filled to capacity, what started out as a one-man crusade turned into a non-profit organization called My Own Business, Inc. A board of trustees carefully selected for their expertise in each session topic, expanded and enhanced Phil's materials and in August of 2000 the My Own Business course went worldwide via the Internet, completely free. The course has expanded to thirteen sessions covering valuable and insightful topics with an emphasis on teaching people how to avoid the most common pitfalls encountered when starting a business.

In March, 2002 the U.S. Small Business Administration announced it's effort in conjunction with My Own Business, Inc., to provide a free and comprehensive online entrepreneur course for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The SBA now also links to the Spanish version of the My Own Business course from it's Spanish web site.

On October 4, 2002, The World Bank launched the English version of the Small and Medium Enterprise SME Toolkit. My Own Business became a key content partner, providing valuable content which has already been translated into several languages including Spanish, French, Mongolian and many more to come.

Since 1992, MOBI has supported the education of entrepreneurs and development of new businesses. Thousands of start-up and operating entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the free course. By providing free educational coursework to entrepreneurs, My Own Business is nurturing one of the greatest opportunities in the free world: going into business for oneself. MOBI is supported by the contributions of individuals and businesses that value and share its continuing vision that prosperity is the solution to many problems facing our nation and world.

MOBI has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, BusinessWeek Online, CNN Online, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Whittier Daily News, The Orange County Register, La Opinión, Arizona Daily Star - and many more.

Ms. Gertrude Holland, his wife, is the co-founder and a trustee of their non-profit entrepreneurial training organization My Own Business (www.myownbusiness.org) and is the original designer of their course curriculum on entrepreneurship. She is a former school administrator and currently manages delivery of course materials through educational institutions.