LEWISTON — New Ventures Maine is offering a free 60-hour course in business planning titled Venturing Forth: Business Planning for Entrepreneurs.

The following topics will be included: your customer, competition, marketing, record keeping, taxes, financing and legal aspects. At the end of the class, attendees will have a completed business plan. There are also three monthly follow-up networking sessions at the completion of the class. Class size is limited to 15. Those interested must complete an application, come to the orientation, have an individual interview and be accepted into the class.

The course qualifies for three pass/fail credits from the University of Maine at Augusta upon approval of a completed business plan and payment of a small processing fee. Graduates of this course are eligible to apply for the University of Maine at Augusta GEN Scholarship, to be used for additional UMA classes at any location.

Class size is limited to 15. The deadline for applications is March 21 and the orientation is from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, March 22. Classes will be on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., beginning March 29 through to graduation on June 14, which will be held at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College, 51 Westminster St., Lewiston.

For more information on New Ventures Maine or to register for the training, call Karleen Andrews at 207-557-1885 or email: [email protected].