FARMINGTON – A successful author and swordfishing captain will help the Women’s Business Center launch online virtual workshops Tuesday to help women in rural areas of Maine learn how to take advantage of technology in their own businesses.

The center, a division of Coastal Enterprises Inc., is expanding its services as part of the Rim Counties Women’s Business Initiative, a projected aimed at helping rural women in Franklin, Oxford, Somerset, Aroostook, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Washington counties learn how to use technology to gain access to resources, as well as a means to reach markets and customers.

Linda Greenlaw, a commercial fisherwoman and best selling author of “The Hungry Ocean,” “The Lobster Chronicles” and “All Fishermen Are Liars” will speak about what it takes to be successful and in hindsight what were the characteristics and skills needed to be successful in business, business center counselor Marylou Kandur said Friday.

Greenlaw discovered her passion for fishing as a student at Colby College, when she took a summer job as a cook on a boat, her Web site states. After graduating from Colby, where she majored in English and government, Greenlaw defied her parents’ desire for her to become a doctor or a lawyer, choosing instead to pursue a career on the water. She soon proved her skill, becoming the first and only female swordfishing captain in the Grand Banks Fleet, the site states.

Women’s Business Center representatives will highlight the services it has to offer women through the rim counties initiative during an orientation session from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the Mountain Heritage Center at Church Street Commons at 109 Church St. in Farmington. The street is located between Java Joe’s and Franklin County Courthouse on Main Street.

On Friday, Kandur set up a laptop computer at CEI’s Office at the commons and showed how there would be online interaction between those who register for the free session and those who attend it in person.

Pre-registration is required to help organizers know how many people will be coming and tuning in, Kandur said. People can register online at www.ceimaine.org/workshops.html, or by e-mailing [email protected]. Or call 207-882-7552, ext. 167, to contact Beth Raburn.

Twenty people had signed on to take part in the session in Farmington by Friday afternoon, Kandur said.

The online business workshops can be taken at workplaces or at home, Kandur said. Some businesswomen work out of their houses and have children they take care of, she said. They also have long distance travel to contend with, which the virtual classroom eliminates, she said.

Kandur said she’s also put together a public service DVD that will be shown on Mt. Blue TV Channel 11 in the Farmington area.

The whole idea is to help business owners and those thinking about starting a business to understand know how the center’s counselors can help them, Kandur said.

Coastal Enterprises Inc. established the Women’s Business Center in 1995, and for more than a decade, the center has provided free one-on-one counseling to startup and existing women business owners, as well as free and low-cost workshops and networking opportunities.