The West Virginia University Entrepreneurship Center and West Virginia Trails Coalition are sponsoring a workshop for persons interested in trail-related small business ventures Thursday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the WVU Mountainlair, Rhododendron Room.

The seminar is free, and no pre-registration is required. Trail-related small businesses are bed and breakfasts, bike shops, convenience stores, campgrounds, restaurants, veterinarian (for equestrian trails), canoe liveries and trail guide services.

The workshop will involve group analysis of hypothetical situations such as determining the best locations for a bed and breakfast or other business and estimating costs and other factors.

There will be presentations by the West Virginia Small Business Development Center, a professor of entrepreneurial studies, a bed and breakfast owner, a community medicine professor and an outfitter and bike shop owner.

“We hope that the format of interactive analysis interwoven with brief presentations will help stimulate discussion,”said John Palmer, workshop coordinator.”This event is aimed at entrepreneurs-to-be, but it is opened to all. Anyone who would like to see West Virginia be true to its roots of healthy, rural, small community development should be interested in this seminar.”

Palmer has had many years of experience teaching hotel and restaurant management and is the executive director of the West Virginia Trails Coalition. He has a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University and a masters degree in business administration in hospitality management from Michigan State University.