SMALL BUSINESS

Brimming With Knowledge: After he was laid off from his job as an aerospace engineer two years ago, Lee Sutherland signed up for a business ownership class at Coastline Community College in Fountain Valley. Armed with information he picked up in the course, Sutherland opened Balboa Island Coffee Co. last July.

The coffeehouse quickly became a hit with the islanders.

“We’ve had almost 100,000 customers since we opened our doors,” Sutherland said.

“He’s one of my success stories,” said Peter Vander Haeghen, who teaches the ongoing nine-week course, in which students learn such essentials as how to write business plans, find creative financing and target customers.

Of course, getting laid off from a job he’d had for years was frightening--especially with two children in college, Sutherland said.

But now that he has experienced business ownership, Sutherland said he could never go back to working for someone else.

“I’ve never had so much fun in my life,” said Sutherland, 52. “Even with all the headaches of meeting payroll and working lots of hours, I would do it again in a second.”

Sutherland said he picked up tips in the class that he has put into action in the real world.

“It taught me the fundamentals--fill a consumer need, find a good location, hire good employees,” Sutherland said.

Vander Haeghen’s course offers extensive planning for both start-up and existing businesses.

“Many small-business owners get too involved in the details of daily operations and begin to lose sight of the long-range plan,” he said. “Keeping one’s nose to the grindstone can have its short-sighted disadvantages.”

The class costs about $150, including books. Information: Coastline Community College at (714) 546-7600.