COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The business community is a big part of what makes Columbus so special, and city leaders want to continue to support local business owners. One way they do that is through the Accelerate Columbus program.  Around 30 entrepreneurs graduated from Accelerate Columbus on Wednesday night.  The program helps small business owners grow their companies with the city’s help.  “They are the heartbeat of our city, but they’re also the economic engine of our city,” Columbus City Councilmember Nick Bankston said. “They employ more people than a large corporation and collectively they represent about 90 percent of the business that is done every single day in our city."  The city wants to make sure entrepreneurs have all the tools they need to make their businesses bigger and better.  “It literally prepares entrepreneurs and brand-new businesses on how to be productive and successful business owners,” said Anthony Scott, the owner of My Last Farewell, a local video production company that allows people to record a legacy video for family and friends to watch after their death.  The program ran from mid-August through late October and covered topics like marketing, sales, social media, public speaking and technology.  “You don’t know everything and sometimes when you’re in business for a little while, you feel like, ‘Okay, there’s not much more that I can learn,’ but taking this class, I was exposed to so much more knowledge,” said Mia Tolbert, the owner of A Moment to Remember Events and Rentals.  All the participants in the program were women or minority business owners.  Shara Hutchinson was a leader for the Accelerate Columbus program and also founded Xposeyour.   Hutchinson said many of the participants experienced tangible growth and hired employees since they started the program.  “They started off with understanding themselves as a visionary leader and what is the vision for their business, where do they see themselves in the next five years so they can understand what were the next steps to take,” Hutchinson said.  Scott, Tolbert and other local business owners who graduated from the program said they gained priceless and valuable knowledge from this program at no cost to them.  “The city of Columbus is doing very, very well at supporting the small businesses, so if you need some help, it’s here in Columbus,” Scott said.  Accelerate Columbus participants said they recommend any business owner look into the program.  Learn more about the Accelerate Columbus program by clicking here.