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]]>The post Southwestern College Student Places Top 5 in Regional Business Pitch Competition appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
]]>For the Idea2Innovate competition, community college students throughout the San Diego & Imperial region submitted a 10-slide PowerPoint presentation and a 2-minute video pitch of their business. Judges then scored the slide decks and videos and invited the top 8 students to pitch their ideas at a live event at Mesa’s campus on April 8th. Each student had 7 minutes to pitch their idea in front of the judges and invited guests. The allotted time included 2-minutes to show their video pitch and 5 minutes for their live pitch, after which the judges had 3 minutes to ask follow-up questions. Southwestern College student, Marco Chavez—who had attended a pair of labs and individual counseling sessions put on by CITD Business Advisors, Gabriel Reyes and Monica Rosas in conjunction with Southwestern College Business Professor, Yvonne Lucas to help prepare students for the competition—was one of the students selected for the live event. Marco pitched his organic clothing business, Motiv, which sells t-shirts and other clothing and accessories that are made with bamboo fiber and organic cotton, and was awarded 5th place and a cash scholarship in the amount of $500. Although Marco will not be eligible to compete in the statewide business pitch competition, he has already launched his business and made his first sales.
(Left to right: CITD Business Advisor, Monica Rosas; Southwestern College Business Professor, Yvonne Lucas; Marco Chavez)
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]]>The post CITD Business Advisors Help Prepare Southwestern College Students for Regional Business Pitch Competition appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
]]>The California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) Program’s Small Business Sector Navigator initiative recognized this need and put out an RFA for a total of ten Faculty Entrepreneurship Champion (FEC) mini-grants, one for each community college region in the state, of up to $7,500 each. The purpose of the grants is to help business faculty at community colleges infuse entrepreneurship curriculum into existing classes and programs or develop experiential entrepreneurial learning opportunities for students. Working in conjunction with San Diego CITD Business Advisor and Youth Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator, Gabriel Reyes, Southwestern College Business Professor Yvonne Lucas was awarded an FEC grant for the San Diego region.
As part of the FEC grant activities, Professor Lucas and CITD Business Advisors Gabriel Reyes and Monica Rosas worked with Southwestern College students to prepare them for a regional business pitch competition by providing assistance with developing a brief business plan and video pitch for their business ideas through two group lab sessions and one-on-one counseling. The regional competition, called Idea2Innovate, was organized by the Small Business Deputy Sector Navigator for the San Diego & Imperial Region and is one of 10 regional competitions throughout the state—the winners of which will compete in a statewide competition in May. Students who participate in the regional competition will have a chance to win up to $2,500, with an opportunity to win additional cash and other prizes at the state level.
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]]>The post Idea2Innovate Business Plan Pitch Competition appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
]]>Southwestern College (SWC) students interested in participating in the regional competition will receive assistance with developing their pitch and business presentation, as part of a mini-grant awarded to Southwestern College business professor, Yvonne Lucas. Two competition submission development labs will be held at SWC’s main campus at which students will receive tips and information on how to to put together a winning pitch video and business plan presentation, in addition to one-on-one business counseling from Center for International Trade Development Business Advisors, Gabriel Reyes and Monica Rosas.
In addition to the assistance with developing their entries to the regional competition, students will have an opportunity to practice their pitch at SWC’s Business Club’s “Jaguar Cage” pitchfest event. The event, which will be held on March 23rd, 2016 will give SWC students an opportunity to receive constructive feedback from a panel of business professionals to help fine-tune their pitch and plan for the regional competition, and also a chance to win a package of resources and prizes from the Business Club.
For more information about the competition and the submission development labs, click here.
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]]>The post White House and SBA Will be on Shark Tank Tonight appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
]]>On tonight’s episode, America will see how the Obama Administration is investing in global entrepreneurship—creating innovation and expanding opportunity for small businesses and savvy entrepreneurs.
We expect viewers will go to SBA.gov to learn firsthand how we are propelling entrepreneurs and innovators to compete in today’s marketplace.
As we head into Global Entrepreneurship Week November 16-22, let us be encouraged by our Agency’s impact. Everyday we reach thousands of small businesses through our counseling, financing and federal contracting programs. I am so proud of and grateful for your continued dedication to our mission.
Please tune in tonight. Help us spread the word and the SBA spirit!
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]]>The post TEDx San Diego 2015 appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
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]]>The post Ryan Poortinga/San Diego Sky Tours appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
]]>Ryan was a recent graduate from San Diego State University who was having a hard time finding a job in his field. One day while browsing the Craigslist website for jobs, he came across an advertisement for our YEP program and decided to enroll and take the business training. After completing the training, he wrote a business plan for an aerial tours business that he and his best friend, a licensed pilot, had come up with and entered it into the YEP business plan competition. The business plan was well developed and Ryan was selected as one of the winners of the YEP business plan competition. After the competition, Ryan met with professional business advisors at the CITD and received help with further developing his business idea. After a few business counseling sessions, Ryan launched his business, San Diego Sky Tours, and is currently doing well enough to hire his company’s first employee.
When asked how YEP played a part in helping him launch his business, Ryan said “The online business training helped me bridge the gap between the business management concepts and theory I learned at SDSU, and how small businesses actually get started.”
In November 2011, Ryan was visited at his business by Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, Marie Johns, during a tour promoting youth entrepreneurship. That visit and subsequent national press release by the SBA led to an article in the Washington Post.
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]]>The post Candace & Steven Gray/Mr. C’s Barber Shop & Salon appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
]]>Candace and Steven Gray found YEP while searching online for local small business assistance. They had an idea for an entertainment center that would offer networked console (Xbox, Playstation, etc.) and PC gaming stations so group oriented games could be played in real time, but were unsure how to get a business started. They enrolled in YEP, completed the online business training, submitted a business plan to the YEP Business Plan Competition, and were selected as one of the winners. After winning the competition, Candace and Steven fully intended to pursue their entertainment center business, but were presented with an opportunity to take over ownership of a local barber shop named Mister C’s. They saw an opportunity to not just continue running this business, which has been around for over 40 years, but take it to the next level. Under their ownership, the shop was updated to give it a more modern look and business has been steadily growing over the last year. They also give back to their community by providing free haircuts to local youth in group homes and offering low-cost haircuts to military personnel. When asked how participating in YEP helped them with their entrepreneurial endeavor, Candace said “YEP was extremely helpful in providing information on how to start and run a business. Although our current business was already established, as new owners we had to take steps to help the business grow”. She continued, “The program has taught us the importance of advertising for instance, and how to write a solid business plan. All of the online training was an excellent educational tool that has prepared my husband and me to go forward with another business venture we hope to launch in the near future. YEP has given us the tools necessary to be successful entrepreneurs.”
Mister C’s Barbershop and Salon is located at 5839 Market Street, San Diego, CA 92114 and can be reached at (619) 264-6728.
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]]>The post Erica Calvert/Airshine Music appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
]]>Erica Calvert owns Airshine Music, a business that provides private music lessons for children and adults in San Diego County. For as long as she can remember, Erica has always had a passion for teaching. As a kid, she would always play the teacher “role” and later, while in college, she began to provide private piano lessons with a mobile teaching service. After graduating from college, she took a position as a fundraiser with a local jazz radio station where she began to learn about the business side of music. Inspired by her new knowledge of business and her continued passion for teaching, Erica decided to give entrepreneurship a try when she came across the YEP program. After completing the online business training, Erica submitted a business plan to the YEP Business Plan Competition to test the feasibility of her idea and get feedback from the professional business advisors that review the plans for the competition.
To Erica’s surprise, she was selected as one of the winners of the competition and was awarded a prize package of resources and services to help her move her business idea forward. After a couple of sessions with a Center for International Trade Development (CITD) business advisor, she officially launched her business which she describes as a service that, “helps San Diegans avoid musical boredom and burnout by creating a place for students and teachers to create dynamic relationships that foster meaningful musical education and lifelong learning.”
When asked how YEP helped her with her business, Erica said, “YEP helped put my business on the map. The follow-up from the CITD counselors is one of the forces that keep me moving forward.”
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]]>The post YEP Highlighted at Southwestern College Business Club’s Entrepreneurship Workshop appeared first on San Diego Entrepreneurs | Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
]]>The aim of the event was to provide students interested in starting their own business with information on entrepreneurship resources, as well as guidance and advice on navigating the pitfalls associated with running your own business and making it successful.
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