By Tom Rohrer
For entrepreneurs, a dream or idea can only turn into a functioning and successful business if a number of processes fall into place.
To help insure everything does tumble into the appropriate area, Enterprise for Equity, which helps South Puget Sound citizens with limited incomes create and start small businesses, is there to provide training and advice for those enrolled in the program.
Enterprise for Equity has been helping low-income people start small businesses since 1999. The group functions as a micro enterprise initiative with a comprehensive curriculum and a qualified staff of trainers and volunteers. Microenterprise works to reduce reliance on public assistance, creates jobs, and raises the income, job skills, and assets of low-incoem people.
On Tuesday, June 12, Enterprise for Equity held their 2012 Micro Business Showcase, featuring presentations from over a dozen start-up and in operation business owners that have graduated from the program.
In attendance at the event, which was held at the Heritage Building on Water Street in Olympia, were Olympia city council members, chamber of commerce members and local legislative representatives.
Lisa Smith, the Executive Director for Enterprise for Equity, has seen the program develop in front of her eyes and is pleased at what she sees.
“I think it’s fabulous and really off the charts,” Smith said of the event. “When these individuals and groups come into the program, we look at them as future business leaders of the community, and then we see them become exactly that. It’s very satisfying.”
Fifteen start-up and established businesses, all recent graduates of the program, gave brief two and a half to three minute presentations to the audience, outlying business models and descriptions on the products offered.
Businesses ranged from consulting and coaching companies to eldercare to aquaponic gardening.
The diverse arrangement of businesses mirrors the local community.
“I think it shows there are a lot of great ideas for businesses out there and I know there will be more to come,” Smith said.
One of those businesses is 2012 graduate Mel Bilodeau’s “Mel O’Soup,” which sells organic soup at establishments such as the Westside Farmer’s Market, Olympia Westside Food Co-Op and Kitzel’s Restaurant.
Bilodeau, who was providing free samples of her soup at the event, says Enterprise for Equity was a driving force in her business’s development.
“I knew that there were a lot of things to do, and it just really helped me accomplish those things,” Bilodeau said. “The program is really accessible, and if I had or have a dilemma or question, someone is always there to help me with it.”
The program has also helped Emmeline Hedenburg develop a start-up produce service titled Emmeline’s Edible Art, which provides produce bouquets, such as edible salad arrangements, that are both beautiful and delicious.
“I have always believed food should nourish the body, and also catch the eye,” Hedenburg said to the audience.
Hedenburg hopes to have her produce on the market by 2013, and feels prepared for what the future has in store.
“I feel prepared to embark on the journey,” Hedenburg said. “The program is really geared towards established principles and all the information and connections are very, very useful.”
Knowing and understanding all the information on what it takes to run a successful small business was one of the missing links for Sean Ford and Jeremy Winans before enrolling in the program.
Ford and Winans’ company, Cascadecopia, provides design and installation of functional and edible landscapes and gardens for residential homes.
While installing the landscapes was not a problem for the duo, it was an understanding of the business side that eluded them.
“We were already in operations and very used to the work when we enrolled in the program,” Ford said. “But we weren’t experienced with accounting and taxes. We would get done with a day of work and would go in (to Enterprise for Equity) with just a ton of questions. And they always answered them for us. There was a lot of stuff we had never heard of before, like target market or customer base, and this just helped us greatly.”
“This really helped us promote ourselves and figure out the right direction to go in,” Winans told the audience. “It’s been an awesome process.”
A partial business listing of Enterprise for Equity’s graduates can be found by visiting this page. Buying products and services from these businesses keeps dollars local and continues to foster the relationship with microenterprise.
To learn more about the programs that Enterprise for Equity providers, click here.
