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Post a commentDCCC helps put a fire under future small busines owners
Area high school students sparked their enthusiasm for business at an entrepreneurial workshop titled Project IGNITE at Delaware County Community College (DCCC).
Project IGNITE, an acronym for Inspiring Growth Now In Teen Entrepreneurs, was held at the college’s Marple campus Oct. 24.
The free seminar was offered for the first time by Delaware County Community College’s Small Business Solutions Center, a nonprofit business center dedicated to providing supportive and timely educational opportunities to current and hopeful small business owners. The center that opened in March 2008 is funded by the college and a federal grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Director of the Small Business Solutions Center at DCCC Frank Agovino plans to organize an additional Project IGNITE in Chester County in the spring for local high school students.
Also, through the center’s grant funding, Agovino hopes to speak to area students in secondary public, private or parochial schools as a way to expose teens to the world of small business.
Agovino, who owns a catering company, calls Project IGNITE an introduction for students to a day in the life of a small business owner.
Business experts and local owners of public relations firms, recording studios and multimedia companies spoke at the event about how they began their careers in the field and their entrepreneurial spirit.
Later in the seminar, students broke into small groups and participated in a hands-on business model activity that required attendees to think of an idea for their own business that included marketing plans and strategies for overcoming obstacles. Small business owners, who provided advice and a question and answer session to students, guided each group.
Agovino hopes the Project IGNITE seminar provides an insight to students that they may not have had before.
“The overall goal is that students walk away with a greater understanding of what life is like as an entrepreneur and a feeling that it is possible for them to achieve success as a small business owner. Students may have a sense of entrepreneurialism that just needs to be nurtured,” Agovino said.
The center regularly offers informational opportunities and events such as U.S. Small Business Administration lending seminars, sessions on marketing, legal issues and healthcare matters to local small business owners. The Small Business Solutions center recently began offering entrepreneurial seminars geared toward college and high school students.
To advertise Project IGNITE, Agovino distributed flyers and sent out press releases to high school guidance offices, principals and business teachers to generate student interest.
Agovino hopes the session inspires students to follow their dreams if they are hesitant to enter the field of business due to the recent state of the economy.
“Because times are so tough these days, kids may be dissuaded from going into business. The reality is that we need to spark their entrepreneurial spirit because it’s so important for the future of the country,” Agovino said.
For more information call 610-359-5137 or check out www.dccc.edu/sbsc.
Project IGNITE, an acronym for Inspiring Growth Now In Teen Entrepreneurs, was held at the college’s Marple campus Oct. 24.
The free seminar was offered for the first time by Delaware County Community College’s Small Business Solutions Center, a nonprofit business center dedicated to providing supportive and timely educational opportunities to current and hopeful small business owners. The center that opened in March 2008 is funded by the college and a federal grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Director of the Small Business Solutions Center at DCCC Frank Agovino plans to organize an additional Project IGNITE in Chester County in the spring for local high school students.
Also, through the center’s grant funding, Agovino hopes to speak to area students in secondary public, private or parochial schools as a way to expose teens to the world of small business.
Agovino, who owns a catering company, calls Project IGNITE an introduction for students to a day in the life of a small business owner.
Business experts and local owners of public relations firms, recording studios and multimedia companies spoke at the event about how they began their careers in the field and their entrepreneurial spirit.
Later in the seminar, students broke into small groups and participated in a hands-on business model activity that required attendees to think of an idea for their own business that included marketing plans and strategies for overcoming obstacles. Small business owners, who provided advice and a question and answer session to students, guided each group.
Agovino hopes the Project IGNITE seminar provides an insight to students that they may not have had before.
“The overall goal is that students walk away with a greater understanding of what life is like as an entrepreneur and a feeling that it is possible for them to achieve success as a small business owner. Students may have a sense of entrepreneurialism that just needs to be nurtured,” Agovino said.
The center regularly offers informational opportunities and events such as U.S. Small Business Administration lending seminars, sessions on marketing, legal issues and healthcare matters to local small business owners. The Small Business Solutions center recently began offering entrepreneurial seminars geared toward college and high school students.
To advertise Project IGNITE, Agovino distributed flyers and sent out press releases to high school guidance offices, principals and business teachers to generate student interest.
Agovino hopes the session inspires students to follow their dreams if they are hesitant to enter the field of business due to the recent state of the economy.
“Because times are so tough these days, kids may be dissuaded from going into business. The reality is that we need to spark their entrepreneurial spirit because it’s so important for the future of the country,” Agovino said.
For more information call 610-359-5137 or check out www.dccc.edu/sbsc.
