Partnership Gets Rave Reviews
Whitworth College teams with SNAP clients for a lesson in Business
Whitworth business students and low-income entrepreneurs from SNAP’s MicroEnterprise Program teamed together this spring where students and clients learned first hand from one another on business planning with a real life twist. Seventeen business students from Whitworth’s School of Global Commerce and Management developed solid business plans and a close bond with SNAP’s MicroEnterprise clients.
“I don’t know how I would have graduated Whitworth without the experience,” says Jill Vaughan, one of the business students who participated in the class. “It brought everything together, working hands-on with people with real situations and real issues, not textbook or simulation.”
The Entrepreneurial Development class at Whitworth partnered with SNAP this past spring, offering a unique full credit course to senior business students and a rare opportunity for SNAP low-income entrepreneurs to learn more about planning and financing for their new small businesses.
Kerri Rodkey, SNAP’s Economic Development Manager joined Whitworth Professor Doug Laher to teach the class. “We not only taught how to write a business plan, but also about the MicroEnterprise industry, as well as the process of consulting and consulting with low-income people,” says Rodkey.
SNAP clients were each paired with two students. The students and client committed to weekly meetings with one another and worked together on building their plan. “I was excited about the opportunity,” says Sandy Garcia, a SNAP low-income entrepreneur and owner of Beautiful Baskets Abound.
“I’m always up for an opportunity to learn anything I can to help my business grow. I gained a better knowledge of marketing as well as the financial processes in a business.”
Jill Vaughan, who worked with Garcia, adds, “We could not have asked for a better client. She had so much enthusiasm for her business; it was neat to see. It made it more real for what we were actually doing.”
Will the class continue on? If student Jill Vaughan has her way it will. “We all gave rave reviews in the end, a lot of us said we want other students to do this before graduating in business from Whitworth. It’s vital to our careers.”
As far as the success of the business plans, Rodkey says several clients are planning to apply for loans and four others are getting last pieces of information together to submit for loan applications.
Clients and students were also treated to presentations from Coralie Myers with the Small Business Administration and manager of the Business Information Center, David Wingate, Director of Financial Services at SIRTI, Nigel Davey the Associate Director at SIRTI, and Carla Preston, Business Development Specialist with the Small Business Development Center.
Self-sufficiency through employment |
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SNAP’s MicroEnterprise program provides an opportunity for families to achieve self-sufficiency through self-employment. The program is structured to allow persons and families to realistically and successfully enter into business or expand an existing small business. The program focus is to provide access to information, skills and financial capital. MicroEnterprise has been operating for the past six years and has helped 600 people in the creation and development of approximately 90 businesses.
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