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SANTA MONICA COLLEGE SBDC LAUNCHES VETREPRENEUR BOOTCAMP: FORCES TO FRANCHISES

Free Entrepreneurial Training Program for Military Veterans

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) hosted by Santa Monica College and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched Vetrepreneur Bootcamp: Forces to Franchises. The free entrepreneurial training program guides a cohort of 30 military veterans, chosen in a rigorous screening process, through how to start a business, how to apply for an SBA loan, and franchise business opportunities available.

Forces to Franchises is an eight-week, five-session program that capitalizes on the intersection of veterans’ leadership skills and the structure of the franchise business. The SBA reports that veterans are 45 percent more likely to become entrepreneurs than their civilian counterparts. And Entrepreneur Magazine suggests that veterans make good franchisees because they are willing to operate within the guidelines of the established business model, and they are effective at leading a team and making the right decisions to further their business.

Forces to Franchises is structured as a series of workshops that will educate veterans on the steps they need to take to successfully launch and fund a business, particularly a franchise business. The goal of Forces to Franchises is to have every participant complete a business plan that can be included in a loan application package. Ultimately, the program seeks to increase the number of qualified veterans’ loan applicants in the business community.

Forces to Franchises runs February 7 through April 4, 2014. This innovative program launches with a breakfast and welcome event from 7:30 am to 9:00 am on February 7 as executives from Santa Monica College, the Small Business Administration, financial institutions, and City officials recognize this special group of Veterans as they begin the program. The press is encouraged to attend this event.

Forces to Franchises is sponsored by Wilshire State Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, East West Bank, ed2go, Commonwealth Business Bank, Chase Bank, Business Finance Capital, and Boston Private Bank & Trust Company.

The SBDC’s mission is to help emerging entrepreneurs realize their dream of business ownership, and to assist existing businesses to better compete in the multifaceted and ever-changing local, national, and global economies. The SBDC offers free business consulting and low-cost training workshops on a wide variety of business topics, including business startup, loan packaging and referrals, marketing and social media, web development/e-commerce, retail, drafting a business plan, government contracting, green business, and more.

For more information about the SMC SBDC, please see www.smcsbdc.org or call (310) 434-3566.

A Cirque du Soleil artist performs at the Third Street Promenade during a free preview of its traveling productionTOTEM - Cirque du Soleil on Thursday, February 6, 2014. Totem runs at the Santa Monica Pier through March 16.

Red Bull BMX athletes perform during a free preview of Cirque du Soleil's traveling production TOTEM - Cirque du Soleil at theThird Street Promenade on Thursday, February 6, 2014. 

A woman ties a personal wish on the Chinese New Year Wish Tree at Santa Monica Place on Saturday, February 1, 2014. Happy Chinese New Year! Kung Hei Fat Choy! 恭喜發財! 

Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Horse! Kung Hei Fat Choy! Santa Monica Place kicked-off a six-day celebration of the Chinese New Year that marks the Year of the Horse. Also known as the Spring Festival, the celebration will feature entertainment and presentations based on authentic Chinese traditions such as the traditional Chinese Dragon Dance, live music entertainment by a Chinese classical musical ensemble using native instruments, Chinese Ribbon Dancers, Chinese Stilt Walkers, a New Year’s Wishing Tree, a Chinese Henna Tattoo artist, Chinese children's crafts, the Chinese Dough Art, complimentary fortune cookies and a festive Chinese photo backdrop that will be available for guests to capture the magic of the Chinese New Year Festival. (January 31, 2014)

Performance artist Tim Youd types Raymond Chandler's, "Farewell, My lovely" on a vintage Underwood Noiseless typewriter at the Santa Monica Pier on Tuesday, January 28. 2014.

Youd performs the re-typing of entire novels on a single piece of paper, utilizing the same make and model typewriter used by the original author. In his process, Youd covers a piece of paper with a top sheet, so that the underlying page receives the indentation from the keys but not the ink, except where the typewriter keys break through the top sheet. When Youd gets to the bottom of a page, he reinserts the same page back into the typewriter. The result is a highly formal yet very surprising diptych - the top sheet densely covered in ink, mirrored against a heavily indented but mostly un-inked page.

Geography is integral to the performance. Youd looks to conduct his retyping in a location germane to the author's life, or to some facet of the novel itself. He plans to type 100 novels in the next five years.