Volume 1
Issue 1
Oct., Nov., Dec. 2008
The Avista Center for Entrepreneurship
The purpose of the Avista Center for Entrepreneurship is to provide specialized services to dedicated people like you. We combine academic knowledge with real life experiences and insights of business leaders. Entrepreneurs develop a stronger community and foster a greater sense of morale within their community. When you understand the goals of your business and see how your hard work and dedication help to achieve those goals, you will be on your way to achieving success. The key to success is utilizing your education and experience to benefit yourself and those around you. Let the Avista Center for Entrepreneurship assist you in implementing all your potential. At the Avista Center for Entrepreneurship, you learn the entrepreneurial skills needed to take your business idea to the next level. You can help your business succeed by networking in the community and at special events held by the Avista Center for Entrepreneurship Center.
Grant to Help Entrepreneur Students:
Journal of Business; Featured Article
The Herbert B. Jones Foundation has awarded a grant totaling $146,000 to Gonzaga University and Spokane Community College to support collaboration this fall between their respective entrepreneur programs. The grant provides $93,000 to the Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program at Gonzaga and $53,000 to the Avista Center for Entrepreneurship at SCC, home to the college’s integrated business and entrepreneurship (IBE) program. Starting in October, a select number of students enrolled in the SCC program will bring their entrepreneurial ideas to Gonzaga’s New Venture Lab, a consulting service for startup businesses run by students as part of the Hogan program. The SCC students then will work with GU students in preparing business plans, marketing strategies, and other activities. SCC students’ plans will be chosen on the basis of sophistication, identification of “deliverables,” maturity, and intangibles such as the applicants’ “coachability” and their commitment of time and energy. Working in teams, SCC and GU students will refine business ideas, develop budget projections, and create timelines for implementation. “This grant gives our institutions an incredible opportunity to raise the bar in entrepreneurial education,” says Rick Street, an SCC IBE instructor and one of several SCC faculty members who participated in the grant application. Tom Tilford, who directs the Hogan program, says, “I’m excited that our students will be able to work with SCC students planning to launch new business enterprises in Spokane. Our students will be enriched by applying their academic training to real-life ventures proposed by SCC students.” He says he expects the partnership to serve as a model for similar collaborative efforts in the future.
You’re invited: IBE Current Events
Be aware of what is going on in your community. Come join us on October 29, 2008, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. to meet the current students of the Integrated Business and
Need business cards?
Check it out!
www.vistaprint.com
Entrepreneurship program. You will have the opportunity to explore the future of business in Spokane and engage in one-on-one interaction with the current students in the Entrepreneurship program. Students will be sharing about their exciting business ventures. Come experience for yourself the enthusiasm that will soon be a part of the Spokane business community. This will also be a great opportunity for networking. Many times, businesses only know what is going on with their company and do not see how their work fits into the bigger picture. By networking with different students and entrepreneurs, you can see how we all fit together to form the whole.
This Web site is offering free business cards.
Success Stories: Cory Komberec, Blazing Printz
The Story of Blazing Printz
My name is Cory Komberec; I am the owner of Blazing Printz Kustom Apparel & Gifts. Blazing Printz was started in January of 2008. I ran the business out of the back row in the Avista Center for Entrepreneurship until June when I graduated, and I had to find a new place and a new computer. Right before graduation I signed the lease papers for my location at 3038 E. Trent. As I was preparing my new location I began to learn things that the Center could never teach
IBE Current Event: October 29
Explore the business opportunities available in Spokane. • p.m.—4:30 Room 131.
Do you know of other community events that may be beneficial to other students? If so let us know. grichards@scc.spokane.edu
because everyone’s experience is different. With a limited budget you have to do a lot of things yourself whether you know how to or not. construction, electrical, plumbing, painting, I got to learn about demolition, tile, unpleasant people, carpeting,
government bureaucracy, and how to stretch a dollar so tight it sings. But it was worth it; on July 28th, 2008 I got to unlock my doors for the first time and wait for the flood of p.m. in the customers to come in. Business has been growing steadily from the first day but not at the rate I would like to see (obviously). That got me thinking about advertising. Naturally, we went over marketing in class, but it is different when it is your dinner on the line instead of a grade. I thought of all the creative ways I could spend the rest of my loan to spread the word about Blazing Printz. I found the most cost effective way to reach 5 million shoppers in only four months: Put a location in the mall for the Christmas season. It is just like advertising (people see your logo, products, and message) but also has the potential for instant revenue (instead of waiting for the right person to see or hear your ad and pick up the phone). Maybe you think I am a glutton for punishment or that I hate myself because I am going through all the same troubles again so soon, but it does get easier the second time around. I now have two open stores operating well below full potential; but business is growing steadily, and this is the calm before the storm for holiday shopping at our mall location. One of the things we went over in class that I found to be very true: It is very important to have a highly visible and memorable logo. I can’t tell you how many people have come into my store because of my logo just to see what we are all about. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Avista Center. Building 1
Blazing Printz
Visit Online
www.blazingprintz.com
This is your chance to find that special gift.