LBCC receives $30,000 Grant from Verizon to support Young Entrepreneur Project

Long Beach City College (LBCC) has been awarded a $30,000 grant from Verizon to support its Young Entrepreneur Project.  The Young Entrepreneur Project (YEP) is an accelerated 7-week training program designed to teach participants the fundamentals of starting and running a small business, and to assist potential entrepreneurs in identifying if entrepreneurship is an option for their current or future aspirations.

“Helping to create jobs for our students and to grow the local economy is a vital function of community colleges,” said LBCC President Eloy Oakley.  “LBCC is grateful to Verizon for supporting this program because it is helping to create opportunities that otherwise would not exist for our students.”

“Verizon is delighted to support Long Beach City College’s Young Entrepreneur Project. It’s an important program for strengthening our communities by growing and developing our future entrepreneurs,” said Mike Murray, Verizon’s Director-Government & External Affairs.

Participants in the YEP start with an orientation session, followed by the intense 7-week training program that provides tangible skills that will give them the basic knowledge required to start and run a small business enterprise.  “At the end of this program, our students know the basics of how to start their own company and have contacts with other local business experts,” said Bret O’Connor, the YEP Coordinator. “We have helped hundreds of young people explore entrepreneurship as a career path and helped launch new businesses.  For example, some of our graduates are now selling custom suits that they manufacture in China and another group started a promotions company.”

The Young Entrepreneur Project is a program of the Small Business Development Center at Long Beach City College. The SBDC provides one-on-one business advising and training seminars in marketing, financing, business start-up, international trade, and procurement programs to small businesses. The SBDC can be reached at 562-938-5020.