New entrepreneurs gather for like-minded meeting
New entrepreneurs gather for like-minded meeting
Turnout exceeds hosts' expectations
MOSES LAKE — The faces around the table might just be those of the business future.
More than 25 people gathered in a meeting room at Big Bend Community College's Advanced Technologies and Education Center Wednesday evening for the first in a brand-new learning program for new and would-be entrepreneurs.
Those in attendance heard first from an example business, Coulee Dam-Ephrata Plumbing, owned for 14 years by Jody and Rick Froebe, who related their own experiences starting up and operating.
Following his speaking engagement with the group, Rick said he hoped to convey that while starting a business is a lot of work, there's a lot of fun involved as well.
"You can enjoy yourself and as long as you're enjoying your work, you can be successful," he said.
Indicating to the people in the room, Rick added, "You've got a lot of people in here that can combine their talents, and you could actually make a corporation out of the people that are in here right now with the ideas that they have." Those in attendance included people in advertising, real estate and marketing, he noted. "You've got everything you want, right here, and right there you could make a business or corporation."
Jacie Daschel, Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce president and Vision 2020 chair, and Sally Goodwin, executive director of Moses Lake Business Association, spoke about the opportunities available and challenges involved in launching a new business.
Far from being formal, questions and comments sprang forth from attendees for both presentations, and Allan Peterson, small business development counselor for BBCC's Center for Business and Industry Services, and Business at the Bend advisor Chris Fargo both noted that an important part of the meeting was to provide a networking opportunity for like-minded individuals.
"I am very excited from what I saw — the enthusiasm from people that want to do this, want to discuss and want to know about getting in business and what the area has to provide for them," Peterson said. "It was more than I thought it would be. It was positive, upbeat and it will go forward, because we'll be covering more specific topics."
Fargo said he noticed an initial awkwardness, but things warmed up quickly.
"It seems like these are people who really want to start a business, and this is going to be a great place for them," he said. "That fog wasn't in the room of people being uncomfortable and not talking to one another. I thought it really opened up … This is certainly more than I had hoped for."
Quincy resident Larry Sanchez said that he was in attendance because he is interested in opening a family restaurant and also a real estate venture. He was drawn to the possibility of sitting down with business people and absorbing what worked for them, he said.
"I'm going to try and attend as many of these programs as I can, and the classes that they're going to offer," Sanchez said.
Washington Mutual personal financial representatives Chanda Mckinney and Nicole McEachern said they were in attendance because they promote small businesses within their jobs, and wanted to see what services were available.
"I didn't know that they had business counseling," Mckinney said, noting that she also made several other contacts. "I think the main thing is that it's great here in Moses Lake that our college is offering this counseling, because we do get a lot of customers that are looking at starting up a business but they never do because they don't have the right guidance, so we can have somewhere to send them."
Cassandra Lorenz wanted to glean what other people are doing to market their businesses and learn what she can to help her own business, the Mothers On a Mission (MOM) Team and the Collectively Empowering Others (CEO) Network, which helps mothers work from home.
"I thought it was real interesting to learn about how much sacrifice is out there with start-up fees and how hard it is to really get your business going," Lorenz said.
Darlene Slade said she probably will retire from her job in 15 years or so, and may hope to start a business to sell it upon retirement.
"It's just ideas and just to broaden my mind," she said. "I may not ever start a business, but the knowledge can be valuable."
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