Riechel Reports.... San Mateo County Libraries (SMCL) hosted two CO.STARTERS entrepreneur programs in 2016

Article Source: Vivian Stiassny

San Mateo County Libraries (SMCL) Champions Entrepreneurs - Enrollment for Spring and Fall 2017 CO.STARTERS Program is Open

San Mateo County Libraries (SMCL) hosted two CO.STARTERS entrepreneur programs in 2016. In each, sixteen small businesses, and/or individuals with a business idea, applied and were selected to participate as a member of a Cohort, and committed to attend each 3-hour session during the 9-week program.

Experienced entrepreneur and businesswoman, Vivian Stiassny, President of VStrategic.biz, is facilitator of the SMCL CO.STARTERS program. “I was excited to be chosen as the first facilitator for the CO.STARTERS program in San Mateo County. I am so proud of the growth experienced by the businesses that committed to and completed the 9 weeks. The value of the program is in building a solid business foundation. It was important for me to quickly cultivate an encouraging and trusting setting so members would be comfortable sharing their ideas and giving and receiving advice. Members learn from and support one another; helping each other to question and shape their idea. I can’t wait to see how each business continues to develop and integrates into our local communities.

CO.STARTERS is a nationally renowned platform that helps communities grow local businesses. The nine-week program was founded on principals of simplicity, intuition, sustainability and collaboration. It supports aspiring entrepreneurs and equips them with the insights, relationships and tools needed to turn their business idea into action.

Each entrepreneur completes the program with a deeper understanding of how to create, support and articulate the value of their business idea. CO.STARTERS participants are encouraged to think small first; to build and continuously test their assumptions by asking for and receiving real-time feedback and updating their idea to meet customer needs. This validation helps them avoid creating/doing business based on unproven expectations. Inspired by The Business Model Canvas, the CO.STARTERS Canvas provides a personalized visual map to aid in understanding, organizing and evaluating each business idea.

After completing the program, and depending on how far they’ve come in their business ownership journey, participants have a number of options available to them in the County, including the San Mateo Small Business Development Center (San Mateo), the Renaissance Center (East Palo Alto), and the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center (San Bruno).

On-line applications are accepted continuously at http://smcl.org/faq/co-starters/#co-starters (under How Do I Get a Space in the CO.STARTERS program?). The next CO.STARTERS program will start April 18, 2017.

To learn more about the San Mateo County Libraries CO.STARTERS program, visit http://smcl.org/small-business-development/.

Questions? Email garciaa@smcl.org.

For more information on CO.STARTERS, visit www.costarters.co.

=

Robert Riechel

E=Mail: SanBrunoPatch.Robert@Yahoo.com

WEB: http://SanBrunoPatch.com

My Posts: http://patch.com/users/robert-riechel

Photo Credit: San Bruno CA Patch Archives

Source Credit: Vivian Stiassny

CLICK on link below to Subscribe to News Alerts and a Daily Email Newsletter for San Bruno Patch

http://link.patch.com/join/3-0-subscribe?list=US_CA_SANBRUNO_282