Long Beach City College Joins National Entrepreneurship Forum

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Long Beach City College Joins National Entrepreneurship Forum

President Oakley Gives Major Address at Miami Workforce Conference on Entrepreneurship

January 27, 2012

The initiative is in response to the Obama Administration’s call to action to stimulate economic growth state by state by encouraging entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. To date, over 100 community college presents have joined NACCE’s Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum.

LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley, who has taken a national leadership role in promoting entrepreneurship and small business development, is in Miami, Florida today giving a luncheon address at the 19th Annual Workforce Development Institute. He is speaking about the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum, and the important role of Community Colleges in small business development.

"As part of the California’s higher education community, we feel it is imperative to support entrepreneurship through our academic programs and active engagement in the region,” said LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley. "New businesses are vital to job creation and economic growth.”

President Oakley also spoke about the impressive jobs record and economic contributions that Long Beach City College has made through its partnership with the Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program.

In 2011, the SBDC, a federal SBA program which is managed and operated by Long Beach City College, produced the following economic impact:

• 3,670 small business jobs created or retained
• $97 million in revenue increases for regional small businesses
• $67 million in new capital infusion for regional small businesses
• 290 new business start-ups

Through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, Long Beach City College has helped more than 95 local small business owners who have participated in the intensive training and program:

• 50% of the small business owners in the program have added employees
• 75% of the small business owners have seen an increase in sales or seen their business grow after completing the program

The Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum was launched at the White House in January 2011 and works to dramatically increase the prevalence and success of American entrepreneurs. Community college presidents who join the Forum make five commitments:

• Develop transparency of community college and community assets
  
• Create internal and external teams dedicated to entrepreneurship
  
• Increase entrepreneurs’ engagement in community colleges
• Engage in industry cluster development
  
• Create broad exposure to their college’s commitment to entrepreneurship.

About the Long Beach City College SBDC
The SBDC hosted by Long Beach City College serves the Greater Long Beach area, Los Angeles, Ventura County and Santa Barbara. The SBDC provides workshops and one-on-one advising to small business owners at little or no cost. They advise in areas such as finance, marketing, international trade, operations, social media, emerging technology and more.

About NACCE
The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is an organization of educators, entrepreneurs, and distinguished business development professionals providing quality programs and services in entrepreneurship education and serving as advocates for "entrepreneurship movement.” Through membership, an annual conference and exhibition, a quarterly journal, monthly webinars and podcasts, a dynamic list-serv, and other resources, NACCE serves as the hub for the dissemination and integration of knowledge and successful practices regarding entrepreneurship education and student business incubation.

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