SBA Introduces New Online Course for Young Entrepreneurs in Spanish
Young entrepreneurs have a new tool to help determine if they’re ready for business ownership and to help them get started. Young Entrepreneurs: An Essential Guide to Starting Your Own Business (Jóvenes Emprendedores) is a free, self-paced online course in Spanish that gives an overview of basic business principles and introduces resources available from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“This month, the SBA recognizes the vital contributions Hispanic American small business owners have made to our economy as we observe National Hispanic Heritage Month,” said Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA Administrator. “As a proud Hispanic American, I believe that providing financial, educational and technical assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs is a major means to create jobs and stimulate the economy. The new course is an essential business development tool for young entrepreneurs that can be central to the future success for many generations to come.”
The Young Entrepreneurs course is designed to help with the essentials of starting a small business, including evaluating business ideas, choosing the best financing options and registering a business. The course also includes useful resources that will help with each step along the path to entrepreneurial success.
The course is accessible from the SBA’s Learning Center under the banner “Starting a Business” at http://go.usa.gov/mnFT, and is also available in English. The Spanish version of the course includes a special video introduction. Young Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs will receive a personal greeting from SBA Administrator Contreras-Sweet when taking the course.
Together, SBA and GobiernoUSA.gov will host a live Hangout on Thursday, September 25 to chat about the new online course and entrepreneurship with Sarah Farzam, owner of Bilingual Birdies, a foreign language and live music company that encourages cross-cultural awareness through combining language and music. Farzam will answer questions about getting started as a young entrepreneur.
Hangout participants can submit questions for Farzam by email to learning@sba.gov or tweet questions using the hashtag #jovenesempresarios. No registration is needed to watch.
To join the conversation and watch live, go to https://plus.google.com/u/1/b/109740293027006618740/events/cb3oitffipifl4t42t9bd7uq0f4 for a live stream of the Hangout. The live Hangout will start at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Obama Administration has a good record of SBA assistance to the Latino community, and the SBA’s 7(a) loan guarantee program has increased its level of assistance to Hispanic-owned businesses over the last five year period.
The agency has placed more than $3.3 billion in loans to Hispanic business owners over the four-year span from 2009 through 2013. And this year, SBA’s 7(a) lending pace has already exceeded last year’s volume, attaining a level of more than $857 million.”
