CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands – December 2, 2014 - The V.I. Economic Development Authority’s Disaster Small-Midsized Enterprises Incubation Program and the Small Business Camp will debut their book titled, "The 16-Week Challenge Launch Pad: Small Business Owners Pursuing Excellence", during their book launch event on Tuesday December 9, 2014. This event will be held in the Atrium of the Innovative Business Office in Estate Diamond on St. Croix from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
The book will feature local entrepreneurs who participated in the Small Business Camp Weekend from October 17-19, 2014 on St. Croix. Also in this book, these entrepreneurs will share their ideas, business ventures, goals for the camp's 16-week challenge, and the lessons they learned during the intensive weekend camp which can inspire others.
“This book will definitely send a strong message to our local community and the world that the USVI has a thriving entrepreneurial spirit. It will also reflect that the Small Business Camp participants are determined to be successful as they take the initiative to discover what they need to do to improve their skills in business or learn how to become entrepreneurs," said Percival E. Clouden, VIEDA’s chief executive officer.
Small Business Camp Weekend is an intensive three-day program that allows the participants to walk in with just an idea and leave with a website, press release, comprehensive marketing plan and 90-days of follow-up coaching. Andrew Morrison, the president of Small Business Camp and a VIEDA DSME Incubator Program consultant, is an entrepreneur who facilitated the weekend activities and brings many years of entrepreneurial coaching to the program.
Morrison has delivered this program to hundreds of people across U.S. cities such as Chicago, Orlando, New York, Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington D.C. in addition to international locations such as Jamaica and Nigeria.
“I was delighted that everyone enjoyed the initial three-day training. But now comes the hard part. The participants have 16 weeks to make money! Our book will give the community a close look at the various small business owners in the V.I. and hopefully motivate others to start their own journey towards entrepreneurship,” said Mr. Morrison.
Morrison has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Network Journal; Crain’s 40 under 40 and Advertising Age. Morrison previously built a multi-million dollar company by providing innovative direct marketing services to Fortune 500 companies and has trained thousands of entrepreneurs from Hawaii to Nigeria and lectured at Harvard University.
According to the VIEDA’s Incubation Program Manager Cusa Holloway, “The SBC event was a great success. Entrepreneurs in various business sectors were able to receive valuable advice on how to start a business or expand their existing businesses. Not only were they able to receive advice, but they were able to network and create their own entrepreneurial support system.”
The VIEDA Disaster Small-Midsized Enterprise Incubation Program was awarded a grant in the amount of $1 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration to provide consultants and support services to entrepreneurs and small businesses that were affected by natural disasters on the island of St. Croix. For more information, please contact Incubator Program Manager Cusa Holloway at 340.719.2037.
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