Graduates of County Course Mean Business

The well-dressed business owners who, with families in tow, packed a boardroom at the Ventura County Government Center on Tuesday, looked like they could have been attending their children’s high school graduation.

Instead, they were attending their own.

With county supervisors looking on, 64 students of the Ventura County Entrepreneur Academy graduated from the program. The ceremony capped three months of classes in which students--owners of small, local businesses--studied ways to improve marketing, planning and cash management.

The Board of Supervisors created the academy two years ago hoping that by training local entrepreneurs to run their businesses more efficiently, the county could boost local employment.

Academy instructor Bill Parker thanked the supervisors for their support and reminded them of the importance of entrepreneurs in the modern economy.

“I would offer to you that entrepreneurship is the greatest renewable resource in a democratic society,” he said.

Several students said they had already seen changes in their businesses--and their attitudes--since the last class in December.

Ann Reeves, who runs a time-management consulting service in Ojai, said she had just landed a new contract, in part by using techniques she learned at the academy.

Academy instructors told the students to tailor each sales pitch to individual clients, so Reeves emphasized how the different services she offers--individual training, group seminars--could work for the small insurance company she wanted to sign. She also made sure not to underprice her services, something Parker often cited as a frequent, potentially damaging, mistake.

“I just went at it with a lot more confidence,” she said. “This has definitely helped me.”

Attorney Lisa Danny-Roberts of Ventura said the academy had given her a network of fellow business people to turn to for advice.

“When I need something, the first place I go is the entrepreneur class list,” she said.

The academy’s spring classes will soon begin. About 50 people have already signed up for the Simi Valley class, which begins Jan. 17, said academy administrator Hui Ling Tanouye. Another class, in Oxnard, begins Jan. 25.

For more information, contact the county’s Personnel Department, 654-2622.