There are many young people in our community with the bold aspirations of pursuing their passions of starting their own businesses.

Unfortunately, too often, these visions and the courage accompanied with them, succumb to many obstacles.

"The challenge is that sometimes these budding entrepreneurs have no guidance on where to begin. So, we launched a special program aimed at tomorrow's entrepreneurs," stated Paul De La Cerda, director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), hosted by College of the Canyons.

Through creative partnerships, the SBDC's Young Entrepreneurs Program (Y.E.P) will implement business training programs and offer free business counseling aimed at young people between the ages of 14 and 27.

Y.E.P will be diverse in outreach and delivery methods. Websites, blogs, social networking sites, virtual reality games, engaging youth-oriented trainers and business simulation products will be used to teach business management, finance, marketing, sales and e-commerce skills.

The ultimate desired outcome for Y.E.P. is to have young people more interested in self-employment as a career option.

Through Y.E.P. projects, students will also garner transferable business skills for both self-employment and the job market, see relevance of education and choose to stay in school or pursue higher education and develop life-management and problem-solving skills.

SBDC is sponsoring a free summer program for junior high, high school and college students, an annual regional business plan competition and a new business blog and Web site is underway.

The Young Entrepreneurs Program is free - space is limited.

Call 661-294-9375 or e-mail sbdc@canyons.edu to register or learn more today!