When Yolonda Watson ’16 signed up for the Entrepreneurship & Innovation course offered by the Center for Entrepreneurship at St. Francis College, she knew she would learn a few things about how to improve her travel business. But what she didn’t know was it would lead to her getting a $2,000 loan that positions her business to really take off.
“I enjoyed the presenters that took time out of their busy schedule to come to class and inform us of their business and products to help entrepreneurs,” said Watson.
One of the guest speakers for the course was a representative from Accion, a nonprofit organization that offers training, resources, and loans to small business. She immediately followed up with the presenter and applied for a loan.
Yolonda had been growing her business, Destiny Tours & Travel, slowly but surely through word of mouth. But now, the loan made it possible to purchase a computer and significantly ramp up her business.
A Professional Studies major, Yolonda is already seeing the results.
The combination of the new computer with information from the class has helped her become more efficient and able to handle more and bigger travel bookings for her growing list of clients.
Accion is not the only organization having an immediate impact. Yolonda is also now working with Capital One bank in hopes of setting up a line of credit that can help her continue to grow.
The Center for Entrepreneurship is committed to promoting social entrepreneurship which is about building a business venture that offers social value by creating jobs, wealth and opportunities for the community at large. Through education, research, and programs, the Center promotes entrepreneurial activities and initiatives. Go to sfc.edu/entrepreneur for more information.
