­­Jeff and Rich Sloan, entrepreneur experts and co-founders of StartupNation, will be the keynote speakers at the 2006 Entrepreneur Conference hosted by College of the Canyons on October 31, 2006.

 

After a stint as successful entrepreneurs themselves, the Sloan Brothers founded Startup Nation, a media company offering advice to small business owners.  Their website attracts a quarter million visitors per month, and their radio program is heard nationally in 80 markets.  They are also authors of the StartUp Nation: Open for Business.

 

The half-day conference will provide tips to small businesses and budding entrepreneurs about start up challenges, planning for business growth, and accessing capital.  The Sloan Brothers are known for witty, down-to-earth advice and audience credibility based on their own experience as entrepreneurs. According the US Small Business Administration, 550,000 small businesses are started every year.   California is home to 2.6 million small businesses with half the state’s employment in small business. 98 percent of all

California businesses have fewer than five employees.

 

In northern Los Angeles County, the Small Business Development Center at College of the Canyons serves a 2,838 square mile service area including much of the San Fernando Valley, the entire Santa Clarita Valley, and the greater Antelope Valley.  Within this service area, entrepreneurship and small business is booming. With small businesses being the economic engine for business growth in our region, College of the Canyons is committed to providing resources like the Sloan Brothers to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the area. Said Dena Maloney, Dean of Economic Development at College of the Canyons. Their insights and small business tips will help small business owners and entrepreneurs capitalize on opportunities and avoid some of the common mistakes people make when thinking about building their business.

 

In its 2005-06 Report, the San Fernando Valley Research Center noted that the percentage of Valley residents declaring self-employment income is high and rising. An analysis of Valley residents income tax statements indicate that 22.5 percent of tax filers showed self-employment income, up from 21.5 percent in 2001 and far outpacing California as a whole with 16.6 percent overall. In the Santa Clarita Valley, most businesses are small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.  And in the Antelope Valley, the economy is increasingly diversifying from aerospace to other industries.  A recent Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance (GAVEA) report indicates that the percentage of employment related to aerospace dropped from 22 percent in 1990 down to 7 percent in 2006.  In the City of Palmdale alone, new business licenses rose 9 percent in 2006. The Entrepreneur Conference will provide timely information to entrepreneurs and small business owners in northern Los Angeles County, notes Peter Bellas, Director of the Center for Applied Competitive Technologies at College of the Canyons.  It will be equally valuable to entrepreneurs who have a great idea involving technology as well as those small business owners and entrepreneurs in the retail or service sector.

 

The conference is sponsored by the College of the Canyons Center for Applied Competitive Technologies, the Small Business Development Center hosted by College of the Canyons, and the California Community College Economic and Workforce Development Division.

 

To learn more about the conference, visit www.canyonsconference.com or call the College of the Canyons Economic Development Division (661) 259-3874.   For more details on the Sloan Brothers, visit www.startupnation.com