Since the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020, more people have been forced to look at entrepreneurship as a vital source of income. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 13 percent in Shelby County during the pandemic, making becoming your own boss more attractive than ever.
The rise of the gig economy, coupled with the job instability during the pandemic, has college students looking for ways to parlay their education into entrepreneurial pursuits. To respond to this demand, Tennessee Small Business Development Center has relaunched the Spark the Dream presentation series featuring local entrepreneurs sharing their stories and lessons learned to help the next generation of entrepreneurs not only survive, but also thrive as business owners.
Southwest Business and Legal Studies professor Joan McGrory says the series will provide Southwest students and the broader community invaluable exposure to innovative, visionary entrepreneurs who are thriving during pandemic. “The goal is to encourage and inspire our students and area budding entrepreneurs to see who they can be tomorrow through the personal journeys of local business leaders today.”
This year’s featured speaker is Taiwo Stanback, co-founder of Youdle, an award-winning “shop local” community mobile app launched during the pandemic that crowdsources data on what merchandise is in stock locally so shoppers can find what they need faster. The app started out in April 2020 as a Facebook group in Memphis, Tennessee, called "Product Sightings" when members began crowdsourcing real-time sightings of coveted pandemic products spotted in stores and online.
Stanback will share how she and fellow group founders grew Youdle with guidance from the TSBDC. “We honestly don’t know if we would have made it this far without the help of The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Southwest Tennessee Community College,” Stanback said. “We highly recommend this resource to any person starting a business in the greater Memphis area”
Presentations will be virtual to offer the safest and most convenient access to Southwest students and the community. Stanback will present to students Feb. 22 at 10:50 a.m. during a session that is open to the public as well.
To further address the growing need for students in entrepreneurship, the Business and Legal Studies department at Southwest Tennessee Community College has launched an Associate of Applied Science degree in business, entrepreneurship with a small business management concentration. Visit southwest.tn.edu to learn more about this exciting new program.
For more information about Spark the Dream, budding entrepreneurs should contact TSBDC at nbranch@tsbdc.org to request a link to the meeting.
For over 30 years, the TSBDC network helps small business owners, entrepreneurs, and individuals with business ideas, providing access to financial and technical resources needed to establish and grow businesses competing in the global marketplace. Business owners can make an appointment to speak with a TSBDC professional advisor at www.tsbdc.org.
