Summer Internship - Call for Companies to Receive Interns

The BEDC is looking for companies that need help growing their business!

Do you need help developing growth strategies to increase your company’s profits? Could you use a new marketing or branding plan, financial projections, or improvements in your daily operations? Are you looking to increase your customers or go after a different market segment, but don’t really know how? If you or someone you know is in this position, then let us help make those decisions.

The UW’s Business and Economic Development Center (BEDC) is seeking to match summer interns with companies who are looking to grow when the economy turns around. We are specifically looking for companies that are owned by people of color and women as well as companies in the White Center, South Park, and Delridge neighborhoods for our 2009 BEDC Summer Internship Program.

In the last two years, this internship program had student interns work with companies on a range of projects which led to $4.2 million in new revenues and reduced expenses for our clients. Through partnerships with enterpriseSeattle, Safeco Insurance and Turner Construction, the 2009 summer internship program will provide minority- and women-owned businesses with 11 weeks of intensive business consulting, access to cutting edge business management techniques, hands-on assistance for operations problem solving and capturing new business opportunities. We are now accepting applications from local entrepreneurs!

Contact Wil Tutol at (206) 616-1216 for more information or download our information packet to learn how to participate in this program.

Minority Business Executive Program assists minority business leaders, owners to grow their companies

The deadline for registering for the 2009 Minority Business Executive Program (MBEP) is coming up fast. Register by June 1st as space is limited!  This accelerated one-week intensive program is for companies with revenues of more than $300,000. Along with an incredible peer group of other successful business owners you will learn to utilize financial tools to make more effective decisions, develop and understand long-term strategic plans for growth and sustainability, market products and services more effectively, manage processes and projects more efficiently and further develop your leadership skills.  This program will utilize interactivity through a combination of lectures, discussions, guest speakers, panels, interactive simulations, team exercises, and self-assessments. Participants will gain knowledge, tools, and a valuable network to help you achieve your business goals.

Learn more about the MBEP by visiting the MBEP homepage or contacting Jennifer Lang at (206) 616-6426.

Register now for 2009 BEDC Luncheon

The Business and Economic Development Center is pleased to announce our 14th Annual Report to the Community Luncheon, the largest annual gathering of people committed to business development in economically distressed/emerging communities in Seattle. We are honored to have David Allen, Executive Vice President of McKinstry, as this year's keynote speaker.  [more...]

Save the Date: Ernest I.J. Aguilar Dinner and Auction Endowment Fundraiser

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, July 18, 2009, as the Aguilar Scholarship Committee, the Latino community, and the Business and Economic Development Center are pleased to host the 2009 Ernest I.J. Aguilar Dinner and Auction Endowment Fundraiser.  Join us for an evening of fine dining and spirited auctioning as we celebrate the first endowed scholarship for Latino MBA students in the nation.

Contact Jesse Robbins at (206) 543-3681 for more information or download our sponsorship information packet to learn how to participate and sponsor this milestone event for the Latino community.

Wells Fargo supports the BEDC Board Fellows Program

The BEDC’s Board Fellows Program kicked-off its 9th year earlier this month when 44 MBA and MPH students met with the 27 nonprofit agencies they will be working with over the next 12 months. Board Fellows serve as non-voting board members for 12 months.  During this time, the Board Fellows take a quarter-long course, entitled Nonprofit Board Governance and Leadership, which allows them to accelerate their learning and make a substantial contribution to their agency. This year also represents the first time that both students from the Foster School of Business and the Evans School of Public Affairs will participate.  [more...]

Nominate a company for the 2009 Minority Business of the Year Awards

The BEDC is now accepting nominations for this year's Minority Business of the Year Awards.  Anyone may submit a nomination; businesses may even nominate themselves.  The nomination process is quick and easy: simply visit our nomination page and provide the required information.  Once a business is nominated, they are also automatically nominated for the Puget Sound Business Journal's two most popular lists: the 25 Fastest Growing and the 50 Largest Minority Owned Companies.  Award winners will be invited to our Minority Business of the Year Awards dinner in December and will be featured in a Puget Sound Business Journal article.

Nominations will be accepted only through our on-line form and the deadline for nominating a company will be July 31. All nominees will submit their completed applications in August. For more information, please contact Jesse Robbins at (206) 543-3681.