Press release from AARP Mountain Region:
A shrinking job market caused by a range of factors that includes technological advances, an economic recession and the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted America. And the greater Asheville area and Buncombe County are no exception.
The current unemployment in Buncombe County was 7.5% in the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in August. This compares to 3.2% August a year ago.
The timing is perfect to help those who became recently unemployed due to downsizing or lay-offs, or retirees who want to pursue something they’re passionate about, and want to take the first steps toward starting a new business in this chapter of their lives. AARP Mountain Region and North Carolina Small Business Technology and Development Center have teamed up to offer such a class.
The North Carolina Small Business Technology and Development Center (SBTDC), in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), is a business advisory resource for growing and developing businesses.
“SBTDC is looking forward to partnering with AARP Mountain Region to offer a free, virtual class called “First Steps to Entrepreneurship”, said Benjamin Robbins, business launch specialist at SBTDC. “This class is perfect for those over 50 who are interested in transforming their passions, ideas or hobbies into a business. Sherree Lucas , my co-instructor, and I hope that this course will create prosperous business opportunities for our community.”
This four-week, four-session virtual course entitled “Taking the First Steps to Entrepreneurship” is from 10 a.m. to noon and starts Wednesday, October 28th.
Taught on a Zoom conference call, the class is free to the public but limited to the first 20 people who register. To register, if you are reading this digitally, click the link here. You can also email Sherree Lucas directly at slucas@sherree.consulting and she’ll send you the link via email.
“What makes this course unique is the combination of business classes with other topics important for a 50+ entrepreneur,” said Lucas. “We’ll be teaching the principles of an entrepreneurial mindset as well as sharing information, based on a proven neuroscientific premise, that Baby Boomers are undergoing a biological change to their brains that allow them to perform at their highest creative levels. And creativity is vitally important in starting a new business.”
Lucas, a long-time Silicon Valley marketing specialist who moved to Asheville last year, brings a resume of entrepreneurial achievements with start-up businesses. She is a recent Leadership Asheville graduate, SCORE mentor and AARP volunteer focused on encore (50+) entrepreneurship in Western North Carolina.
Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 25 years, her passion is working with entrepreneurs to help them take an idea, hobby, passion, or skill and turn it into a business. Her focus is people in the second chapter of their careers and/or lives, meaning they are ready to do something new and different, as well as meaningful, with their time and resources.
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