“You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” –Ted Turner, Entrepreneur
Last Thursday, Plaza Adelante’s main conference room was filled to the brim with 27 budding entrepreneurs—out of a group of 34 graduates of MEDA’s Business Development workshop—who each came to celebrate the achievement of taking a microbusiness dream on the path to becoming a reality.
This free workshop comprises six sessions and teaches such essentials as marketing strategies and preparing a business plan to how to apply for a commercial loan and optimize technology to improve your business. Linked to this program is MEDA’s no-cost Financial Capability program, the thread that ties together the nonprofit’s innovative service-integration model.
Inspirational talks were given by a trio of MEDA staff. First up was Mattias Kraemer, Deputy Director of Asset Building, who revved up the crowd with a bilingual speech extolling the beauty of taking an idea and making it a successful business.
Next up was Business Development Coach Sabrina Haman (top photo, center), who inspired the attendees by playing a video telling the stories of famous businesspersons and their initial obstacles to success. Two visionaries featured were Ted Turner and Mrs. Fields. Haman counseled the crowd to never give up on their dream. 
Finally, Edwin Rodriguez (top photo, left), who leads the Business Development program, entreated the crowd to use their newly gained knowledge to push forward with their venture.
When asked to explain what clients learn from the workshop, Rodriguez stated, “Once they complete and graduate from our training, they have a better understanding of what it takes to plan, formalize, launch and operates a business. They understand how important it is to bring their business to the community. They understand how important it is to have a presence on the Internet and to use social media as a marketing tool. They are creating jobs.”
The graduates displayed a camaraderie, acting as cheerleaders for each others’ business models. MEDA wishes all graduates the best as their microbusiness ideas comes to fruition.
If you are interested in free business development workshops, please contact us: (415) 282-3334 ext. 101; business@medasf.org.
