Case Study: JERRY VEAL
Business: Owner, gsijobs, Global
     Anesthesia Services and AYCON
Location: Athens, Ga.
College: Athens Technical College

Jerry Veal had already earned a four-year degree and been an entrepreneur when he decided to enroll in Athens Technical College to pursue a career in anesthesia.

“The technical education was integral,” says Veal, who received an associate’s degree in nursing.

Veal heard there might be some business for a specialized anesthesia staffing agency, so he began Global Anesthesia Services in 1998 and in 2003 bought a Web company, AYCON. He recently diversified his holdings by creating gsijobs, a general staffing agency.

“It’s a natural evolution from the medical staffing,” he explains about the two businesses, whose more than 100 employees will serve clients nationally in 2004.

c o n t i n u e d   f r o m   p r e v i o u s   p a g e

“Collaboration of community stakeholders gathered to support micro entrepreneurs in their efforts to develop a sustainable business helps overall economic growth,” says Duzenski.

“Technical colleges have targeted their markets well by
locating many entrepreneurship programs in growing communities that can benefit from stable entrepreneurial activity,” says DeAnn H. Dent of Middle Georgia Technical College in Warner Robins. “Hopefully we’ll see an increase in the small-business success rate across Georgia.”

Middle Georgia Tech has targeted entrepreneurs by offering a diploma and an associate’s degree in marketing management, as well as a small-business management certificate that includes many of the elements of an entrepreneurship program. According to Dent, the main focus of the school’s programs is directed toward developing a business plan and managing finances, giving entrepreneurs a solid foundation in the basics of launching a business.

“It’s not enough to hang out your shingle and wait for business,” Dent says.

Sandersville Technical College developed an entrepreneurship program after conducting a survey among businesses in its five-county service area and discovering a significant interest in entrepreneurship programs, according to Jack Sterrett, president of Sandersville Tech. The curriculum of the certificate program in entrepreneurship, which was launched a year ago, includes two marketing courses, one management course and an internship. “It’s aimed at small-business owners,” says Sterrett, noting that smaller ventures dominate his service area. “But it also appeals to those who have a dream.”

Staying in business
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 230,000
people in Georgia were self-employed in 2001. Two-thirds of new businesses survive at least two years, and nearly one-half survive at least four years.

Case Study: TONYA L. MINTZ
Business: Publisher, Atlanta Hair magazine
Location: Duluth, Ga.
College: Gwinnett Technical College

When Tonya L. Mintz enrolled in Gwinnett Technical College in 2001, her business, Voila Communications, had stalled. Circulation for her magazine, Atlanta Hair, wasn’t growing. She didn’t know what to do.

After she enrolled in Gwinnett Tech’s marketing management degree program, the first thing she learned was how to write a business plan. After that, everything fell into place.

“I had goals for my business in my head,” she says. “Once they were on paper, I was able to make them happen.”

Within two years, she doubled the magazine’s circulation to 25,000, added a part-time employee and was named a regional winner of the Global 2003 Student Entrepreneur Award, sponsored by St. Louis University.

“At Gwinnett Tech, I learned that hope isn’t a business strategy,” she says.