11:30am | Long Beach City College is pleased to announce the latest group of small business owners to graduate from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Long Beach City College. With this group, 95 businesses have participated in the program at Long Beach City College since its launch in June 2010. The program, designed to create jobs and assist businesses to grow and expand, is now accepting applications for its next cohort which will commence in September 2012. 
 
“Small Businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and we are committed to providing resources and access to capital for these emerging enterprises,” said Long Beach City College President Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “Long Beach City College is proud of all the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program graduates, many of whom are already making impressive gains in their businesses.”
 
The Long Beach City College and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses partnership is already making an economic impact. Data from the inaugural cohorts in New York and Long Beach show that 50% of the small businesses have added employees and 75% of the small businesses have increased revenues within six months of graduation from the program.
 
“The program provided me with courage to keep moving and growing my business. We have hired 12 employees since the start of the program because the program enabled me to take calculated risks”, said Armen Alajian, owner of ARTO Brick and California Pavers, a U.S. manufacturer and distributor of tile, brick, architectural elements and precast concrete based in Gardena, CA.
 
“I always had a vision that I could create a firm that allowed all my employees to make a good living doing what we love,” said past graduate Andrea Galvin, Principal for Galvin Preservation Associates, a Redondo Beach-based company that provides consulting services in architectural history, history, planning, environmental compliance, and regulatory permitting since 2003.

Upcoming March Information Sessions:

Wednesdays, 5:30 – 7:00 PM
Fridays, 9:30 – 11:00 AM
Location: Long Beach City College
4900 East Conant Street, Building O-2, Room 234, Long Beach, CA 90808

Monday, March 26, 1-3PM
Location: Small Business Development Center hosted by College of the Canyons
26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Room 107
Santa Clarita, CA 91355

For more information and the latest schedules please visit www.lbcc.edu/10000smallbusinesses, call (866) 680-9880 or email [email protected].