STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The Yampa Valley Entrepreneurship Center at Colorado Mountain College Steamboat Springs is hosting the 8th annual community business plan competition for 2019.  This program promotes effective planning for new business startups.  With a well written plan, entrepreneurs have a better chance of finding funding, recruiting talented employees, addressing the needs of customers and solving operational challenges.  

As part of this competition, a business plan writing workshop will be offered at 6 p.m.  June 19 in Classroom 213 at the Academic Center at CMC.  Topics covered in this free workshop include, identifying your target market, defining your product or service as a customer value, financial forecasts, operations, marketing and sales strategies.  To register for one of these workshops, call 970-870-4491.

The winning participants will receive a first prize of $7,000, and a second prize of $5,000 plus other benefits.  This year the Steamboat Pilot & Today will offer the winner an in kind package digital marketing package worth up to $2,000.  Plans are due by Sept. 30.  Finalists will present their business concept to a panel of business mentors from Yampa Valley SCORE in October.  Plans are to be submitted  to rrudasics@coloradomtn.edu.  For judging criteria and rules, visit coloradomtn.edu/yvec or call 970-870-4491.   The competition is hosted by Colorado Mountain College and Yampa Valley SCORE and is supported with many community sponsors including, Program Sponsor Startup Colorado and several Entrepreneurial Champion Prize Sponsors including city of Steamboat Springs, Alpine Bank, Mountain Valley Bank, Vectra Bank and Yampa Valley Bank.