Time running out on ESD's entrepreneurial training program? -- Career Center Blog

January 19, 2012

Time running out on ESD's entrepreneurial training program?

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By Randy Woods
NWjobs

For many of the long-time unemployed, the idea of starting and running their own business is a tantalizing dream of self-reliance. (Wouldn't you love to be your own boss this week and declare your own snow days?)

Some of these budding entrepreneurs, however, are held back by the daunting challenge of getting a business off the ground while still juggling a mortgage. Also, those who may have a great idea for a startup don't always know the first thing about writing business plans.

Fortunately, certain Washington state workers who collect unemployment insurance (UI) payments may be able to take part in a woefully underused program offered by the Employment Security Department (ESD) called the Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP). This program allows a select number of people who are about to run out of UI benefits to receive an extension by entering an approved program of instruction on how to start a business. ESD doesn't provide direct funding for the training or any other financing in new businesses, but it does continue to make UI payments to participants and waives the requirements for them to actively look for new work while they're studying.

Daryl Murrow, a Lacey-based career coach and certified SEAP training provider, offers a six-month course that includes 10 weeks of webinar and classroom instruction, followed by 18 weeks of counseling and weekly coaching sessions. "When you're trying to start a company, you have to fully understand the planning process and objectively look at what it costs to get a business started," he says. "One of our students described [SEAP] as a way to rebuild our economy one business at a time."

The knowledge level of SEAP participants runs the gamut, from complete beginners to those who already have launched a startup. In the latter category is Jim Hutchins, founder of information technology firm South Sound IT. He had soft-launched his company in May 2010, but began SEAP classes with Murrow that November to finalize his business plan and to hone his accounting and marketing skills.

Since completing the course in March 2011, Hutchins says one of the best things he learned was the importance of creating and sticking to a marketing budget. "Daryl gives you an opportunity to see your mistakes before you make them," Hutchins says. "He showed me how I could find out what the correct price points were. A lot of other companies started with higher rates, and now they're drying up."

There are, however, a couple of catches. (Aren't there always a few?) First, the ESD has to declare you eligible for training, based on your previous income, education level and your chosen field. Also, the SEAP has an expiration date. After operating for five years as a pilot project, SEAP is set to expire in July unless the state deems the program worthy of renewal.

In a report submitted to the state Legislature, ESD received feedback from 582 of the more than 1,100 SEAP participants and found that less than 1 percent of UI claimants eligible for SEAP took part in the program. Since the program began in 2008, a total of 370 new businesses have been created statewide, generating an estimated 184 new full- and part-time jobs.

Currently, the Legislature is performing a cost-benefit analysis of these SEAP findings, but there is no guarantee that funding will be renewed after July 1. So, if you have an entrepreneurial bone in your body, check out ESD's FAQ page for SEAP and see if you can take advantage of a terrific opportunity while you still can.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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Under Employed | January 25, 2012 11:17 AM | Reply

It would be nice if the state would also support the underemployed by extending this program to them, even at a modest fee, in order to help them rise out of the stalemate of being overqualified and underpaid in the menial job they are enduring in order to pay their mortgages!