Help Me Help You Program launched Thursday, Sept. 22, with great success, now going global

“Help Me Help You,” Tusculum College’s new business program for small business owners and entrepreneurs held its first session on Thursday, Sept. 22, at the Thomas J. Garland Library on the college’s main campus.

With a total of nine participants and eight monitors, this 10-week course aims to create a mutual learning environment between students and small business owners that has the full support of Tusculum College administration, the Business Department, the Center for Civic Advancement, the Bonner Leaders program and the Office of Institutional Advancement. In addition, it also counts the support of the Greene County Partnership, as well as the financial support of Atmos Energy Corporation and local business leaders Scott Niswonger and Tom Ferguson.

The overwhelming support the program has received in Greeneville, in addition to its innovative concept of providing benefits for all of the different stakeholders, has helped the Help Me Help You program carry through with the negotiations of implementing the program overseas starting March 2012.

Following the idea of helping underdeveloped regions, Help Me Help You has gone from the Appalachian Region to Concepción, Chile, which was one of the zones that was most affected by the 8.8 earthquake that hit the country on Feb. 27, 2010.

Luis Zamora, co-founder, director of global operations, and Tusculum College HMHU program coordinator said, “As a Chilean, it fills me with pride to be able to not only help here in Greeneville, but also in Chile, especially in a zone that was immensely affected by the massive earthquake that occurred last year, from which much of the country’s reconstruction is still to be done. I would also like to mention that this has all been possible thanks to the great alliance we are currently developing with Universidad del Bio-Bio and its organization Asociacion Universitaria de Jovenes Emprendedores.  Overall, I would like to thank everyone that has supported the program here as well as in Chile, especially the Tusculum College participants and monitors, AUJE, and Rodrigo Gimenez, Director of Operations in Chile.”

Regarding the program in Greeneville, Zamora said he was “overwhelmed with joy” regarding the results of the first session. “I have been privileged to work with the amazing quality of monitors we currently have, and I am also extremely excited after hearing about the greatly diverse, yet incredibly promising, businesses we will be working with throughout this fall semester.”

The list of businesses and participants of the course include Sam Gajardo, with his art gallery, custom canvas art, licensed tattoo and body piercing studio, Tintura Visual Concepts; Terry Webb, recent owner of the 43-year established business, Artistic Printers; Bryan Wright, owner of the Farm at Spring Creek, which specializes in providing a unique farm life experience with accommodations in an authentic reconstructed log cabin and basic homesteading classes and seminars; Eric and Lynette Price, owners of Creamy Cup, a drive-thru business specializing in the sale of ice-cream, fresh-roasted coffee, handcrafted espresso drinks and fruit smoothies, and Brian and Kim Ward, owners of Ward Auction & Appraisals, a business that enjoyed great success in Chicago, Ill., and is now starting to develop in Greeneville after the couple decided to come and live in the beautiful Smokey Mountains.

In addition, two participants have joined the program with the hope that their business idea develops into a fully-grown established business. Additional participants are Warren Verity with his business idea W. Verity Photography, which intends to become a photography studio with the goal of developing a co-op that enables to employ several photographers under one studio that offers all of the photography services the customer requires under one same roof, and Walter “Gene” Maddox, who has inspired all of the group beyond imagination by, despite being visually impaired, wanting to succeed in the business world through his business idea of an online health and nutrition business.

Applications are open for the 2012 spring semester course, which will take place between January 19 and April 12.  Registration and additional information are available by calling 423-636-7304 or by emailing lzamora@HMHU.org.

Participants in the first Help Me Help You small business and entrepreneurial program at Tusculum College are from left to right, back row, student Sam Underwood, student Andy Goellner, student and co-founder Luis Zamora, student Andres Jarquin, student Paul Bergvin and student Matthew McKeever. Middle row from left, student Steven Hollingshead, Warren Verity, Brian Ward, Kim Ward, Terry Webb and student David Talley. Front row, Eric Price, Lynette Price and Gene Maddox. Two additional participants not pictured are Sam Gajardo and Bryan Wright.