At Southwest Tennessee Community College (SWTCC) in Memphis, TN, a goal is to make entrepreneurship a hot topic across its campuses. During the 2013-2014 school year, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) at SWTCC launched its inaugural “Spark the Dream CEO/Entrepreneurship Series” as a way to get students thinking about entrepreneurship. TSBDC determined the best way to spark the dream of business ownership amongst students was to bring some of Memphis’ most successful entrepreneurs on campus to share their intimate entrepreneurial stories.
Prior speakers included Kemmons Wilson, Jr., son of Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson and David Boyd, owner of four popular D’bo’s Wings-n-More locations. Recently, Sandra Walls, President & CEO of AVPOL International, a leading woman-owned logistical support company stopped by to share her story with students. Featured in Black Enterprise Magazine and one of INC 5000 fastest growing companies, Sandra Walls shared how her 22 years of service in the military helped groom her to become a discipline business owner. Ms. Walls extended an invitation to help mentor students who would like to start a business sooner rather than later. TSBDC plans to continue the Spark the Dream: CEO/Entrepreneurship Series during the 2014-2015 school year.