Highline College’s “StartZone” Helps Future, Current Business Owners

Highline Community College’s StartZone helped Chris Stiles (whose painting is pictured above), who has autism that limits his ability to communicate, and his family start a small business where he could share his artwork with others.

Stiles, 40, has been drawing since he was about 10 years old.

“For years friends and neighbors encouraged us to sell Chris’ artwork,” said Julie Stiles, a family member. “We didn’t know where to begin. When we tried to open a business bank account without a business license, the bank referred us to StartZone.”

Chris Stiles Art isn’t the only business to benefit from Highline’s program. Since opening in October 2008, the program has helped more than 70 people who want to start or expand their business.

StartZone helps women, people of color, immigrants and people with disabilities start or grow a small business in Southwest King County.

“We get our members on the path to owning a profitable business,” said Mike Skinner, StartZone’s program manager. “By helping them overcome barriers, we are giving them a fighting chance at success.”

Members receive support from a diverse and multilingual staff of StartZone’s specialists who have been successful at running small businesses and have financial, marketing or other business experience.

StartZone services are free to members and include assessments, referrals, business consulting and planning, loan packaging, workshops, mentoring and opportunities for networking and peer support.

StartZone also works closely with Highline’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The SBDC provides counseling, resources and technical assistance for small and medium-size business owners, managers and entrepreneurs in Southwest King County.

StartZone offers orientations from 6-6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month at the HCC Outreach Center (Building 99), room 132, 23835 Pacific Highway South in Kent.

For more information about StartZone, call (206) 878-3710, ext. 3388, e-mail startzone@highline.edu or visit http://startzone.highline.edu.

For more information about Chris Stiles Art, e-mail art@artautistic.com or visit www.artautistic.com.

Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County. With approximately 10,000 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the state’s largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with day, evening, online and weekend classes.

With the most diverse population of any college in Washington state, Highline takes a multicultural approach to education for the success of all its students and the prosperity of its surrounding communities. Alumni include former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, entrepreneur Junki Yoshida and Washington state poet laureate Sam Green, and, at one time, even Waterland Blog Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer.