A little business talk at OCC today

Alicia Robinson

If you’ve always dreamed of being your own boss, there are about 75

people in Costa Mesa who have some advice for you.

Orange Coast College is holding its fifth annual small business

conference and expo today featuring a talk by five-time Olympic

athlete and small business owner Connie Paraskevin-Young, workshops

on small business topics and exhibits by 75 companies that serve

small businesses’ needs.

“What we’re trying to do with this conference is encourage the

brand new and the relatively new business owners to learn the best

way to make their business a success because so many of them fail in

the first few years,” said Janis Dinwiddie of Dinwiddie Events, which

is coordinating the conference for Orange Coast College.

With health insurance and workers’ compensation costs steadily on

the rise, running a small business is becoming more expensive, said

Ivan Calderon, a co-founder of the Costa Mesa-based Taco Mesa

restaurant chain. Taco Mesa is an exhibitor at today’s conference and

was named small business of the year at the 2003 conference.

“The climate is one where everybody has to sharpen up to stay

afloat,” Calderon said. “It’s getting tougher and tougher, so one has

to come up with ways to do business in a more streamlined way.”

The conference can show entrepreneurs the resources that are

available and help them with networking, he said.

One thing that sets the business conference apart from others is

the educational workshops to help people start or run a business,

Dinwiddie said. Several short workshops will be held in the morning

on conducting business online, networking, how to avoid common

business mistakes and other topics. Longer sessions in the afternoon

cover using computer accounting software, reading financial reports

and successful marketing skills.

All of the presenters in the workshops are also exhibitors in the

business expo, so conference attendees will have the chance to talk

with them one-on-one and ask questions before and after the

workshops.

The conference will also features a talk on “The Love of the

Challenge” by Paraskevin-Young, a former Olympic cyclist and speed

skater who won national and world titles in her sports. She now runs

a fitness and cycling training center and a sports marketing business

in Corona del Mar.

She will discuss how people can find out what motivates them in

business and their lives and how to stay focused on their business

plan even when faced with setbacks.

“It really kind of identifies what drives us from within to

perform our best at whatever it is,” Paraskevin-Young said. “What

those motivators are for everyone is different.”

Tickets to the small business conference and expo are available at

the door for $89. Proceeds benefit OCC’s business division and the

Orange Coast College Foundation, which offers scholarships to

students and provides grants to school faculty. The event is

scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Orange Coast College, 2701

Fairview Road.