DSU’s Business Resource Center Helps Entrepreneurs Launch Towards Success

You might have heard that St. George is currently the 5th fastest growing metro area across the whole United States, but did you also know a 2020 report by WalletHub ranked the city of St. George number one in the nation for the best small cities to start a business?

If you have an awesome invention or business idea but no clue where to start, the Business Resource Center, located at DSU’s Atwood Innovation Plaza, has resources and information you need in order to create and launch your business successfully.

The Business Resource Center offers a Launch Series designed specifically for brand-new business owners and entrepreneurs. The 4-week, virtual series and follow-up business advising is no-cost thanks to a grant provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The class teaches individuals how to successfully launch and grow a business. Participants learn about market testing, business development, financial strategy and more.

CEO and founder of OG Creative, Oreo Ogunsola, is just one example of how the Business Resource Center has not only increased his small business knowledge, but molded his future as a digital design business owner.

“I developed a business model that I believed had good potential, but there was still a lot of uncertainty,” said Oreo. “The Launch Series helped clear my clouded vision about starting an actual business, providing me access to valuable resources, mentorship, and a good platform to grow a business from the ground up.”

After moving to St. George from Nigeria in May of 2017, Oreo started his college career at Dixie State University with big dreams, however like most college students, found his passion along the journey.

Now finishing his senior year, Oreo spends most of his time between books and building his business: OG Creative.

OG Creative is a Utah-based digital marketing agency, partnering with brands and agencies to create effective and sustainable strategies for all aspects of digital marketing, with a focus on search engine optimization, logo creation, content marketing and websites. Their recent Take Off initiative is a pricing package designed to help startup businesses literally “take off!”

Business Resource Center Outreach Manager, Colette Cox expressed delight in the diversity they’ve seen since the program launched in October 2020. “One notable highlight is that 49% of the Launch Series participants are women and 28% of participants are minorities, which is outstanding considering our service area make up has only an 8% minority population.”

Truly, anyone is welcome to come see what the Business Resource Center and Atwood Innovation Plaza is all about. No matter your age, ethnicity, or gender, the doors are wide open and awaiting your presence.

Within the past six months, Innovation Plaza has provided 316 business consultations and is home to nearly 30 incubating companies, including OG Creative, Eden Tech, SoftCell and the Trula Foundation.

“My greatest accomplishment is witnessing these businesses succeed,” Colette said, “Even through the challenges and difficulties of launching our program during COVID-19, we have found much growth and success; however, it feels like we are just getting started.”

The Launch Series is the perfect start-up guide to anyone wanting to turn their million-dollar business or idea into a reality. Classes aren’t limited to DSU students, but are open to anyone looking for guidance around the Southern Utah region!

“The Launch Series gave me the push I needed to step up to real-life situations and solve real-life problems,” said Oreo.

To learn more about the Launch Series, visit innovation.utahtech.edu/business-resource-center-at-dsu/brc-launch-series/ or, for more information about OG Creative, go to ogcreative.net/.