MillerCoors recently marked the hallmark 10-year anniversary of it’s highlycompetitive and celebrious MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneur Series and Business Plan Competition with a gala event at its Chicago headquarters. Since the program’s inception in 1999, MUES has awarded nearly $1.5 million dollars in business grants to young entrepreneurs from around the nation between ages 21-35. MUES is currently looking for a new crop of industrious and highly-talented entrepreneurs to invest in.
MillerCoors has become the quintessential example of corporate reciprocity through its efforts to increase employment in the urban communities in which they do business. Company executive Larry Waters oversees the national entrepreneurial contest that provides tools, mentorship, advice and capital to the best young minds to establish and strengthen their businesses.
“It was our way of helping to empower smaller businesses [and] helping them receive funding through winning our business plan competition and … the resources that we make available through the program,” says Waters, MillerCoors vice president of multicultural relations. “That is in alignment with MillerCoors’ objectives of strengthening and empowering communities. And it is our hope that the businesses will one day become vendors of MillerCoors, and if not MillerCoors, within our network of business partners.
MillerCoors has expanded the MUES program by providing resources online so that many more young entrepreneur aspirants from around the nation can get involved. In addition to sound business skills and a marketable service and/or product, Waters says prospective entrepreneurs should possess a specific set of intangible characteristics.
“You gotta have that dream about what you wanna do. Perseverance, honesty, integrity, innovation and more importantly, you have to have that passion to stick to it so that you continue on no matter what adversity you face. That plan that you developed — you have to be organized [and] be analytical so that you have a road map that you follow. And you have to be open to make changes to whatever the … business environment is dictating needs to be done in order to be successful.”
The MUES results have been lauded from coast to coast. More than 50 percent of the businesses that have won MUES competitions and funding are still operating today. Some have even come full circle to become contractors with MillerCoors or one of their strategic partners.
“You can have a dream from childhood and never had the funding to realize that dream. If you win or take advantage of the help to put you on the track to make that dream come true, it will give [the dream] the booster shot to make it come true and improve it,” concludes Waters. –terry shropshire
For more information, please log on to www.millercoorsmues.com.
