Eureka, Calif. – The 2013 Economic Fuel competition that encourages Humboldt County college students to become local entrepreneurs is already attracting teams, and Strategic eMarketing founder Emanuel Rose has agreed to act as a volunteer advisor for the competition.

Economic Fuel: The Humboldt County Student Business Challenge is a business plan competition that launches each fall and culminates the following spring. Several teams compete for a chance to win part of $117,000 in seed capital to get their business started. As a part of the process, students get a chance to participate in business workshops and forums, as well as develop relationships with business professionals through the advisor program.

Working with community advisors gives teams a chance to build their business network and “learn about real world applications” of their knowledge, said Kathy Miller, Economic Fuel coordinator.

“We have over 40 community advisors who take on different roles and use different methods to support the competitors,” Miller said. “Some like to talk with competitors early on in the process, some like to work in-depth with one team and some like to be a part of the last minute business plan evaluation.”

With over 20 years of business experience in product development, sales and marketing, Emanuel Rose will act as a resource for teams on creating and optimizing marketing campaigns to generate sales growth and achieving results by focusing on the customer first. He said he hopes to work with a tech-focused team and review last minute business plan submissions for veracity.

“I’m looking forward to helping students create effective business plans that they can implement successfully in this market,” he said. “Economic Fuel provides a great opportunity for students to create their own niche in Humboldt County and to the markets outside of our county.”

Teams have until February 1 to register to compete in Economic Fuel, with business plans due on March 25. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on April 26.

About Strategic eMarketing:
This Eureka, CA based marketing and advertising company develops transactional marketing campaigns that integrate search engine optimization, social media branding and performance tracking through strategies that include local search, SEO, website design, social media, internet marketing, advertising and public relations. http://strategicemarketing.com/