Washington Coast Works: Sustainable Small Business Competition (wacoastworks.org) offers budding entrepreneurs an opportunity to develop skills, get support and win cash to launch sustainable small businesses. The winner will receive $10,000 in startup funding and two semifinalists will receive $5,000 each.

Last year, 12 contestants participated in the Coast Works Boot Camp and Pitch Clinic and three winners are now working to launch their new businesses.

This year, Coast Works is joined by Enterprise for Equity, a business development program with a 20-year track record of success in helping people start and grow small businesses in rural communities. Enterprise for Equity will be providing a variety of ongoing business training and support. Coast Works contestants will be selected from graduates of Enterprise for Equity’s Business Readiness Workshop and will participate in its Business Planning Program.

Coast Works kicks off with six community “ideation” events, to be held Feb. 1-4 in Taholah, Aberdeen, Amanda Park, La Push, Forks and Neah Bay (visit http://wacoastworks.org/ideation-events/ for details on locations and dates).

These three-hour workshops will:

• Answer all your questions about the competition and Enterprise for Equity, including how to apply, how the finalists and winners will be selected, what training and support will be provided, and more.

• Introduce you to the entrepreneur’s mindset, the opportunity discovery process, and sustainable “triple bottom line” businesses.

• Engage you in brainstorming activities designed to help generate ideas for new sustainable businesses that build leadership, contribute to conservation and keep money in the local economy.

Through chalk talks and group activities, attendees will brainstorm business ideas that transform problems and needs in local communities into profitable businesses that produce social and environmental benefits — and meet the criteria for the competition!

Ideation events are free and open to the general public.

Coast Works contestants must attend an Ideation Event or make separate arrangements to complete an Enterprise for Equity Information Session. Non-contestants are encouraged to participate, too. To register, complete Enterprise for Equity’s Business Plan Training registration form at www.enterpriseforequity.org/intake.

Once a registration form is submitted, a member of the Coast Works team will call to discuss the next steps. For questions regarding the registration process, contact Enterprise for Equity by email at office@enterpriseforequity.org or by phone at 360-704-3375. Contact the Coast Works team at info@wacoastworks.org for questions or for more information about the competition.

The competition is being presented by The Nature Conservancy in partnership with Enterprise for Equity (with support from a USDA Rural Business Development Grant), Pinchot University’s Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship and the Taala Fund.