EVANSTON — Jumpstart Evanston, a local nonprofit organization, offers a free program that teaches entrepreneurs the basics of business operations and offers qualifying businesses an opportunity to compete for startup funding.

According to Evanston Community Development Director Rocco O’Neill, an average of 32 people attended this year’s eight weeks of classes, which started on Jan. 15. Classes cover writing a business plan, business accounting, laws and business licensing, business finance and small business marketing.

Coaches leading the classes were Rob Condie, Small Business Development Center (SBDC); Nate Sponenburgh, Sponenburgh & Co.; Nathan Prete, Dustbusters; David Benton, First Bank; Jayson Bailey, CWG Marketing; and Lance Norris, Dare 2B Safe.

Jumpstart 2025 completed their fifth-year of classes on March 14, “pitch night,” when participants pitched their business plan and request for funding to a panel of judges. Judges this year were Taylor Semers with State Bank, Dan Wheeler, Erica Bailey with CWG Marketing; Lance Norris with Dare 2B Safe and Evanston Mayor Kent Williams.

Out of the 30-plus people attending classes, 13 finalists submitted business plans. Those 13 were: Alkaline H2O To Go (Deborah Jackson), Pro Paw (Andrew and Shasta Hopkin), Ivy’s Italian Ice (Dominic Patrick), Andy’s Mobile Wrench (Walker Andreasen), Heroes Realm 2.0 (Brandon Wilson), Bear Lake Home Services (Brandon Linton), GiGi’s Coffeehouse (Gina Jones and Gina Black), Grizz’s Auto and Repair (Marty Herman), Kell on Wheels (Racquelle Comb), Sunset Trails Candles (LeAnn Carson), Meadowlark Mind & Body (Brandon Jaggi), Mapworqs LLC (Paul Morgan) and Bluebird Berries (Heather Lloyd).

The following businesses were awarded grants:

• Bear Lake Home Services

• GiGi’s Coffeehouse

• Grizz’s Auto and Repair

• Kell on Wheels

• Sunset Trails Candles

• Meadowlark Mind & Body

• Mapworqs LLC

• Bluebird Berries.

LeAnn and Harry Carson and family own Sunset Trails Candles company. LeAnn attended all of the Jumpstart classes.

“I loved Jumpstart; every week I learned something new,” she said. “Any business owner should go through the course; it is an amazing experience.”

LeAnn said she and her husband started experimenting with making candles in their home three years ago. They did a lot of self-research and tried different processes and fragrances from different companies.

They began selling their products at the Evanston Farmers Market and different local events, including the recent Women’s Conference. They have also traveled regionally to sell their candles at craft fairs. The Wild Things & Floral shop in Lyman markets their product as well.

In June of 2024, they opened their storefront at 700 Main St., Suite B. Carson said they hope to expand in the future with more gift items, magnets and key chains.

Harry Carson makes all of the handmade, hand-poured candles, melts and squeeze melts for warmers. He uses a soy wax blend and a wooden wick which crackles as it burns and lasts longer than cotton wicks.

They add the maximum amount of fragrance the scent candle will hold so the scent will last for the entire burn. The scent candles come in a variety of sizes and they also make candles for special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, memorials and with company logos.

“We have learned through trial and error what works best,” Carson said. “Our grandson has lung issues so we make sure the fragrances we use do not contain phthalate, as that causes problems for many people.”

LeAnn and her daughter create some of the designs on their stainless to-go cups they sell and some of the designs they purchase from an online company. The store workroom has a sublimation printer which bakes the design onto the to-go cup.

The $1,500 grant the Carsons won from Jumpstart will go toward purchasing a larger sublimation printer and other supplies.

Brandon Jaggi, owner of Meadowlark Mind & Body won a $2,000 grant from Jumpstart. Jaggi specializes in psychiatric medication management, hormone replacement therapy and personalized health solutions.

“Some of the information, like the tax stuff was overwhelming,” he said. “I decided I will have to hire an accountant to do that. The marketing and advertising class was very helpful because I’m not good at marketing myself. I depend on word of mouth and, in Wyoming, people are reluctant to tell someone else they saw a counselor.”

Jaggi started as an LLC in May of 2024 and started receiving clients in September of 2024 at his office at 913 Center St.

Jaggi recently hired a management firm to assist him in getting licensed in Utah and Nebraska, which cost him $2,000 and the Jumpstart grant money will be used for that fee.

“I would recommend the Jumpstart program to others wanting to start a business,” Jaggi said. “I was pretty clueless. I started my business right out of college and had no other income. Jumpstart was very helpful in giving me a grasp [on] what is involved in starting and running a business.”

Gina Jones and Gina Black of GiGi’s Coffeehouse were winners of a $2500 Jumpstart grant, which they plan to use to purchase a refrigerated chef prep table for their kitchen. Jones and Black attended all of the classes and found them all to be very helpful. They both said the help with writing a business plan was extremely important and they learned a lot from the marketing and legal classes as well.

Jones said, “We just jumped into business in November of 2024, with only our own research, and now we have a business plan that will help us in writing for future grants.”

“Jumpstart gave us a good foundation and covered all aspects of business that I have never thought about,” Black said. “I would recommend the program to anyone in business.”

Black and Jones said their future plans for growth are to hire more employees, do deliveries, extend their hours into the evenings, feature live music, and more outside seating in the summer.

Evanston will have a unique food truck soon if Heather and Cameron Lloyd’s plans for “Bluebird Berries” comes to completion. The couple are remodeling a two-space horse trailer into a food truck where they will be serving mocktails and berry infused drinks, a variety of berries covered in chocolate, and baked goods. They plan to purchase berries locally as much as possible and are planning to apply for a liquor license so they can eventually sell cocktails and cater for weddings.

The $700 grant they received from Jumpstart will go toward the purchase of a refrigerator or a three-basin sink for the food truck.

Heather Morrow Lloyd said, “I knew nothing about any of the information they gave. It gave us the groundwork on how to be successful. The business plan, who to contact, where to go for help and how to approach a bank for loans — all of the information made it all seem doable.”

Jumpstart Evanston will run another series of business classes next year. This spring, Jumpstart will be working with EHS teacher Susan Evans Saxton’s DECA class. They will help students write a business plan, hold a competition where the students will give a mini-pitch for a grant and Jumpstart will provide a $1500 scholarship to the winner.

Jumpstart will open a 529 education business savings account for the scholarship. The check for the winner will be sent to the school they will be attending; it must be a Wyoming school.