Samantha Simon, businesswoman, author and Salt Lake Community College alumni, is giving back to the school and the community as a business and entrepreneur mentor for students at SLCC.
Simon will be speaking and answering questions at a panel discussion on management at SLCC’s “Entreprecurious” event in the Student Center at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus on Monday, Nov. 12.
“I believe life should be an exciting adventure full of imagination,” said Simon of her business experience and her book.
Businesswoman, author and entrepreneur
Simon was attending SLCC, working towards her general education requirements and business education when she started her own business, the Samak Smoke House and Country Store. She ran the company, selling beef jerky and gift baskets for eight years.
After selling her business, Simon went back to school and finished a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. She then started a real estate company out of Utah County that helped others make money investing in real estate. Things changed for her financially after the housing market fell. She had always wanted to be a published author. She loved to draw and wanted to write something marketable that people could use.
That’s where her seven year old nephew Clyde comes into the picture. When Clyde was two years old, she would take him around Utah and find fun things to do. She would call them “Utah Adventures”. Many of her friends and neighbors would ask her what they had planned for that weekend. She had the idea to write a book for parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles of things to do with kids during the weekends.
Her book is entitled, “Utah 4 Kids”, and is filled with ideas of places that she discovered with her nephew. The book also contains her own drawings of little creatures called “Fardoodles” that get kids connected and engaged with the book.
Simon wants to help mentor and connect with students, entrepreneurs, authors and anyone who wants to start their own business
She expressed how the direction and guidance of the Business Department and professors at SLCC had been helpful to her and that she wants to give back. She said that classes and books can only help so much, and that it was through connecting with people that she was really able to succeed.
“Books will teach some things, but then you have to get in the trenches,” said Simon.
Entreprecurious is an annual event hosted by the Business Department and DECA at SLCC that organizes “presentations, workshops, networking, and competitive events to help hopeful entrepreneurs gain the knowledge, leverage, and tools needed to start and operate their own businesses”.
For a list of speakers visit the Entreprecurious page on Facebook. Simon’s book is sold at the Taylorsville Redwood campus bookstore and will be distributed to the other SLCC bookstores. Visit her website at utah4kids.com for more information.