Event

Veteran Business Ownership Resources

May 4 3:00 pm — 4:30 pm

Event Details

Join Pete Estrada from the NorCal VBOC and Veteran guest speaker, Lawrence Garcia with AmeriGuard Security. 

  • Hear from successful Veteran business owners on how they’ve started up and succeeded as business owners.
  • Learn from local resource partners that are helping Veterans get small businesses going and keep them growing.
  • Find out about programs, certifications, and other resources that are helping Veterans start their businesses.
  • Live question & answer session

About the Presenter

Pete Estrada
Pete Estrada, Business Consultant

Pete is a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Honorably served four years with one term in the Republic of Vietnam. Twenty years of entrepreneurial experience as a business owner and ten years as a coach/consultant with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Named Boots to Business Instructor of the Year in 2015 while serving as the Veteran Business Development officer. Pete has also served as the Business Opportunity Specialist while employed at the SBA and looks forward to helping other Veterans achieve success in their business venture.

About the Guest Speaker

Lawrence Garcia, President CEO AmeriGuard Security

After his discharge from the U.S. Navy, Lawrence worked as an EMT/paramedic for American Ambulance, as a Firefighter for North Central Fire District in Fresno County and as an Emergency Room Technician at Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno. In 1998 Lawrence entered Peace Officer Training Academy at Fresno City College with the plan to follow in his father’s footsteps as a sheriff. In 2000 tragedy struck the Garcia family when their father passed away unexpectedly. Lawrence was the last person to see his father alive and held him in his arms while performing CPR. This is when Lawrence’s life came to a screeching halt; his family needed him then to take over his father’s business. Lawrence, merely two weeks away from graduating to become a Sheriff’s deputy, immediately took the helm of the family business and ensured that all outstanding obligations were met and that his mother did not have to be concerned about the business and financial needs of the family until all existing contractual obligations were finalized in 2003.

In 2002, Lawrence decided to start his own business, AmeriGuard Security Services, Inc. This business started with some of the old clients of his father’s business who wanted to stay with a proven formula and with a reliable and professional security guard service provider. This business has grown from 20 employees in 2002 to recently at times more than 600 guards with annual revenues in excess of $15 Million in 2017. AmeriGuard provides armed security services to Federal agencies throughout the United States at various high-level facilities requiring Secret cleared guards. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur and business owner, Lawrence has also committed himself to serve his community. In 2014 he became a planning commissioner for the City of Fresno and in 2018 he was appointed by the governor of California to serve on two disciplinary committees with the Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.

The information provided in this webinar and any supplementary materials provided to registrants are intended for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute professional financial or legal advice. No registrant should act or fail to act on the basis of any material contained in this webinar without obtaining proper financial, legal or other professional advice specific to their situation. The Northern CaliforniaSmall Business Development Center, and its host, the HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation, specifically disclaims any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the information presented in this webinar. By registering for this webinar you acknowledge and agree that you have read, understood, accept and agree to the above disclaimer and that under no circumstances shall the Northern California Small Business Development Center or it’s host, the HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation, be held liable for any claims, losses, or damages of any kind or nature arising out of or in any way related to the information provided in this webinar and/or the registrant’s use of or reliance on said information.

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