Beth Gasser

After high school, I attended and graduated with a BA in Sociology from Southwest State University. Intent on working in social services and corrections, owning a business was far from my radar.

After getting married and deciding with my husband to start a web design company, I was helping out in the evening with books. My husband learned of the Small Business Administration degree and personalized coaching at Ridgewater College and enrolled in the three-year program. What he was learning and the help he was receiving was so valuable, that once he finished, I enrolled.

I spent three years attending night classes once a month learning about small business, processes, sales, marketing, and finances; all topics I didn’t study during my first college degree. Now I say that I have a Sociology and a Small Business Degree; both are very helpful in understanding people and communication styles that marketing encompasses.

We’ve owned Vivid Image, our marketing and web design business for 24 years. I look back at my Ridgewater experience as instrumental in helping me feel equipped to own and run a business. I stay connected with Ridgewater College, as two of my daughters have pursued PSEO options there. It’s fun hear about what’s going on and encourage them to get involved.