MillerCoors Continues to Provide Resources to Small Businesses in Tough Economy, 11th Year in a Row

CHICAGO, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- MillerCoors continues to empower urban and multicultural communities by offering small businesses the unique opportunity to vie for $150,000 in business grants with its signature program, the MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneurs Series (MUES) and Business Plan Competition. The award-winning program, which debuted in 1999, provides training and resources to aspiring entrepreneurs and has awarded more than 1.4 million dollars in small business grants since its inception.

"The MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneurs Series (MUES) was created to help empower small urban businesses and we are proud to continue our commitment. In this tough economic climate, we recognize that entrepreneurship is the driving force to our country's economic recovery," said Larry Waters, director of multicultural relations for MillerCoors. "The talent we see through our competition is quite impressive and we hope that that these businesses will one day become MillerCoors suppliers," he continued.

An integral component of MUES is the Business Plan Competition, which grants aspiring professionals start-up capital for their new or existing businesses. This year's top winner will be awarded a $50,000 grant, and four others will each receive $25,000 grants. Competitors also have the opportunity to become a potential qualified MillerCoors supplier. The competition is open to participants between the ages of 21 and 35 and their business existence must not exceed five years. All entries must be submitted to www.MillerCoorsMUES.com by Friday, October 1, 2010 at 12:00 noon (CDT). More than 1,500 business plans have been submitted to the MUES program and more than 100 urban entrepreneurs have received support from MillerCoors. More than 50 percent of past winning business are still operating and still benefiting urban communities by providing jobs and sustaining economic growth and development.

The MUES website, www.MillerCoorsMUES.com, houses all MUES information such as business resources and MUES TV - which broadcasts videos giving a behind-the-scenes look at the competition, the application and instructions on how to submit a business plan. The Web site provides much-needed tools for rising entrepreneurs to start, run and expand their businesses efficiently through podcasts and links that will help them to:

• Create a workable business plan
• Understand the financials of operating a small business
• Communicate what makes their business unique
• Learn to use social media and other web-based marketing tools

MUES also provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs to network and gain valuable insight from judges, community partners and other business owners with the help of Twitter, Facebook and the MUES blog. The 2009 grand-prize winner Rex Wills commented that the resources and networking MUES provides is invaluable, "Seek a mentor, not only from the business level, but from a personal perspective, because being an entrepreneur and a leader has as much to do with you as it does your business. I encourage participants to connect with current and past winners. No one knows the true experience of being in the judging room other than people who have reached that level."

MillerCoors partners with several business organizations such as the Atlanta Business League, the Chicago Urban League, the Detroit Urban League, the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Dallas, the Urban League of Greater Dallas and North Central Texas, Recycling Black Dollars of Los Angeles, the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Urban League, Statewide Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Latin American Chamber of Commerce, and the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

For all information on MUES, including official rules, application and requirements of the Business Plan Competition and helpful resources for developing a business plan, visit www.MillerCoorsMUES.com.

About MillerCoors

Built on a foundation of great beer brands and more than 288 years of brewing heritage, MillerCoors continues the commitment of its founders to brew the highest quality beers. MillerCoors is the second largest beer company in America, capturing nearly 30 percent of U.S. beer sales. Led by two of the best-selling beers in the industry, MillerCoors has a broad portfolio of highly complementary brands across every major industry segment. Miller Lite is the great tasting beer that established the American light beer category in 1975, and Coors Light is the brand that introduced consumers to refreshment as cold as the Rockies. MGD 64 completes the company's premium light beer portfolio, offering consumers fresh, crisp taste at just 64 calories. MillerCoors brews premium beers Coors Banquet and Miller Genuine Draft; and economy brands Miller High Life and Keystone Light. The company also imports Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch and Molson Canadian and offers innovative products such as Miller Chill and Sparks. MillerCoors features craft brews from the Jacob Leinenkugel Company, Blue Moon Brewing Company and the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company. MillerCoors operates eight major breweries in the U.S., as well as the Leinenkugel's craft brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI and two microbreweries, the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee and the Blue Moon Brewing Company at Coors Field in Denver. MillerCoors vision is to create America's best beer company by driving profitable industry growth. MillerCoors insists on building its brands the right way through brewing quality, responsible marketing and environmental and community impact. MillerCoors is a joint venture of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company.

SOURCE MillerCoors