People: Janis Eggleston: starting them up the ladder

"The good part was learning to get along with a variety of cultures. What I didn't do so well in was walking around with books on my head." Janis Eggleston doesn't look like a woman who could ever, even at the most exacting of Swiss boarding schools, flunk book-walking. The poised, elegant 41-year-old sits ramrod-straight in her chair, her manicured hands placed gracefully on the table. "I got the posture part," she admits. "And I was fine at sitting. It was just when they added the books. I guess I never really got finished."

Never mind. That was 20 years ago. Since then, not one single person has asked Eggleston to walk anywhere with a collection of books on head.

The other aspects of her Swiss boarding school education, those that that brought the Barbados native into contact with the privileged world of European culture, have served her well. "I don't think I could do what I do if I hadn't been exposed to so many different cultures."

Eggleston is executive director of Start Up, which she defines as "an East Palo Alto micro-business initiative." More specifically, the three-person, non-profit organization offers an entrepreneurial training program for people in the "east of Bayshore community" (East Palo Alto, eastern Menlo Park and some exceptions) and arranges small business loans to get them started.

The loans, which are only given to those who complete the program, are micro as well: $250 to $5,000. By the end of this year, the 1 1/2-year-old organization will have trained 43 in small business ownership and arranged for 11 loans. The businesses run the gamut from Global Access, an online, multimedia entertainment service, to a marketing and advertising agency.

Before aligning herself with Start Up, Eggleston had never been to East Palo Alto. "I was terrified. Everything I knew about it came from television and the newspapers. When I went past the freeway exit, I drove by so fast."

What she found was altogether different. "I knew I was coming back whether they offered me the job or not. I felt like, here was a community where people were coming together to heal themselves and make things better."

Eggleston came to Start Up with two degrees, one in European economics and one in business, and 15 years of experience working in the legal department of Barclay's Bank in London and Barbados. She came to the United States in 1979, worked for a few other banks, and wanted change. "One day I just said to myself, 'You know, I'm real young and I've not done anything else. It's time to try.'"

She wasn't idle long. Within months, the city of San Jose hired her to help develop an enterprise zone and the YWCA began scheduling her to give seminars for women on how to get loans. And when Start Up was starting up, they placed the courtship call.

It was the best (professionally related) call she's ever had. "I've gotten five times out of this job what I put into it. What's even more exciting is what it's bringing to my daughter," she said, referring to her 2-year-old, Ashley. "I really think it's bringing a richness to her life that would not have been there, a richness I might not even have known was missing. A richness of community."

--Diane Sussman

Start-Up is located at 1945 University Ave., East Palo Alto. For information, call 321-2193.

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