Many times, would-be entrepreneurs may have great ideas as well as the skills necessary to provide a service to a community where demand for that business may be high, but one thing they often lack is the funding to get their plans off the ground.
The Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center to offer a workshop focused on helping to secure that funding.
“We get requests all the time from people looking for access to capital to do business, start a business, expand a business, or sometimes keep a business afloat,” said Lil Easterlin, Executive Administrative Director of the Jefferson County Development Authority. “It’s very difficult for small businesses to find what they consider a grant. We need to provide them with information on how to find cash for their business, not just to run it. These are the people (hosting this workshop) who know that.”
This free workshop, open to anyone who would like to attend, will be held on Thursday, July 25 at the McCollum Library in Wrens from 9 a.m. to noon.
As part of the state’s Small Business Credit Initiative program, organizers say the presentation is designed to provide information about various types of financing, including loans, loan programs and grants. Facilitators plan to address common myths and misconceptions about small business financing while also exploring the realities entrepreneurs might face.
“This workshop is about what resources are available and how to access them,” Easterlin said. “Those are the questions we get asked all the time (at the chamber and the local development authority).”
Easterlin noted that while there are often stories in the news about some big new industry receiving millions of dollars in grants or assistance from different government agencies, those stories can be misleading to entrepreneurs looking for help opening a smaller operation.
“Those big grants and so on are usually more about assistance that is offered for infrastructure improvements so that they can get here,” he said. “It’s not about people giving them money to operate their businesses. It’s about making it more economically viable for them to get to where we want them to go. It’s not about cash going to that company.”
And those big tax incentives or infrastructure grants typically go to big projects that will bring millions of dollars in tax revenue to the county along with dozens or possibly hundreds of jobs.
“Organizations like chambers of commerce and downtown development authorities are always looking for ways to support small businesses that employ two, five or 10 people, not 50. These small businesses make up the majority of our economy,” Easterlin said.
For more information or to register for this event, please visit https://ugasbdc.training/aug/0503-002 or contact the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce at 478-625-8134.