Business workshop scheduled

What: Entrepreneur Express: Moving Your Business Forward
When: Thursday, April 10, from 9 a.m. to noon (lunch provided)
Where: Wytheville Meeting Center

By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff

Approximately 95 percent of Virginia’s businesses have less than 250 employees. These companies account for two-thirds to three-fourths of the net new job growth in the state.
To help business owners and potential business owners establish and grow their businesses, a free workshop is scheduled for Thursday, April 10, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Wytheville Meeting Center. Entrepreneur Express: Moving Your Business Forward will include provide practical hands-on lectures and exercises covering key elements of business practice.
“We’re participating in a state effort to bring resources to Wythe and Bland counties,” stated Alan Hawthorne, executive director of the Joint Industrial Development of Wythe County, Wytheville and Rural Retreat, “ that will help businesses and potential entrepreneurs establish and grow their business. We view early stage and small companies as a vital part of our local economy.”
This partnership of governmental and private organizations supporting small business growth, he said, offers business owners an efficient and cost effective way to learn about resources available from a range of service providers. Workshop segments include how to start and operate a business, growing an existing business, marketing strategies, financing and available support resources, Hawthorne said.
He added, “Participants receive a resource directory that provides ‘how to’ information for many types of enterprises including tourism-related businesses, agricultural businesses and retail operations.”
According to Hawthorne, more than 800 Virginia businesses have already participated in such workshops.
In a prepared statement, Bland County Economic Development Authority Chairman David Dillow commented, “We are committed to supporting our existing business community, bringing new opportunities to the area and cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit in Bland County.”
“The Chamber of Commerce is focused on helping our members succeed,” stated Jennifer Jones, executive director of the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce, “and this workshop will allow business owners to network and learn from nearly a dozen resource providers about the many resources and services available to grow their business. It will also encourage potential new businesses to take advantage of programs to start and grow their business in the Bland and Wythe County areas.”
Organizations partnering to offer the workshops across the state are the Virginia Department of Business Assistance, the Virginia Tourism Corp., Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Small Business Development Center Network, SCORE, the Virginia Economic Bridge, the Virginia Electronic Technology Center, the Virginia Economic Developers Assoc., the Virginia Business Incubator Assoc., the Virginia Community College System and the Virginia Assoc. of Chamber of Commerce Executives.
Local sponsors are the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County, Wytheville and Rural Retreat; the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce, the Bland County Economic Development Authority and the Southwest Regional Enterprise Center.
The workshop is free including lunch. Registration is required and may be done by logging onto http://www.vastartup.org or calling the Chamber of Commerce at 223-3365.
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or .