Entrepreneurship: Attracting and Growing Small Businesses
• Sponsor an Entrepreneurs Summit for community stakeholders to explore the vitality of our entrepreneurial climate in Catawba County.
• Form an Entrepreneurial Coalition to better initiate new business growth and expansion.
• Expand the Edison Project to the metro area and identify, counsel and reward those with new and creative business ideas and help them get to the marketplace.
• Support the newly relocated Manufacturing Solutions Center and help to expand their services/value to potential new business clients.
• Formulate a coalition of financial business lenders that will help evaluate and hopefully create new access to capital funding sources for local small businesses and start-ups.
• Expand the Chamber’s IN Team (Innovations Network) Brainstorming Teams to help member businesses create new ideas for their products/services.
• Continue to expand and improve our new county portal web site, “StartSomethingHere.com,” as the most effective branding/marketing tool for world-wide exposure.
• Help to improve and/or expedite all aspects of business permitting, licensing, and inspections; publish/establish appropriate procedures that would help businesses through these different processes.
•Coordinate again our Inter-City Visit program to find and visit successful communities that mirror our JOBS NOW/Entrepreneurial initiatives.
• Work with local government to be creative in diverse, adaptive uses of existing vacant buildings and incentivize new utilizations and/or even demolition.
• Our senior population (those over 55 years of age) has dramatically increased from 35-60% in the past 10 years. Manage and coordinate the programming, events, and services of the newly formed Senior Information Resources Board by providing a comprehensive and collaborative point of contact, focusing on education, resources, and programs for seniors, their families, and their caregivers. Explore potential entrepreneur opportunities with this age group, and help them with a new start-up idea and/or establish an existing business partnership for them. Market and publicize all area businesses and services.
• Our Future Economy Council continues to explore weak signals and future trends that could have a positive impact on the growth of Catawba County and directs these specific recommendations to the appropriate officials/organizations for possible implementation.
Special Events:
• Regional Entrepreneur Summit, January 11
• Annual Membership Meeting/
Celebration, February 16
• Leadership Catawba Graduation Luncheon, March 1
• New Member Luncheon, March 9
• Economic Outlook/Legislative Issues Breakfast, March 15
• Schmoozapalooza, April 19
• Chamber Membership Golf Tournament, May 17
• Business at the Ball Park, May 31
• Agri-Business Tour, June 12
• Chairman’s Circle Appreciation Luncheon, July 25
• Chamber Night at Hickory Motor Speedway, August 11
• Leadership Catawba Kick-Off Reception, August 16
• Senior Expo, August 28
• Washington Fly-In, September
• New Member Luncheon, September 14
• Edison Project Final Presentations/Awards Ceremony, September 17
• Peelin’, Eatin’ and Politikin’, October 18
• Women’s Leadership Conference, November 8
• Industry Tour for Agri-Business, November 13
• Schmoozapalooza, November 29
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