Small businesses are the backbone of any community and our
country. This statement, I’m sure, comes with little surprise to most people.
As a matter of fact, over half of the business in Carter County have less than
5 employees and just over 75 percent have less than 10 employees. We also estimate
that just under 1 of every 4 workers employed in Carter County work for a small
business with less than 10 employees. Imagine the impact if ¼ of the jobs in
the county disappeared!
This is the reason small business and entrepreneurship
development is such an important objective for our Department. Recently, we
have partnered with the Northeast Tennessee Regional Economic Partnership
(NeTREP) to bring a new offering for small businesses and entrepreneurs to
Elizabethton – Co.Starters.
Co.Starters is a 9-week class targeted to help entrepreneurs
take their business ideas and turn them into reality. This is a great
opportunity for those who have been thinking about starting a business to get
in and learn more about the process and how to be successful. Having been
through a portion of this class before, it is also very beneficial for existing
small business owners who are looking to improve their business or add in
another product to their business.
The course will cover identifying your customer, dealing
with competition, developing your messaging/marketing, determining your revenue
stream, and identifying your startup needs and costs. The course can be intensive
with weekly assignments and a lot of material that will be covered in the
9-weeks. You will also hear from existing successful small businesses and get advisement
from business professionals regarding starting your small business. The best
part is, once you’ve completed the course, you have the formula and materials to
go on and continue to develop and improve your business or start another
business over-and-over again.
The classes will be 3-hours long every Tuesday evening for
9-weeks. The classes will start February 12th, but the registration
deadline is Wednesday, February 6th. The cost for the course is $90 (which
is $10 per class) and is open to anyone who lives in or is wanting to start a
business in Elizabethton, Carter County, Johnson County, Unicoi County, and
Washington County. The course is limited to 12 participants on a
first-come-first-serve basis. To learn more or register, visit
www.Elizabethton.org/CoStarters.
The development of small business is the future for our
community. As those small businesses grow, their success will become the
success of our community. And remember to do your part, support our local,
small businesses. Let’s talk about it!
