During the “Entrepreneur Friendly” process, a team of local leadership, entrepreneurs and small business owners were taken through several steps to create awareness of resources, recognize entrepreneur & small business (ESB) resource providers, identify unique and entrepreneurial assets within their community, identify and interview local ESBs garnering valuable information such as what they need to grow and thrive and what challenges they are facing.
Following this effort was a facilitated strategic planning session that allows for implementation of initiatives that address those business needs, challenges and local issues in order to build and maintain an entrepreneurial environment and continuous ESB support.
Each of our 129 “EF” communities is listed individually with their best practices. The tools summarizes those best practices providing templates, links and examples from all of Georgia’s “EF” communities.
ESB Resource Guide
Each “Entrepreneur Friendly” community was required to develop a comprehensive ESB resource guide which has become a necessary tool to identify and direct people to the right resource at the right time. This guide has been placed on almost every local website, with cross linking to pertinent websites within the community (governments, schools, libraries, etc.) However, this guide became too large and costly to hand out, so to better promote and distribute resource information, a two-page guide that was created by Coffee County that captures the most common and critical ESB resources and directs people to the ESB website for more information.
ESB Resource Websites
Almost all of Georgia’s EF communities have placed their ESB Resource Guide on their websites. We are also aware of other resource websites such as “Tools for Business Success”, a comprehensive and county-wide resource guide. Camden and Stephens Counties have developed this website.
ESB Resource Centers
Some communities have created a dedicated resource center, others have reconfigured their chamber space and offer a place to work, use the web, read reference materials and hold business meetings. Click here to contact any of these counties.
Counties with dedicated resource centers are Houston, Upson, Walton and those using chamber or existing space are Barrow, Bryan, Camden, Fannin, Glynn, Lincoln, Lowndes, Tri-CREST, Catoosa, Morgan, Polk, Stephens, Gilmer, Washington, Laurens, Wayne and Rockdale.
Tracking / Metrics
It is absolutely critical to capture impact but it is ineffectual if it is not touted, marketed and promoted. This tracking template provides an easy method of tracking the simplest and most critical of activities, outcomes and impact.
Economic Gardening
The state of Georgia provides statewide economic gardening that provides market research data and competitive analysis through our Regional Small Business & Innovation Team. Valdosta-Lowndes County provides economic gardening for their six MSA counties.
Enterprise Facilitator
Tri-CREST, the first regional “EF” effort of Toombs, Tattnall and Montgomery Counties, is the state’s only enterprise facilitator structure who is the marketer and resource broker for all start up and growing businesses throughout the tri-county area.
Incubators
There are incubators within the state’s University and Technical College Systems as well as at the local level where communities have developed their own incubators to meet the needs of their businesses.
ESB Resource Fairs & Expos
Almost every “EF” community has conducted at least one ESB Resource Fair; some do this annually. Please visit the individual Best Practice page to contact any community you wish. Stephens, Hart and Franklin Counties host a tri-county event which provides an open forum for business owners to ask questions from a panel of resource providers.
Youth Entrepreneur Programs
Many EF communities have developed youth entrepreneurship programs, by either exposing them to entrepreneur awareness, building curriculum into the schools or tapping into successful programs. Communities who have developed their own youth programs are Fannin, Brantley and Turner Counties among many others. Keeping youth at home has spurred some great ideas such as celebrating graduates at homecoming who have come back and successfully opened a business or giving graduates a mail box with their names on it.
The Rural Center for Entrepreneurship provides a curriculum developed for schools and can be applied easily into youth programs. Visit http://energizingentrepreneurs.org/content/cr.php?id=4&sel=7
The Technical College System of Georgia also provides youth entrepreneur camps partnering with local communities and entrepreneurship certification programs.
USDA’s Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) can be used for youth-related programs.
Small Business Educational Workshops
Almost all EF communities provide small business workshops through chamber programs which you may find on the individual Best Practice page. Rockdale County provides a very successful, locally-driven O.P.E.N. program. If your business owners can’t attend a workshop, send them to the eLearning website at Small Biz U.
Mentoring Programs
Hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners interviewed said they wished they had a mentor when the started their businesses. Many levels and structures of mentor/protégé-type programs are available such as SCORE and the new Mentor Protégé Connection (formerly the Governor's Mentor Protégé Program). An example of a very successful SCORE program is in Rockdale County and a very impacting local mentoring program can be found with the Lowndes County Professional Consultants Program.
Many of Georgia’s schools provide a student-to-student-type mentoring program and one non-profit that is impacting middle school girls all over the country is Girl Talk, Inc., created by a Georgia middle-schooler to help young girls build confidence and improve social skills.
Libraries Support Entrepreneurship
Local libraries experience a constant flow of citizens inquiring about everything, including business resources – how to start, where to go. A model on how make your library a great business resource is www.growinglocaleconomies.com
Business Plan Competition
Giving youth or adults that extra exposure to resources and incentive to start smart are tangible outcomes of business plan competitions. Lowndes County initiated a local bank-sponsored, business plan competition which fully engages the business community and university and technical college students.
Buy Local Campaigns
The most impacting buy local campaign educates everyone - from citizens to business owners to governments - on what there is to not only buy locally, but identifies potential local suppliers creating business-to-business opportunities, and also identifies potential vendors for local procurement opportunities. The campaign should be comprehensive and county wide, not just in downtowns or within one business sector. Involve youth to help identify the businesses. Three great buy local campaigns have been conducted by Berrien, Haralson and Irwin Counties. Visit the Best Practices page.
Value – Add Ag Ideas
Looking to add diversity and not rely solely on commodity products … farmers markets, you-pick operations, farm tours, petting zoos, pay to fish, hunt, live-on-farm, etc., mazes, outdoor sporting games/gathering place for tournaments. Another idea is to connect your farmers with your local chefs, caterers or restaurant owners to allow the chefs to tell the farmers what they want to use in their design and preparation and the farmers can grow it … they are both in the same industry and there is a closer alignment than you think.
Get Listed on our Supplier Match Data Base
Newly launched, our Supplier Match program refers Georgia companies to Georgia companies as potential suppliers. We strongly encourage your local companies, no matter the size, to get them listed on one or both of these data bases so that when we search for suppliers, no one is overlooked.
To be listed on Harris InfoSource:
http://harrisinfo.com/support/faq.aspx - scroll to the question: How do I update my company listing? This is for new or existing companies and links to the form that you will need to submit to them. You may call Harris directly at 800-748-5482 and ask for Quality.
To be listed on Hoovers:
http://hoovers.com/free/ - the only way to be come listed with Hoovers is through a Dun & Bradstreet application. For more information you may call Hoovers directly at 866-307-3812.
For more information, contact:
Mary Ellen McClanahan
Director
Community & External Alliances
memcclanahan@georgia.org
404-962-4820