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Vol. 65, Issue No. 40
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ELECT Chayse Thompson County Council District 3
EARLY VOTING STARTS OCTOBER 12TH!
Randy Gundrum County Council District 4
• Lifelong Resident • Pro-Rochester, Pro-Life, Pro-Gun • Accountable & Dependable
EARLY VOTING BEGINS OCTOBER 12TH!
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)('&2·V %L]*UR SURYLGHV WUDLQLQJ DQG JUDQWV WR HQWUHSUHQHXUV %\ '$9,' +$=/(',1( 6WDII :ULWHU On Thursday evening, Sept. 29, a group of Fulton County entrepreneurs met at the offices of Fulton County Chamber of Commerce for a three-hour session of BizGro Studio’s NxLevel Business Planning and Management course offered twice a year by Fulton Economic Development Corporation. On this particular night, the students, all of whom have already started their own small businesses, heard a presentation from Jacki Johnson, owner of Tidewater Executive Tax Service. In 2009, FEDCO started the entrepreneurship program BizGro in
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conjunction with Project Matters, a consulting firm run by Amy Beechy, which began offering the classes — as well as a number of other services — in an effort to stimulate and support small business growth in Fulton County. According to Beechy, 90% of Fulton County’s 469 businesses have 19 employees or less. In fact, 53% have four or less. Small business growth is also important in the development of downtowns, which have struggled to keep their storefronts open in recent decades. “Growth is coming from small business,” said Beechy, who contends programs like BizGro help position Fulton County to continue that growth.
Among this fall’s students is Jennifer Sault, who started her own business, Sault Family Medicine, in August. “I went to medical school,” said Sault, “So I don’t have any formal business training.” Offered in the spring and fall each year, BizGro Studio exposes students to best practices of business management and business planning. Students learn about how to develop a business plan, marketing, financial statements, financing and more. Another student, Kelly Whiteman-Snipes, is taking the class for the second time. Beechy said this is not unusual, citing another business owner who has taken the class three times, each time focusing on
another aspect of the business. Snipes is in the process of rebranding her successful creative services business. “I like the structure of it,” she said of the class. “It’s forced me to really sit down and think about my target demographic and create a strategy behind that.” Snipes is one of 147 students who have taken the course, representing 115 businesses, and according to tracking information provided by Beechy, 74% of the businesses started through the Business Planning and Management Course were still operating successfully as of the end of 2021. Twelve business have expanded and 19 have been started, creating 59 jobs. Continued on page 3
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