Are you considering opening up a small business? Perhaps you want to gather as many resources and make as many connections as you can?
Bryan-College Station potential small business owners are invited to the statewide 2022 Governor’s Small Business Series — which will be hosted in B-CS for the first time — from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Hilton College Station.
Guests can register to hear a three-part session to help them resource what they need to start a small business in Aggieland, through the partnership of the B-CS Chamber of Commerce and the local office of the Texas Workforce Commission, according to Jason Cornelius, the Chamber’s chair elect.
“Small business owners are invited to this event; but this is also for aspiring entrepreneurs,” he said. “If you are looking to get into business, this is something that would be perfect for you as well.”
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While Gov. Abbott will not be there in person, there will be people from his business development office that will help guide the discussions, Cornelius said. Opening remarks will be followed by three breakout sessions.
“One of the sessions is over how to build a business, the second is how to access funding for a business and the third is on cybersecurity and protecting your business,” he said. “We will have three different speakers and a moderator at each of those three separate breakout sessions and then there will be a lunch provided with keynote speakers where we will have the commissioner from the Texas Workforce Commission there and three people from the governor’s office and small business specialists.”
The Governor’s Small Business Series of B-CS is co-hosted by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism in partnership with the B-CS Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Workforce Commission.
It provides Texas small business owners and entrepreneurs the opportunity to network with other business owners and meet experts who can share timely, relevant and actionable advice on a multitude of small business topics, according to a November press release when the series was announced.
“Small businesses are the backbone of Texas’ thriving economy,” Abbott said in the press release. “Already home to more than 3.1 million small businesses that employ nearly half of the Texas workforce, our state is focused on developing an environment where entrepreneurs can aspire, grow and prosper. I look forward to continuing to work with small businesses and communities in every region of the state to ensure they have the tools needed to succeed.”
Cornelius said there will a multitude of information provided by the workforce commission and the state besides the breakout sessions and the keynote speakers. Guests are encouraged to have questions prepared that they need for their business and each of the experts that we have in the breakout sessions will be on hand to answer questions, he said.
“It is great that the governor has been doing this. It is even great that the workforce commission and our Chamber have been able to bring that here to our community and the surrounding communities, because so much of what is special about our community is our small businesses,” Cornelius said. “Being there and helping them to both start and continue to be successful is what this is about; it really is a huge deal for us to have this here.”
According to Cornelius, sales tax dollars in Bryan and College Station are returning to pre-pandemic numbers.
“This is a key point for us to be able to have a series like this to continue to get us out of where we were during the pandemic and to grow beyond that,” he said. “This is an opportunity for you to come with those questions and ask them and see if this feels like a path that you need to go down of if you need to look at a different direction. That is what this is for, it is meant to be a springboard or a way to learn more about the business you have already started or are getting into one.”
The Chamber is hopeful it will be able to get some general information out there for everybody, but still allow people to raise their hands and ask some questions as well, Cornelius said.
Loan officers will be present along with members from the Brazos Valley Small Business Center and the Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation, Cornelius said.
Registration is $20 and includes access to all sessions.
To register, visit gov.texas.gov/business and click the small business tab.
The Hilton College Station is located at 801 University Drive East.
