MANASSAS, Va. – The Flory Small Business Center, Inc. continues to offer free workshops to entrepreneurs that are in the start-up phase of their business. The next Start-Up workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, July 5 in Manassas.
A light, continental breakfast is available at 8:30 a.m. The same workshop will be offered on Saturday, August 10 Gainesville. Attendance is free but pre-registration is required to insure adequate materials. Call the Flory Center to pre-register – 703-335-2500.
The Flory Center initiated the monthly workshops several years ago as a means of assisting start-up entrepreneurs that began establishing businesses in record numbers during the economic downturn. Attendees continue to give the class rave reviews, noting that it enables participants to gather a substantial amount of information in one morning session. Topics covered in the Start-Up Workshop include, “How to Write a Business Plan,” “Financing,” Recordkeeping,” “Business Entity,” and “Are You an Entrepreneur?”
Many new entrepreneurs are starting a business to support their own families – businesses that, with proper planning and training may grow to one day employ many others in the community. Linda Decker, President and CEO of the Flory Center notes that, “It is critical that those in the start-up phase get accurate information to insure that they invest their resources, including both time and money, wisely and build a solid foundation for future business growth.” “Most of our start up entrepreneurs know their industry well – we provide the information and “extra hands” that help them get their plans on paper and move forward with their dream of owning a business.“
Darren Welch, President of Edge Concrete Company Inc., a full-service site concrete company located in Bristow, said that the Flory Center was instrumental in helping the company get established almost a year and a half ago.
“The Center helped us understand the basics of setting up a company, and gave us guidance on what type of corporation to form.” Welch noted that the Center assigned a mentor to the company — someone with many years’ experience in forming small businesses. “Our mentor stressed the importance of setting up a proper business plan; he gave us step-by-step guidelines that we needed to follow in order to become a successful start-up business,” Welch explained.
The Flory Small Business Center, Inc. was created by the Prince William County Industrial Development Authority in 1991 as “economic gardening” program and the IDA continues to provide over 50% of the Center’s funding with non-taxpayer dollars. Economic gardening fosters the idea that economies can be grown locally by entrepreneurs. It is a concept that is currently gaining popularity in many economic development programs. However, the Flory Center has been actively practicing this concept for over 21 years.
The Center’s program is based on the needs and requests of the small businesses they serve. The Flory Center is funded by Prince William County, the Prince William County Industrial Development Authority, and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. Flory Center Director Linda Decker points out that local entrepreneurs are fortunate that our jurisdictions are committed to assisting the potential “start-up” as well as the existing small business owner.
The Flory Center works with referrals from organizations such as banks and elected officials who understand what they do and want to insure that small businesses have access to the information and resources that they need to start, grow, and thrive. The Flory Center has been a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration since inception. For more information, contact the Flory Small Business Center, Inc. at 703-335-2500 or by email at [email protected].
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