ECD Honors National Entrepreneurship Week
ECD's Business Enterprise Resource Office, the division of ECD that assists small, women- and - minority owned businesses, is promoting National Entrepreneurship Week February 23 - March 1. BERO works routinely with entrepreneurs across the state to establish, strategize and fund small business endeavors, and ECD is pleased to join the Consortium of Entrepreneurship Education to recognize this critical economic sector.
Small Businesses make up approximately 99.7 percent of all employers nationally, and they employ about half of all private sector employees. In Tennessee, 70 percent of businesses have fewer than 10 employees.
"Entrepreneurship is the backbone of our state's economy," said Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. "Our department is proud to support small business efforts across the state through BERO. The jobs created by small businesses fuel economic growth at the local level, creating a solid foundation that attracts major industry to the state and starts a chain reaction of development."
The Tennessee Small Business Development Center will hold workshops for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in all regions of the state during the week, and Middle Tennessee State University will host nearly 30 workshops on and off campus between February 25 and 29, covering topics from business insurance to zoning and planning.
Other Entrepreneurship Week events include a meeting of the 2020 Tech Council at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Pick TN Products Expo at LP Field in Nashville, a Small Business Council-Inspired Speaker Series hosted by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, an Entrepreneurship Celebration in Hancock County and a Youth Leadership Forum in Ripley.
Supporting small businesses is also a facet of Governor Bredesen's Rural Opportunity Initiative. One strategy of the initiative is the Rural Opportunity Fund, a public-private partnership to offer venture capital to small businesses in rural areas. In January, Southeast Community Capital, the state's private partner in the effort, offered $675,000 to the owner of a daycare in Kingsport just days before its scheduled foreclosure auction.
The owner, Betty Smith, worked with officials in her community and with ECD's BERO staff to secure $675,000 from the state's Rural Opportunity Fund private partner, Southeast Community Capital, and the combined effort was successful in staving off the foreclosure. BERO routinely works to find solutions for businesses that are struggling financially. Sixteen jobs were saved by the investment, and the daycare, which at one time had fewer than 30 children enrolled, now cares for nearly 140.
"Thanks to Tennessee's grassroots involvement with rural business owners, and the governor's vision to offer venture capital to deserving entrepreneurs, businesses like the Kingsport Play Center are thriving, and the time has never been better to establish a new small business in Tennessee," Commissioner Kisber said. "The Governor and I value our state's entrepreneurs, and we're pleased to join in this weeklong celebration of the role they play in our economy."
For more information about National Entrepreneurship Week, visit www.NationalEWeek.com.
To learn more about services provided by BERO, visit our web site at www.tnecd.gov/bero
Arvin Sango Locates in Tennessee
Arvin Sango, Inc. announced this week it will locate a new manufacturing facility in Henderson, Tenn. The automotive parts manufacturing company will build exhaust systems for the Toyota Highlander SUV model slated for production at Toyota's newest assembly plant in northern Mississippi, currently under construction.
"Tennessee lies at the heart of a growing southern automotive industry," Governor Bredesen said. "Toyota and its supply chain companies represent a significant source of well paying jobs for Tennesseans. We're pleased to add Arvin Sango to the list of highly respected companies in Tennessee's automotive manufacturing sector."
The plant is a $10 million investment for the company and is anticipated to create 40 new jobs in Henderson. This is the fourth North American plant for the company, with the other facilities being located in Madison, Ind.; Merced, Calif.; Campbellsburg, Ky. More than 900 automotive assembly and component parts manufacturing companies operate in Tennessee, employing more than 85,000 Tennesseans.
"I'm grateful to Arvin Sango for their investment in our state," said Matt Kisber, commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. "Through our discussions with both Toyota and Arvin Sango in recent years, we realize the value companies place on Tennessee's strong business climate. Governor Bredesen and I are committed to improving that business climate and developing a well trained, world class workforce in Tennessee so that companies like Arvin Sango can operate in Tennessee productively and profitably."
The Henderson facility is planned to break ground this spring and is scheduled to open by early 2009.
Export Assistance Center Holds China Seminar
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| Governor Bredesen and Commissioner Kisber led a trade mission to China in Oct. 2007 to open the Tennessee China Development Center. Increased interaction with China has been one of the governor's priorities. |
The U.S. Knoxville Export Assistance Center and the University of Tennessee Global Business Center will hold a seminar entitled "China: Risk, Reward & How to Win" on Thursday, March 13, 2008 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 17 Market Square in downtown Knoxville.
With its unfamiliar market and an unpredictable business environment, China presents many challenges to U.S. companies, American companies need to know what markets have the best synergy for U.S. made goods and how to create distribution channels. American business people also need to understand the barriers, the legal environment and what resources are available to them.
Speakers at the March 13 seminar include Robert Leach, director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Knoxville Export Assistance Center; Dan McDonald, president of Phenotype Screening Corporation; Jonathan Heimer, a commercial officer for the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai; and Bud Gray,a spokesman and brands protection alliance and product development manager for Acucote Inc.
Registration costs $50 and can be done online or in person at 1 p.m. the day of the program. For more information on this seminar or to register, please click here.