Meeting of the Entrepreneurial Minds

At this weekend's Small Biz Expo at CitiFest, you can mix and mingle with entrepreneurial minded folks from Coweta, Troup, and Meriwether Counties. Be sure to drop by the ETC! booth...Chamber members are welcome to leave cards and brochures there.

At CitiFest and anytime, we're looking for small business owners from Sharpsburg, Senoia, Moreland, Turin, and Haralson to be our "eyes and ears" for their cities...and we'd also love to hear from entrepreneurs based in Sargent, Corinth, St Charles and other communities throughout the county.

Whether you are a solo operator, independent sales rep, franchisee - or have built a multi-million dollar business with branch offices across the globe..we want to hear about you and your experiences building a business in Coweta county.

Drop a note to Kim or contact any blog author named at right to introduce yourself - or visit with us at the next Chamber Early Bird breakfast on April 22nd!

ETC! is on the radio

Thanks to support from Bank of Coweta, the small biz expo at Grantville CitiFest (April 26) will be promoted via radio spots on Magic98. The spots are intended to attract independent businesses as exhibitors at the festival and one version of the advertisement includes the catchphrase "Entrepreneurs Thrive in Coweta."

Ruthann Carlton is planning to promote ETC! at CitiFest. Please contact her if you would like to help out. If you want to promote your own business at the festival, contact Kim Sasso.

Thriving in Grantville

Disclaimer: Posted by Kim Sasso, Nick's Pizza

Many thanks to fellow chamber members Ruthann Carlton (Bank of Coweta,) Pope Jones and Matt Horne (Rosenzweig, Jones, Horne & Griffis) for helping launch a new adventure! We (Nick and Kim Sasso of Nick's Pizza in Grantville) have expanded into the real estate business. In partnership with colleagues, we have formed Grantville Empowerment Project, LLC and purchased "the corner" in downtown Grantville where our restaurant is located.

The buildout of Nick's Pizzeria will continue within "the old hardware store" space, with completion of a community exhibit space (for historical artifacts and traveling exhibits) and customer restroom complex planned for this summer. Longterm plans at Nick's include the addition of a companion restaurant offering a more upscale dine in experience.

The property includes three residential units and six retail storefronts. The first order of business will be an exterior clean-up and modest facelift, and tasks necessary to make the three vacant storefronts suitable for occupancy. Prospective tenants can contact Nick for more information.

Business Financing for Military Veterans

Business.gov contains a list of various funding sources available for small businesses. It includes a couple of sources specifically for Veteran owned businesses.

Details here

Great compilation of marketing tips from experts

Take a look at this free guide of 100 Marketing Secrets over on Small Business Trends.

Details here.

Yahoo Offers Women Business Grants

Yahoo! Small Business and Carolyn Kepcher, founder of fwm (Finding What Matters) and former star of "The Apprentice," are seeking women who have the next breakthrough idea or a new small business to apply for a chance to win 1 of 3 amazing grant packages.

Details are available here