The Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District (KPEDD) is launching a three-part meet and greet series designed to connect local small businesses, and even those considering starting a small business, with experts who can help them navigate the difficulties of owning and operating a small business, especially where finances and resources are concerned. The first event will be held Mar. 22 at the Kenai River Brewing in Soldotna.
Anyone who has owned or attempted to start a small business can attest to the challenges associated with start-up, whether they are securing finances, marketing, or establishing a footprint in the community. Programs Manager at KPEDD, Caitlyn Coreson, says the event will help folks overcome these obstacles by giving local entrepreneurs face time with the right experts in a comfortable atmosphere.
“We realize there’s a bit of a gap between individuals looking for some sort of like loan program, looking for capital investment, and lenders. Our lenders do an awesome job of reaching out in the community, but it would be a great opportunity to just sit across the table, you know, over a beer at Kenai River Brewing, to sit down and just ask questions, and to share your ideas and it not be so formal,” said Coreson.
KPEDD, the quiet player behind many positive moves around the Kenai Peninsula for several years, uses strategic planning to help drive economic growth by connecting members within the community, as well as helping them identify their values, priorities, and economic opportunities.
According to Coreson, that’s the idea behind the meet-and-greet series: putting small business people across the table from professionals who have expertise in the field of their small business to help them identify their needs and start down a path of well-guided strategic planning.
Friday’s event is just the first step though, and Coreson says there are two more parts to the series that will offer even more in the way of that guided planning.
“The second one will be meeting with local CPAs to ask questions about taxes for business. And then the third one will be [to] meet your resource providers and KPEDD will share a resiliency toolkit and some of the tools that we have, and that’ll be in May.”
The first meet-and-greet is at Kenai River Brewing on Friday, Mar. 22 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Visit KPEDD’s Facebook page for more information.
