BEAR began their monthly meeting with a presentation by guest speaker Stuart Clason, Regional Growth Director for Utah Regional Growth Association (UTRGA).
Clason spoke about the UTRGA and their mission to facilitate public/private partnerships in underserved geographies of rural communities. Clason discussed the importance of Public and Private Partnerships (PPP). PPP is a collaboration between government entities and the private sector. The use of PPP’s can aid in the amount of time a project is completed, as well as making the project a reality to begin with. Clason said that PPP’s play a huge role in everyone’s day to day lives, because they are so widely used.
The next guest speaker was Shanny Wilson, Economic Development and Tourism Direct of Carbon County, began her speech discussing the Rural County Grant Program (RCGP). The RCGP was designed to aid in the economic development needs of Carbon County.
Wilson informed attendees that within the last two years her department has received $470,000 from the Governors of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) that has allowed them to put it right back into the community. Wilson continued to explain that the RCGP can be used for a multitude of things.
Wilson spoke about a time that she sat down with Kari Richardson, the Owner of Apple Country Crafts, who wanted to open an ice cream shop inside her current shop. Wilson advised that the RCGP could definitely help her attain her dream. Wilson advised that it is a 50/50 match, so she would need to come up with at least half and then the grant would match half of her investment. Wilson was happy to announce that Richardson was able to report to the board that she was able to not only open her ice cream shop, but has also been able to increase her sales by $500 a month.
Wilson advised that the board has funded grants up to $50,000 which is the maximum allowed allotment. There have been 61 applications in the last three years with 10 of those being repeat applications that come in year to year. Wilson said that many of those are funded each year because the board is very generous, wants to give back and wants to help business owners succeed and grow.
Wilson discussed a few other grants that are currently available to future business owners, as well as current business owners.
Rural County Grant- https://www.carbon.utah.gov/service/rural-county-grant-program/
Business Improvement Matching Grant-Emery County- https://www.emerycountychamber.com/emery-economic-development.html
Walmart Spark Good Local Grants- https://walmart.org/how-we-give/program-guidelines/spark-good-local-grants-guidelines
T-Mobile Hometown Grants- https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/hometown-grants
The last speaker of the day was Roger Koyle, Director for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Koyle discussed the purpose of the SBDC, which is to assist small business owners with business development, advocacy and education. The SBDC is partially funded by the state and partially funded by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Koyle discussed that his main job is to assist entrepreneurs in starting up their small business. Koyle advised that, just in the last year, he helped 48 different companies get started in Carbon and Emery County.
Koyle shared that the SBDC aids in creating a business plan and is able to provide many resources to new business owners. Koyle discussed the importance of knowing and understanding what your business plan is. He also advised that the services received from the SBDC are free of charge. Koyle ended his speech saying that even if he is unable to help a certain individual, there are many others within the SBDC who can help.
To find out more information on the SBDC please visit: https://utahsbdc.org/locations/price/