The Veteran Small Business Forum August 16

The U.S. Small Business Administration and the Veterans Business Outreach Center are presenting a Veterans Small Business Forum. Join small business experts in the western North Carolina area for this special, half-day forum on starting and growing a small business.

View a PDF of these details

This forum is geared toward U.S. military veterans and their spouses, and active duty, guard and reserve members who own or are interested in starting a small business. The forum will feature several panel discussions on topics of inter-est to the existing or prospective small business owner.

Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2011.

Time: From 8 a.m. to 12 noon.

Location: - The Grove Arcade Conference Room at the Grove Arcade, One Page
Ave., downtown Asheville.
- Directions here: http://www.grovearcade.com/map-directions/
- Enter only through the Page Avenue entrance that morning and take the
freight elevator to the lower level of the Grove Arcade.

Cost: Free of charge.

Registration: Due to limited seating, advance registration is required; contact Lisa
Belcher at lbelche1@uncfsu.edu or (910) 672-2683 on or before Tues-
day, August 9.

Parking: Parking is available at the Wall Street Parking Garage directly across the
street from the Arcade. Metered parking is also available.

Agenda:
8:00 a.m. Sign-in and continental breakfast
8:30 Welcome and opening remarks
8:45 Panel: Kick-starting Your Business (how to start a small business)
9:45 Break
10:00 Panel: All About the Money (financing a small business, plus tax issues)
11:00 Panel: Strategies for Growing Your Business (marketing, social networking and
other tips to expand your small business)
12:00 Closing remarks and adjournment

Chamber Welcomes CAYLA Intern Alex Mitchiner

The Chamber is hosting an intern from the City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA) this summer. CAYLA is a program provides students with meaningful summer work experience, leadership development through seminars and community service, and college preparatory activities. Since its inception in 2007, CAYLA has been nationally-recognized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

The Asheville Chamber is thrilled to have Alex Mitchiner join us this year. Keevon Baten was our intern last year, and you can read about his experience here.

Alex spent her first week with the Convention & Visitors Bureau and wrote about her experience....

The Asheville Chamber of Commerce is a fantastic place to be. I am currently a rising senior and am doing an internship there. This place is so full of energy and alive. Everyone is so friendly and it truly is a positive environment to be in.

I’m currently working in the CVB (convention visitor’s bureau) department. Just the other day we went and toured a bed and breakfast called the White Gate Inn. It was gorgeous!!!! It includes not only the main house but extra rooms in separate cottages, and a green house filled with all sorts of beautiful plants. Almost every room we visited had a Jacuzzi and that was the best part to me. One thing that really stood out to me was the chocolate plant. It actually smelled like chocolate but wasn’t edible. I’ve been learning about all the different departments on the CVB floor. It’s crazy how one department has so many obligations.

Tourism is a major deal here. Just after receiving the knowledge I have now I look at the tourism industry from a completely different perspective. Usually I get frustrated when stuck behind slow drivers that are trying to head to the Biltmore House, and now I know that the business they are providing is strengthening our economy and I can appreciate them more. So I will no longer be so frustrated with these slow drivers but try to smile and point them in the right direction.

Marketing is a little bit more complicated. Trying to catch a readers eye by not being to wordy and holding their attention long enough to get the message across is rather difficult. The marketing department also uses the media to get information out there. Facebook, Twitter, and other sites are used to publicize events and provide vital information to the public. The home website also needs to get a certain number of people to look at the website and ensure that the information provided is being looked at by viewers. You really need to be heavily skilled with a computer to be successful in that area.

I’m really happy that I’m going to be at the Asheville Chamber of Commerce this summer. I’ve only been here for a few days and I love it. I’m really excited about visiting the other departments and seeing everything that goes on here. This place seems like a great place to work and become a part of.

-- Alex Mitchiner, 2011 Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce CAYLA Intern

Chamber Provides Input on HB 800

The Asheville Chamber and the Economic Development Coalition provided recommendations and input on HB 800 this week at the North Carolina General Assembly. HB 800 seeks to redesign and reorganize the way economic development would take place in North Carolina.

HB 800 was introduced by Representative Murry of Wake County and was cosponsored by Representative Moffitt of Buncombe County. You can see the legislation here. The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce joined the North Carolina Chamber, Raleigh Chamber and the North Carolina Economic Developers Association to provide input on the bill.

The Chamber made these six recommendations for the legislation:

1) We would prefer not to place the needs of business - economic development efforts under the university system
2) We would like to see strong emphasis on client -customer service (efficiency- fast response and incentives) – i.e.- a goal such as an incentive package in 2 business days
3) Heavy emphasis on investment -return on investment
4) Rely on regional partnerships- not 100 counties
5) Ask clients how we can improve our services
6) Thomas Ticknor’s Report: Implement outside resources to critique North Carolina's economic development tactics

The Chamber would like to thank Rep. Murry for his service to North Carolina and desire to work with and hear from business organizations.

The Public Policy department is constantly watching and tracking the hundreds of bills introduced at the legislature. If there is legislation you are interested in please contact Jeff Joyce at jjoyce@ashevillechamber.org.

The Asheville Area Chamber goes to Raleigh

The voice of Western North Carolina business was in Raleigh this week. The Asheville Area Chamber, Haywood County Chamber, and Henderson County Chamber of Commerce joined forces on a legislative visit to the General Assembly.

The chambers led a delegation of 50 community leaders to meet with the North Carolina General Assembly leadership and our Western North Carolina Delegation. The group met with Speaker of the House Thom Tillis’s Chief of Staff and Senator Pro Tem Phil Berger.

These meetings offered a platform to convey the legislative priorities of our region. These include regulatory reform for small business, protecting funding for education, incentives for green business, and tax reform.

The delegation was also able to thank our Senators and Representatives from Western North Carolina by hosting a reception for these hardworking individuals. The visit provided a great opportunity for the Asheville community to make our voice heard at the capitol.

Public Policy Update: Governor Vetoes S.13

Governor Perdue vetoes Senate Bill 13. On Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Governor Perdue used her veto power to overturn S.13 saying those funds were needed to attract companies to North Carolina.

S.13 was designed by Senate Republicans to save money that was already appropriated to several state accounts but has not yet been spent in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, which ends July 1. The entire package saves the state $400 million, but takes money away from job creating, economic development incentives.

It is not clear whether Republicans will attempt to override the Governor’s veto. North Carolina’s Constitution requires a 3/5 majority to overcome the veto. Republicans have this majority in the Senate but lack votes in the House.

The Chamber will keep you updated as events continue to unfold at the General Assembly

Public Policy Update: North Carolina General Assembly, S. 13, and State Budget

The third week of the General Assembly’s session saw nonstop action. Both the House and Senate are ramping up as legislatures get comfortable with committee assignments, procedure, and the way things work at the Capitol.

The hot topic this week was Senate Bill 13, which passed the Senate on Monday, February 7.
S. 13 then went to the House Appropriations Committee and spent the week being debated on the House floor. The bill was designed by Senate Republicans to save money that was already appropriated to several state accounts but has not yet been spent in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, which ends July 1. The entire package saves the state $400 million, but takes money away from job creating, economic development incentives.

Find Information on S.13 below
.
Two very concerning items that are a part of this reversion are funds for two extremely significant job recruitment programs, the Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) program and the One North Carolina Fund. The total reversion for these two accounts is $8.2 million. These programs are valuable tools that economic developers at the Charlotte Chamber and across the state use regularly to incent companies to create jobs by relocating or expanding their operations. If these tools are taken, Charlotte in particular will mostly likely feel significant backlash, and the state will have no choice but to pass on some worthwhile projects we would otherwise be able to land because they will have more limitations on where they can pick and choose to use these tools. With unemployment rates as high as they are, now is not the time to be cutting back on incentive programs, especially when many of our surrounding states and competition are ratcheting up what they are willing to do.

Several amendments were made in the House to save the economic development funding the bill would take away. Representative Ray Rapp of district 118 (Haywood, Madison, Yancey) made the amendment to save the Golden Leaf funding. This funding is valuable to rural counties in helping to provide jobs and improve quality of life. The Chamber thanks Representative Rapp for the work he does and his work to preserve this funding.

S. 13 passed the House on Thursday, February 10 and are headed to the Governor’s desk on Monday for approval. There has been Rumor that the Governor may veto the bill. The Chamber will watch the legislation closely.

Governor Perdue also announced on Thursday that North Carolina’s budget deficit has been whittled down by $1 billion to a total of $2.7 billion. You can see her announcement here. The Governor will give her State of the State address on Monday, February 14, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the House Chamber, and her 2011-2012 fiscal year budget is supposed to be released next week.

The Chamber will be watching these developments and working for the businesses and people of
Western North Carolina.

Please contact Jeff Joyce at 828-258-6122 with any questions or needs.

Asheville Chamber in Raleigh: North Carolina General Assembly

The North Carolina General Assembly convened Wednesday, January 26, 2010 for the 112th Biennium and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, represented by Jeff Joyce, was there advocating on behalf of Western North Carolina business.

Wednesday marked a historic day for the General Assembly as Republicans control both Houses for the first time in over 100 years and face a $3.7 billion dollar budget deficit. However, the gloom of the impending cuts was set aside as legislator’s family and friends crowded the building to watch the session convene.

The Senate voted Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, as Senate president pro tempore and the House voted Thom Thillis, R-Mecklenburg, as speaker of the house.

Legislation is expected to move fast this session and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce will keep you informed. Please contact the Chamber with any questions or concerns. I look forward to serving the Asheville community in Raleigh.

For updated information on the legislative session follow me on twitter @avlbizvoice or email me at jjoyce@ashevillechamber.org.