Building a More Entrepreneurial Region 2000
Virginia’s Region 2000 Partnership in collaboration with Central Virginia Community College presented the findings and resulting action plan of an entrepreneurship study (that kicked off in Spring, 2011) on Wednesday, February 1 at Central Virginia Community College’s Merritt Hall. The study was funded through financial support of Central Virginia Community College, the Region 2000 Workforce Investment Board, and the Region 2000 Local Government Council.
From the News & Advance:
“An entrepreneur is someone “willing to take a chance,” one person said.
Another said entrepreneurs were the “embodiment of the American dream.”
Those are phrases from a video entrepreneurs, played during a meeting of the Region 2000 partnership as it presented recommendations from a study conducted last year.
One of those recommendations starts today.
Region 2000 and six local colleges are partnering to create a higher education initiative to grow entrepreneurship and strengthen small business development in the area.
This partnership aims to build connections between the schools — Lynchburg College, Liberty University, Central Virginia Community College, Randolph College, Sweet Briar College and Virginia University of Lynchburg — to help students develop an interest in entrepreneurship, according to the final report. The project received a $15,000 state grant.” (Read the entire article at NewsAdvance.com)
From WSET:
“Lynchburg, VA – Region 2000 officials say its next major strategy for our area’s economy is to create a better environment for people to start up new businesses.
Wednesday at Central Virginia Community College, a consultant hired by Region 2000 to study entrepreneurship in the region revealed his findings.
Erik Pages spent the past year interviewing people in the community and analyzing data. He says the Lynchburg-area economy is pretty strong. When it comes to starting up new businesses, Pages says we’ve already cleared the first hurdle.
“More people start businesses here as proportion to the population than in other parts of the U.S. But the problem you have, and this is a problem in other communities, is that the businesses start small and stay small,” said Pages with Entreworks Consulting.
“It’s there. It’s already in our DNA in this region. What we’re going to try to do is to be supportive of that, enhance that, certainly not get in the way of that,” said Region 2000 Executive Director Bryan David.
Their first step in this strategy is the “Entrepreneurship Initiative for Higher Education.” Region 2000 says the area’s six colleges are all on board.”
View the study ‘Building a More Entrepreneurial Region 2000‘ below or download it here.
