Blue Ridge Crossroads Small Business Development Center

Understanding Your Credit Report Seminar to be held

Mandy — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:48:41 +0000

The Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority and the Blue Ridge Crossroads Small Business Development Center would like to invite everyone to attend a FREE “Understanding Your Credit Report” seminar during the month of October. Intended to give a more general look at how you can improve your credit.

This workshop explains how to obtain and read your credit report, how the score is determined and essentials of the loan process.

This workshop will be offered on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Crossroads Institute.

There is no charge to attend although pre-registration is requested.

If you are interested in more information or would like to register for one of these seminars, please contact Ginny Plant by phone at

(276) 236-0391 or by e-mail at assistant@brceda.org

You may register at www.peopleinc.eventbrite.com

Wildwood Commerce Park Secures Additional Funding; Water Line Construction Begins

Mandy — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:56:28 +0000

Carroll County, the City of Galax, Grayson County, and the Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority (BRCEDA) are pleased to announce that in May 2012 the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) for the Virginia Department of Transportation awarded Wildwood Commerce Park with $650,000 in Economic Development Access Program funds to construct the road into the commerce park. This grant completes the initial funding to develop Wildwood Commerce Park and follows $5,398,652 in grants to date from the Virginia Tobacco Commission and $500,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission. Grant awards received to date for Wildwood total $6.5 million.

Because Wildwood is physically located in Carroll County, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors agreed to submit the grant application to VDOT for the access road funding. Dana Martin, the CTB Member who represents Carroll County and Galax, made the motion to approve the funding. Jim Bowie, the CTB Member who represents Grayson County, seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Construction for the access road is scheduled to begin in September 2012 and should be complete by June 2013.

“VDOT’s Economic Development Access Program is one of the most vital programs available. Moreover, it is extremely valuable to smaller localities. Helping our area get more income, employment, and growth is about the most important part of my role on the Commonwealth Transportation Board,” stated Dana Martin. “I am glad the program is available, and I am happy to have been able to help Wildwood Commerce Park.”

In addition, BRCEDA has awarded Prillaman & Pace, a general construction contractor based in Martinsville, with the contract to construct 1,380 feet of 12-inch water line along Coulson Church Road from the interstate ramp to the entrance of Wildwood. Three bidders submitted proposals to BRCEDA for the water line construction. This water line construction is being coordinated with VDOT and will not conflict with the widening of Coulson Church Road. Additional water and wastewater line construction into the park will begin in September 2012 and be complete by June 2013.

“Developing Wildwood Commerce Park is a long-term commitment and investment. Carroll, Galax and Grayson have made a significant investment of resources to develop this project. We are master planning the commerce park and taking the time to make the right decisions that will make Wildwood attractive to companies looking for communities where they can locate their operations and make significant investments in the local workforce and local property tax base,” comments Mike Maynard, Grayson County Supervisor and BRCEDA Board Chairman.

BRCEDA purchased the Wildwood Commerce Park in May 2011 and consists of 167 acres, of which 50 acres have already been graded and provided with retention pond access. This initiative is a collaborative effort involving Carroll County, Grayson County, and the City of Galax, with BRCEDA serving in a management role. The Mount Rogers Planning District Commission has provided vital planning and technical assistance. Draper Aden Associates of Blacksburg has been hired to provide engineering and related services for Wildwood. Virginia’s A-Corridor and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership have coordinated several visits to Wildwood by site selection consultants, with the most recent in June 2012.

The purpose of the Wildwood Commerce Park is to attract well-paying, high-quality jobs in growing, next-level business sectors.

BRCEDA was formed to provide the leadership for economic development efforts that would benefit the Twin County region. Over the last four years, BRCEDA has established the most successful Small Business Development Center in Virginia, leading to the creation of over 180 new businesses. Before the creation of a stand-alone Wired Road Broadband Authority, BRCEDA led the effort to create Virginia’s first community-owned, open access regional broadband network. Also, BRCEDA is continuing work with the Town of Fries and Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to implement the Fries Master Plan.

Grayson County Small Business Roundtable

Mandy — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:01:50 +0000

Do you currently own a Small Business in Grayson County? Do you really know how well your business is doing? Do you wonder how your business compares with other companies like yours? Nearly all business owners and managers understand their products and how to deliver. That’s why they started their business in the first place. However, do you know if your company is operating effectively and profit is maximized?

The Blue Ridge Crossroads Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is dedicated to helping our local small businesses thrive and expand in our regional economy. To help you accomplish this goal we are offering a FREE Business Roundtable discussion open to all small business owners in Grayson County. Topics will include marketing, social media, accounting, pricing, funding and information about the upcoming Grayson County Small Business Mentoring Program. We want to know what challenges you face and topics you would like to know more about. The information will be reported to your local Administrator and Board of Supervisor representatives. Please come join us and participate in the discussion about doing business in Grayson County and to learn more about the benefits of a mentoring program.

The Roundtable will be offered at two locations: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 4pm to 6pm at the Fries Recreation Center on Main Street in Fries and Thursday, August 30, 2012 4pm to 6pm at the 1908 Courthouse Auditorium in Independence. Pre-registration is requested. To register please contact Ginny Plant at (276) 236-0391 or e-mail assistant@brceda.org.

Credit Counseling Seminar

Mandy — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:51:45 +0000

The Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority and the Blue Ridge Crossroads Small Business Development Center would like to invite you to attend a FREE Credit Counseling Workshop on April 11, 2012. Credit can affect many aspects of your life from buying a car or home, qualifying for a job, or obtaining that much needed capital to open or expand a business. Let us help you understand credit and how you can protect yours! We can even show you how to improve your credit! In addition, we will review how to create a budget and stick to it.

Workshop segments will include reading a credit report, learn how the credit score is determined, warning signs of too much debt, tips for using credit cards, and learn the essentials of the loan process.

If you are considering opening or expanding a business and you would like to learn how to obtain financing this is the workshop for you!

This workshop will be presented by People Incorporated Financial Services and will be held at Crossroads Institute in Galax VA. The session will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 from 4pm-7pm. There is no charge to attend although pre-registration is requested.

If you are interested in more information or would like to register for one of these seminars, please contact Ginny Plant by phone at (276) 236-0391 or by e-mail at assistant@brceda.org

You may register at www.peopleinc.eventbrite.com

Business Basics Seminars

Mandy — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:59:50 +0000

The Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority and the Blue Ridge Crossroads Small Business Development Center would like to invite potential entrepreneurs’ to attend a FREE “Business Basics” seminar during the month of March. Intended to give a more general look at the challenges and opportunities entrepreneurs face, this seminar focuses on the basic considerations an entrepreneur needs to address before starting or expanding a business.

This workshop explains the need for a business plan, options for financing your business, basic principles of marketing, and what resources are available to you in Virginia.

This workshop will be offered in two locations on different days for the guests convenience. The first session will be offered on Wednesday, March 7^th from 1pm-4pm at the VFW Hall in Grayson County. The second session will be offered on Tuesday, March 13^th from 4pm-7pm at Crossroads Institute in Galax.

There is no charge to attend although pre-registration is requested.

If you are interested in more information or would like to register for one of these seminars, please contact Ginny Plant by phone at

(276) 236-0391 or by e-mail at assistant@brceda.org

Using Social Media to Market Your Business

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:41:04 +0000

The Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority and the Blue Ridge Crossroads Small Business Development Center hosted two workshops during the month of April concentrating on the usage of social media as a new marketing technique for a small business.

On April 6th a total of 16 people attended an introductory workshop to learn about a variety of social media outlets. Presenter Sandy Ratliff with the Virginia Department of Business Assistance shared information about how social media is a dialogue with your customers, not just a monologue. Social media allows you to reach a new market and spread the word quicker about products and services. Presenters Cindy Greene from People Incorporated Financial Services and Kitty Barker with Virginia Tourism Corporation shared the necessary introductory knowledge to beginning the journey into various social media outlets such as FaceBook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. Sandy Ratliff completed the presentation by presenting ideas for content, tools to manage a social media marketing campaign, and answering questions from the audience. The participants provided excellent feedback and felt they were able to walk away from the workshop with information to begin using at least one new social media outlet for their business.

On April 28th, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance, People Incorporated, and the Virginia Tourism Corporation returned to the Crossroads Institute to host an Intermediate Social Media Workshop. Many businesses have started a Facebook site but now what? This workshop was designed for business owners who already understand the basics of Social Media Marketing, but want to delve deeper into more advanced and technical tools: producing relevant content as well as customer engagement and the building of an online community.

If you are interested in learning more about social media or when the next workshop will be offered please contact Mandy Archer at (276) 236-0391 or assistant@brceda.org.

Business Appreciation Week 2011

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:33:00 +0000

For fourteen years, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance has coordinated Business Appreciation Week (BAW), a week-long, statewide event developed to raise awareness of the positive impacts Virginia businesses provide to the Commonwealth and localities. Governor Bob McDonnell has designated May 2-6, Business Appreciation Week 2011.

This year’s theme, “Entrepreneurship and Innovation for a Sustainable Future,” is to highlight the Governor’s remarks on making Virginia the “Energy Capital of the East Coast,” as well as focusing on new and green technologies.

There are typically 75 to 100 local Business Appreciation Week events held throughout the Commonwealth following the Kick-Off Breakfast, which is scheduled for Monday, May 2nd in Richmond. For a complete listing of statewide functions, visit www.vdba.virginia.gov.

The 2011 BAW logo is complete and collateral materials have been made available for distribution. Go to the Business Appreciation Week webpage for more information, www.vdba.virginia.gov/BAW2011/.

Localities Approve Wildwood Commerce Park Site Acquisition Financing

admin — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 20:33:48 +0000

In March, Carroll County, the City of Galax and Grayson County held a regional meeting of their governing boards, with the Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority, to approve the moral obligation and support necessary to purchase 167 acres that will become the Wildwood Commerce Park. Specifically, the localities approved financing up to $5.5 million for the land acquisition.

As the managing entity for the Park, BRCEDA subsequently approved a financing offer from the National Bank, based in Blacksburg. These regional actions conclude the funding necessary to acquire and initially develop the Wildwood Commerce Park. In 2010, the Virginia Tobacco Commission provided a $1 million site acquisition grant and followed up with a $3.8 million mega-site grant award in January 2011. The Appalachian Regional Commission has also reserved $500,000 for water and sewer development.

“This is one of the most important things we’ve done in a long time,” said Galax Mayor C.M. Mitchell. “It may take one year or it may take five years for it to come to fruition, but it’s an example of how we can work together for the betterment of the area.”

Wildwood is located adjacent to Exit 19 of Interstate 77 in Carroll County. To further the project of creating a regional commerce park, the localities and BRCEDA entered into a partnership and revenue sharing agreement in September 2010. The initial phase of the site development will yield a fifty-acre graded pad with an access road, water, sewer, and fiber. Engineering for electricity will also be completed in the initial phase of the site development. Natural gas service is also available. Wildwood is currently listed with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s available sites.

The next step in marketing Wildwood to companies to locate at the Park includes refining a target industry analysis. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Virginia’s a-Corridor are working with BRCEDA to accomplish this component.

BRCEDA and Goodwill Industries offer Small Business Class

admin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:54:45 +0000

The recent recession has been tough on many areas in the United States, and Southwest Virginia is no exception. Recession-caused unemployment has combined with the region’s decade-long manufacturing decline to produce persistently high unemployment and considerable economic hardship. As part of its efforts to alleviate these conditions through supporting entrepreneurship, BRCEDA has joined with Goodwill Industries of the Valleys to offer a group of disaffected workers the chance to participate in Blue Ridge Crossroads Entrepreneurial Development and Training Program, a 9-week crash course in starting and running a small business.

In one of the defining aspects of the program, participants will work through the Blue Ridge Crossroads Small Business Development Center’s unique business planning process. Using the same method which has helped over 150 local business owners create or expand their businesses, program participants will meet one-on-one with experts in business planning, financial planning, and marketing. These sessions help them inventory their skills and learn how to turn those skills into profitable entrepreneurial ventures. At the end of the process, participants should have a complete business plan which is ready to take to prospective lenders.

Blue Ridge Crossroads entrepreneur program participants will also attend a wide variety of seminars intended to illuminate a number of business concepts. The “Core Four” seminar explains in depth four of the most important concepts involved in running a small business. Participants are taught how to recognize their skills and limitations and to plan the business around them, how to identify and chase a target market, how to assess a business’s financial potential and future, and how to conduct the day-to-day operations of a business in keeping with regulations and best practices. In another workshop, customer service experts will teach them how to forge productive relationships with their customers, earning repeat business and valuable word-of-mouth advertising.

In addition to business plan counseling and seminars, participants in the program will receive other benefits that will help them start their businesses. Counselors are available to instruct them in securing insurance and taking care of their finances. Once they finish the program, participants are eligible to receive up to a $2,000 grant, money which will help them take care of start-up expenses.

The first class of entrepreneurs are in the middle of the program currently. If the program proves successful, more classes will be enrolled. If you would like more information about the program, please contact Mandy Archer by phone at (276) 236-0391 or by e-mail at marcher@crossroadsva.org.

Wildwood Commerce Park Receives Grants

admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:56:13 +0000

Total $5.3 Million in Grants Awarded to Date for Wildwood Commerce Park

The Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority (BRCEDA) is pleased to announce that the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission in January 2011 awarded a second grant for the Wildwood Commerce Park in the amount of $3.8 million for site development. This grant award follows a 2010 grant award of $1 million by the Commission for BRCEDA’s acquisition of the 167-acre site.

And, in February 2011, the Commonwealth of Virginia recommended a federal Appalachian Regional Commission grant of $500,000 for water and wastewater extensions to the Wildwood Commerce Park site. To date, the project has received $5.3 million in grant awards toward the initial $11 million project budget.

“We are approaching a dollar-for-dollar match between grants and local dollars necessary to develop the Wildwood Commerce Park. With a project of this size and scope, having one grant dollar for every local dollar is a significant accomplishment for the region’s economic development initiatives” stated Ken McFadyen, Regional Director of the Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority.

In making the January grant award, the Virginia Tobacco Commission awarded a total of $20 million to seven megasite projects in Southside and Southwest Virginia. Megasite projects are defined as those that should generate at least 400 jobs and $250 million in private investment. The grant award to BRCEDA of $3.8 million represents the highest award made among the three projects in Southwest Virginia, which also includes Washington and Smyth counties.

“The work that Carroll, Galax and Grayson are dedicating through BRCEDA is showing results. The Tobacco Commission’s grant award for the Wildwood Commerce Park will greatly assist the region in creating long-term solutions for job growth and private investment that will bolster the local and regional economy,” stated Delegate Bill Carrico, who attended the Commission’s meeting in Richmond with representatives from Carroll, Grayson and BRCEDA.

The Wildwood Commerce Park is part of a 1,400 acre tract located off Exit 19 of Interstate 77. BRCEDA has optioned 167 acres of this tract, of which 50 acres have already been graded and provided with retention pond access.

This initiative is a collaborative effort involving Carroll County, Grayson County, and the City of Galax, with BRCEDA serving in a management role. The Mount Rogers Planning District Commission has provided vital planning and technical assistance. The land is privately owned, and the owners have invested significant resources in the site in partnership with the localities involved. For the $3.8 million grant award, the private property owners are contributing additional cash and services valued at $675,000. The 167 acres has been optioned for $6.25 million and has been appraised at $6.4 million.

The purpose of the Wildwood Commerce Park is to attract well-paying, high-quality jobs in growing, next-level business sectors.

The $3.8 million Virginia Tobacco Commission grant will be dedicated to engineering and related costs, in addition to funding the construction of water, sewer, access road and fiber communications.

Following the grant approval, Delegate Terry Kilgore, who chairs the Tobacco Commission, stated that the “Localities in the megasite program will now need to step up to the plate to invest and create jobs for the region.”

BRCEDA was formed to provide the leadership for economic development efforts that would benefit the Twin County region. Over the last two years, BRCEDA has established the most successful Small Business Development Center in Virginia, leading to the creation of over 116 new businesses. Before the creation of a stand alone Wired Road Broadband Authority, BRCEDA led the effort to create Virginia’s first community-owned, open access regional broadband network. Most recently, BRCEDA is working with the Town of Fries and Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to begin the implementation of the new Fries Master Plan.