Inside Knowledge

Business Owners and Entrepreneurs SCORE with New Program

By Gabrielle Reader

Presenter Ron Ezsak presents on startups and business models during the initial Small Business Hub workshop in the St. Pete Beach library.

photo by Abigail Davis

Looking to start a side hustle? Need to learn how to market? With bi-weekly workshops and monthly mentoring, the new Small Business Hub in the St. Pete Beach Library is here to help.

Abigail Davis, the programming librarian for the St. Pete Beach Library, said the partnership between SCORE – a nonprofit of professionals who help business owners and entrepreneurs – Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce started last spring when the library reached out to the group. The library was interested in bringing more business resources to the area and after a few months of brainstorming and summer planning, the program held its first free workshop on September 9.

“Our hope is that the Small Business Hub series with SCORE will encourage both our current patrons to pursue their small business goals and for new members to discover the library through this program,” Davis said.

Led by Ron Ezsak, the initial workshop was titled, “What’s a Good Idea? – For a Business.” Although the turnout was slim for the first go, Davis said this allowed the presenter and the crowd to have an in-depth, intimate conversation where participants pitched and played out their ideas.

“We were happy to see that the event drew participants that are both new and familiar to our library and that the small gathering allowed for the presentation to be a discussion between the presenter and the attendees,” Davis said.

Davis hopes the workshops will continue to grow and “encourage the community to think of us as more than just a building with books, but one that cares and is looking to help [people] grow and thrive.”

The next meetings are scheduled for October 14, October 28 and November 11. Individual mentoring sessions are on October 19 and November 16 at 3 p.m.