GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
Clarksville’s
Small Business Development Board BY DR. LORNETH PETERS
I
t has been a landmark year for Clarksville Tennessee being named the number one city to live in America. As Montgomery County continues to grow, business development is taking center stage as local businesses seek success in a booming economy. Austin Peay State University External Affairs Office and The Tennessee Small Business Development Center, joined forces to develop a forward-thinking board. The Small Business Advisory Board will focus on challenges and solutions for businesses in the community.
“Our purpose at Austin Peay State University is to connect business and community leaders to the University resources. The advisory board provides an opportunity for Austin Peay to learn more about the needs of the business community and develop curriculum and programs to support business endeavors,” said Lieutenant Ronald Bailey.
Advisory Board Purpose
Starting in early 2019, Austin Peay Small Business Advisory Board consisting of bankers, accountants, lawyers, economic development experts, and business owners, met to have an open dialogue on common areas of concern for small business owners. As the board develops a strategy to support businesses in the community three themes emerged: Defining small businesses in the
community, common challenges many of the businesses face and specific research that is needed to provide effective long-term support for businesses.
Defining Small Business
The U.S. Small Business Association defines small businesses as having 500 or fewer employees working for the firm. The Advisory Board has defined a small business as any firm with 100 employees or less, which better reflects the firms in our community. Establishing a definition of small businesses helps the board determine a starting point when researching and providing support to businesses that employ four or more employees with a revenue of 250,000 to 2M. Providing intentional support to businesses in this revenue bracket helps with the economic growth, employment, and sustainability of the city.
Small Business Challenges Running a business can be exciting but challenging. Business owners focus on daily operational issues and at times, ignore struggling areas of the business. The mortality rate of business success is high due to the inability of many businesses to adapt to a complex and everchanging environment. Lack of trust, which leads to more time overseeing and controlling employees, avoidance of hiring professionals and spending too
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much time on the wrong things, are all culprits for the challenges many small business owners face. “The tendency to focus on an immediate crisis and ignore the actions necessary for the future health of a business, has been evident when speaking with many of the local businesses,” said Lorneth Peters.
Future Steps
The Advisory board discussed the top challenges heard from businesses in Montgomery County which include access to capital, finding high-quality talent, community support, increasing business knowledge and insufficient business planning. To gain a clearer understanding of the overarching business themes, the board will be collecting quantitative and qualitative data through surveys and other outreach efforts.
Board Members
Lieutenant General Ronald Bailey Amy Bates James Church Jerry Furby JC Matthews Joel Minner Eric Norman Lorneth Peters JayeBea K. Pua Danielle Stack Stacey Streetman Wesley Sumner Hayes Wellington
