Lindsay Costner, Marketing Coordinator

June 2, 2016

MCCORMICK — On May 26, 2016, the Freshwater Coast Community Foundation (FCCF) partnered with McCormick County in hosting an Entrepreneurship Academy. This class was taught by professionals that were brought in to help provide information on starting a business and how to keep their business thriving.

Wilder Ferreira opened up the meeting with an introduction of the speakers, Matt Wiggins from the Greenwood Area Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and David Mueller from Community Works.  Charlotte Tallent, Executive Director for the McCormick County Chamber of Commerce, encouraged the participants to keep an open mind upon starting the class, and discussed how entrepreneurship projects will “bring opportunities to the community.”

Each participant discussed why they attended the course, and the common interest was overall the same. Participants were looking for more information and wanted to further the potential of the community.

Ferreira began the course by teaching leadership skills, problem-solving and the definition of an entrepreneur. A short lesson on accounting was also presented.

Wiggins informed the participants on the basics of starting their own business, and how to keep it going with publicity and marketing. To go along with Wiggins, Mueller taught how to finance your business, and discussed opportunities that Community Works offers for these new small businesses.

After the entrepreneurship academy, Sabrina Searles a local of McCormick County, says that she “got a lot of information on how to get things started.” This course helped her gather some new ideas for what she might want to do for her future business.  She is excited about starting her own business, and helping her hometown of McCormick plus the surrounding areas.

Multiple individuals said that they received helpful information that can apply to not only their new business/current business, but to other parts of their life.

Altogether, the entrepreneurship academy was a big success for the participants, and provided a networking opportunity. With the help of the Freshwater Coast Community Foundation, we hope to see many great businesses be started in our local areas and a community that can grow and thrive together.

Matt Wiggins informs the participants of the Entrepreneurship Academy on why you should start your own business and being fearless when it comes to the business you want to begin.