We Don't Have to Wait: Delta Magic's Business Building Program Kicks Off
A Room Full of Builders
More than 20 local businesses packed the room for the kickoff of the Delta Magic Business Building Program. The mix said everything about the talent already here: a sushi restaurant, snack and treat makers, food trucks, a trucking company, a tiny home builder, and organizations working in youth support and mental health.
Participants also met their mentors for the first time. These are local business professionals who have built companies in the Delta, and are available for one-on-one support throughout the next 10 months.
Know Your Market Before You Build
Jack Poff of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) led the evening's workshop. He took a deep dive into local market trends in Phillips county, then showed participants how to turn market research into better business decisions.
The takeaway: good data drives smarter choices about where to locate, how to market, what to project, and which new products or services to offer. Those decisions are the difference between guessing and planning.
We Don't Have to Wait
Drew Smith, co-founder and managing director of Delta Magic, opened the event with an overview of the resources available to every participant. He closed it with a message that set the tone for the whole program.
"We don't have to wait for someone to come in from the outside and save us," Drew said. "We can build the community we want just by empowering local people to create the businesses they're passionate about."
Why Now? Why Here?
The timing of this program is not random. The Entrepreneurship Development Professional (EDP) certification, offered through the International Economic Development Council, is held by only about 100 people across the entire country.
In June, Drew completed the two-year certification process, giving Phillips and Lee counties their first certified EDP. By the end of this year, Malik Barnes, Candace Williams, and Patricia Ashanti will join him. That makes four certified EDPs in one Delta community. No community in Arkansas has more certified EDPs than that.
The opportunity is arriving at the same time. The soon-to-open Delta Heritage Trail is projected to bring up to 200,000 new visitors a year. Those visitors will need places to eat, stay, shop, and explore, and the businesses in this room are ready to build for them.
So why can't we build great things here? Why not now?
What's next
The next workshop is Thursday, November 5th, and it will dive into how to start a side hustle.
Program participants are also eligible for:
Free one-on-one mentor support from local business professionals
Design services from Thrive Inc.
Direct services from the ASBTDC to build a capital-ready business plan
Ready to build? Sign up here!