SILER CITY — The Chatham County Chamber of Commerce is launching an eight-week program in partnership with Central Carolina Community College’s Small Business Centers and Mountaire Farms aimed towards individuals who want to start their own business.
The Chatham Spark program will feature eight classes geared towards Siler City-based entrepreneurs. The classes will cover a variety of topics, including marketing, zoning and planning, business legal practices, financial literacy and more.
Chamber President Cindy Poindexter said people interested in opening a business, or have opened a business in the last two years, can apply for one of the 12 slots available in the program.
Spark program participants will develop a business plan throughout the eight weeks and will present the plans to the selection committee at the end of the class. A winner will be selected and will receive a $5,000 grant from Mountaire Farms to start their new business.
“You have to be somebody who doesn’t already have a brick and mortar building, and you have to actually start your business in Siler City to win the grant,” Poindexter said.
Poindexter said Chatham Spark will help new entrepreneurs gain knowledge about the ins and outs of starting a new business. She hopes the program will become an annual event for new and aspiring Chatham business owners to engage in.
“They’ll gain a lot of knowledge through the speakers that we have who are experts,” Poindexter said. “They will work throughout the program to develop a good business plan. This program will be a tool and a resource to help them be successful in their business.”
Classes will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays at the Siler City campus of CCCC from March 1 through May 3. The application window for the program closes on Jan. 31.
Reporter Taylor Heeden can be reached at theeden@chathamnr.com.