A new partnership between the Berryville Chamber of Commerce and the Berryville Library aims to help small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs get their start.
The Berryville Library has launched the Berryville Business Boost on its website-an online hub where users can access free resources to plan, start, learn, and grow a business. The idea grew from a growing trend the chamber observed: more residents asking how to start their own businesses and where to find reliable information.
“Over the years, it’s just been kind of a constant, steady need that they just didn’t really know how to address,” said Berryville Library Director Julie Hall. “So there are lots of great people in the chamber with lots of great information, they just don’t have the time to sit down with everybody who needs it, and they were always wishing there was just one place that they could direct them easily, and then when they get more advanced questions, we can help them further on. The library is a place where people come to for information, and that’s our job-to make information more accessible and more free for people.”
The online resource features links to official agencies, expert-created courses, and information specific to Berryville and Arkansas, including laws and regulations. Hall said the material is also useful for anyone starting a business, regardless of location.
“We had a lot of people coming to us asking these basic questions,” Hall said. “You know, there’s lots of great information already out there on the internet put together by a wide variety of very credible sources, but it takes a lot of time to sort through it all. One thing that all of these small business owners and entrepreneurs didn’t have was a lot of time.”
Hall said the goal is to make starting a business easier for residents by removing barriers to information.
“We know that in a small rural area we have a lot of very creative people and a lot of people with big dreams and a lot of great potential business opportunities,” she said. “They just need a little boost. We don’t have a lot of the resources that a lot of larger towns do have, so we hope this does save them time so that they can really turn those dreams into viable businesses.”
The Business Boost site also links to a limited-time free course that allows users to test the feasibility of their business ideas through a simulation before taking their next steps.
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