Small Business Management Program

In October 2008, the Grant County Chamber of Commerce, Grant County Court, and Eastern Oregon University Small Business Development Center partnered to form the Grant County Small Business Management Program. The program is designed to provide local small businesses with management classes from April 2009 through November 2009.

The classes will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month and will be presented by instructors from the Small Business Development Center. Each class includes individualized on site training for each registered business. For more information, or to register for the classes, contact the Grant County Economic Development office at 575-1555 or the Chamber of Commerce at 575-0547.

Training Grants Available

The Region 14 Workforce Response Team, covering Harney, Grant and Malheur counties still has funds available for employee training through the Employer Workforce Training Fund Grant Program. The goal of the fund is to help revitalize and invigorate the Oregon economy by offering financial assistance with training of current employees in Oregon. This is a competitive, matching funds grant which can be matched with in-kind or cash.

Also available are individual Scholarships to cover educational costs for additional education towards a certificate or degree. This would include college courses, trade courses, or other training. To be eligible for Individual Scholarships you must be currently employed and pursuing a high wage, high demand, high skills training.

Applications are currently available at your One Stop Career Center, located at 118 Washington Street, Canyon City, or by calling Tina at 575-0251 or Sally at 575-1555. You can also reach Sally via email at: gced@centurytel.net. Apply soon, funds are going fast!

Enterprise Zone

Got an idea for a new business? Want to know if there are tax incentives available to you in Grant County?

Grant County and the cities of John Day, Mt. Vernon, Prairie City and Canyon City sponsor the Grant County Enterprise Zone. If your business lies within the area of the urban growth boundary of any of these cities and you are planning on expanding or building, or if you are obtaining new equipment worth more than $50,000 and your new expansion or equipment will include 3 new living wage jobs, your business might qualify for the Enterprise Zone tax abatement.

To qualify you must seek application before you build or buy. This tax incentive only applies to traded sector operations, no retail sales please. To find help applying, or if you have other questions concerning the Enterprise Zone please call Sally at 575-1555 or visit the Grant County website at: gcoregonlive2.com. Under Economic Development you will find more information

Value-added agriculture

What is value-added agriculture? Value-added simply means that something is added to the product to increase its value. In agriculture that could mean that a business buys fruit from an orchard and then dries and packages that fruit for re-sale either to other wholesale purveyors or to retail outlets.

When you add value to agriculture products you can sell the product for more than you paid for it. You are adding value for the consumer.

Another value-added product might be beef or pork if you took the meat and turned it into jerky. Many customers are interested in buying local so the more you can add value to your locally grown produce the better it is for the consumer. Sometimes, value-added might just mean getting vegetables out of the field and to a local farmers market.

What's in the stimulus bill for Grant County?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is more than 400 plus pages long with most of us wondering, 'what is in this big piece of legislation?' Here are a few highlights that might affect you in the coming weeks and months:

:::: If you are unemployed, starting March 1 your unemployment check will increase by $25.00.
:::: If you are a small business owner looking to finance your business the Small Business Administration received $730 million and will be able to be able to finance up to 90 percent on certain loans.
:::: There will be $24 million in technical assistance grants available to micro-lenders.
:::: The Forest Service will receive millions of dollars in Oregon for hazardous fuels reduction, forest health improvements, habitat rehabilitation and hazard mitigation around abandoned mines according to an article in the February 19, edition of the Mail Tribune.
:::: The National School Lunch Program will be able to apply for equipment assistance grant funds.
:::: There are water, waste water, and waste disposal grants and loans available under the Consolidated Farm & Rural Development Act.
:::: For those individuals receiving Social Security or SSI there will be a one time check for $250.00.

Entrepreneur Day at Eastern Oregon University

On April 24, in La Grande, Eastern Oregon University Small Business Development Center will hold the E-Day competition for Entrepreneurs at Badgley Hall. The day includes Professional Development Classes, a Small Business Fair and a business plan competition. Five copies of your business plan must be submitted by April 17th, 2009. First, second and third place winners will be awarded along with the Most Innovative Idea. Submitters must also present their plans during E-Day.

In 2008 Grant County entrepreneur Carolyn Stout won $8,000 for her business plan. E-Day is sponsored by Eastern Oregon University, Students in Free Enterprise, and the Small Business Development Center.

Anyone wishing to participate should call Donna Jo at 541-962-1532.

Effective Organizations

The second workshop for Effective Organizations will take place on March 6 and 7. The workshop is part of a five-year commitment to Grant County by the Ford Family Institute and Rural Development Initiative. The core workshop topics include: Strategic planning, Organizational leadership, and Resource development. Follow-up coaching is available to participants to better integrate workshop information and materials into their organizations.

This training is most beneficial for directors, board members, staff and volunteers who work with non-profits and service organizations; it also has proven helpful to local government, service districts and institutions such as schools and clinics. The workshop starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. both days. Grant County participated in Leadership development last year with that group of participants installing playground equipment at the 7th Street Complex.

Writing a Business Plan 101

Since November 2007 some 40 local entrepreneurs have brought their ideas and needs to the Grant County Economic Development office. Most county entrepreneurs are seeking start-up funds for their businesses, but some realize that a well written business plan is an entrepreneur's road map to success. It contains all the essential elements to start and operate a business successfully. The business plan combines estimated cash flow with goals and strategies along with descriptions of the company's competition.

Those entrepreneurs interested in getting help with their business plans can schedule a work session with Sally Bartlett, Grant County Economic Development Coordinator. Each work session consists of a face-to-face consultation, questions and answers, and hands-on-time writing the business plan. Most entrepreneurs can complete a business plan in 4 or 5 sessions taking approximately 5 weeks. Sometimes it takes longer. It depends on how much time the entrepreneur is willing to commit to the process outside of the work sessions.

If you are seeking financial aid for your business, you need a good business plan. Bankers, the Small Business Administration or Angel funds all require this important piece of information. It tells the financial institute that you are serious about your intentions and that you are organized, professional, and dedicated to your goals. For help or to schedule an appointment, call Sally now at 541-575-1555 or email her at: gced@centurytel.net. Evening work sessions are available by appointment.

Wood Fiber Utilization Project Survey

In the past year Grant County Economic Development and the Grant County Court have had numerous small industries show interest in Grant County as a site for a wood pellet plant. While there has been much interest shown on the part of the business site locator, none of these prospective businesses have located in Grant County simply because there is no real data as to the amount of raw material that might be available.

A study is being conducted as to the availability and amount of wood fiber on public and private lands to support a 10,000 square foot pellet plant using pre-commercial thinning, logging slash, juniper, and mill residue.

Mark Webb, Grant County's Judge, asked George Meredith to take the lead on this project with Sally Bartlett, Grant County's Economic Development Coordinator, to provide staff support to the project. Others giving their time are Jason Kehrberg from Grant County Soil and Water Conservation, Roy Walker from Malheur Forest Service, Irene Jerome, a local long-time forester, Kirk Ausland, from the Oregon Department of Forestry, Jeff Maben from Malheur Lumber Company and Judge Mark Webb.

The project team is asking county residents and business owners to complete a survey as to their current fuel usage. The survey will be mailed to residents and commercial users on March 3st with a return date of March 15th. The results of the study will be reported to the county court on April 8, 2009.