March 26 (Date and details pending) Business Plan Competition Awards & Expo 
Our 2020 business plan classes ran during a snow (and melt) packed seven-weeks! Thank you to all of our contestants and instructors who braved the roads to attend. For those who didn’t, we provided video backups of each session.

Our photo was taken by Nicole McConnahea on the last evening of our classes at Bluffton University. It sure was pretty!

Which of our contestants will win the competition? Find out during our 7-9 p.m. March 26 Awards and Expo celebration at Bluffton Town Hall. We’ll be awarding $6000 in prizes and the contestants will have tables for presenting their new and emerging businesses. Those 12 businesses are:
The Blue Heron
Bluffton Riley Creek Sportswear
Essentially Empowered therapy and coaching
FGHG LLC rentals on Main St., Bluffton
Greenhorn restaurant
Healthy Joyful Living with Kids
Wesley Lear digital marketer
Little Monkey Kitchen
Ottawa Odd Jobs, LLC
Party With A Princess LLC
Touch of Europe bakery
Vine Arts Collective

Seven of these businesses are based in the Bluffton area. The other five are from Hancock, Allen and Putnam counties.

Next Brown Bag: Pop-up Shops
The business plan competition judging and awards will keep us busy in March, so the next Brown Bag Discussion will be in April. Our topic is pop-up and pop-in shops, where businesses temporarily setup in empty spaces or within existing businesses. Stay tuned for date and time.

Previous Brown Bag: E-Payments
Snow and a school cancellation also struck on the day of our last brown bag event on making and taking e-payments. Seth Combs and Lauren Beasley of Citizens National Bank updated us on current opportunities. Key points included:

Churches need many of the same resources as small businesses when it comes to payments.

Some prepaid cards have account and routing numbers like a checking account.

Cash discounts are recommended rather than charging customers for using credit and debit cards.

Old habits die hard. If you are unsure about how to update your deposit methods, make an appointment with a small business banking specialist to learn what methods might work best for you.

Done in 2019
You probably have a to-do list, right. But do you ever make a done list? I recommend it!

Last year the Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs collaborated with 42 businesses and organizations. We built a brand new website and established a YouTube channel. This blog was born and BCE coffee hours (Twisted Whisk Cafe, Tuesday noon-1 p.m. and Thursday 6-7 p.m.) were established. Brown bag events? Five. Cups of coffee consumed? Plenty.

Getting to know you
You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to be involved with the BCE. We are connected with business resources and service providers, property owners, program sponsors, and improving established businesses, as well as new and emerging businesses. 

If you are interested in supporting our programs or would like to learn more about the BCE, stop by our coffee hours or contact Paula Scott at [email protected] or 567-525-6667.