The Biz Foundry converting its Start-Up Business Camp to a hybrid format.
Biz Foundry Vice President Tiffany Anton said the four-week course helps entrepreneurs build a solid foundation for their business idea. Anton said the Biz Foundry covers every Upper Cumberland county, and the hybrid format is the precursor to future classes being fully online.
“It’s a lot harder for the people in the more rural counties to get here and take a class twice a week,” Anton said. “Or for us to get there and send our instructors there twice a week. So, we had this idea to do a hybrid where a lot more of it was homework based and individual work sessions.”
Anton said the course will cover customer discovery and marketing. Participants will be able to ask an accountant, insurance agent, and lawyer their specific questions as part of the class.
Anton said entrepreneurs face many challenges, such as a lack of experience or advice from the wrong people. Anton said these factors contribute to the area’s “business graveyard,” or businesses that failed early in their existence.
“People start businesses because they have an idea and they think they know everything there is to know about clothing,” Anton said. “But if you don’t have the business aspect and you don’t know how to make money and how much you can pay your employees, you end up having to close your business two or three years into things.”
Anton said some of the draw to owning a business is flexibility, but it is not necessarily a pathway to a lavish lifestyle or one without work.
“It’s about doing something you care about,” Anton said. “Most entrepreneurs have a passion for whatever their business is, whether it’s selling clothes or selling a product or service, they really believe in what they’re doing and the heart behind it.”
The Start-Up Business Boot Camp classes will be held on Wednesdays in August.
