AVON PARK In an effort to provide information for area small businesses on strategies to cope with the recession, state Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid, has arranged for a local seminar to be presented by the University of South Florida's Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The Florida SBDC network is state designated as Florida's principal provider of small business assistance. ...more

February 8, 2009

In an effort to provide information for area small businesses on strategies to cope with the recession, state Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid, has arranged for a local seminar to be presented by the University of South Florida's Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The Florida SBDC network is state designated as Florida's principal provider of small business assistance. ...more

February 8, 2009

AVON PARK — Robert Ray took the Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL) class, and he recommends it to others who are interested in starting a business or currently own one. "I definitely say take the course before going into business," said Ray, the owner of Heartland Marble & Granite in Sebring. "It will save you a lot of trouble." The next REAL class will begin on June 30. It will meet Mondays from 6 – 9 p.m. in Building T at South Florida Community College in Avon Park. The cost is $100. However, those who complete the course may be eligible for a $90 refund. Ray, who sells and installs granite countertops and marble flooring, opened his business in 2006. He attended the first REAL class in January 2007 with his wife. ...more

June 21, 2008

SEBRING – As he was lugging a projector, flip-chart easel and books from a class for entrepreneurs at South Florida Community College to his car, Bill McKown was lamenting how it would be nice to have the classroom close by. McKown, a certified business analyst with the Small Business Development Center of the Heartland, said he was thinking about the convenience of being able to stay in one location and "not have to lug stuff around." "The logistics would be so much simpler," he said. McKown is lamenting no more, as he and Bob Raymond, who is also a certified business analyst at the center, will be moving their business counseling operation from the Heartland Workforce One-Stop Career Center in Sebring to the college's Avon Park campus next month. ...more

October 21, 2007