A seminar on how businesses should prepare if a disaster strikes the area will be held from 8 - 9 a.m. Thursday, June 25 at Heartland Workforce, 2730 U.S. 27 N., in Sebring. ...more

June 24, 2009

The message for many small business owners wondering how they will be affected by a White House aid plan for small business owners announced Monday is to wait - for now. ...more

March 17, 2009

Skin care therapist - Elle Dewyngaert said her business is doing "really well" despite the lousy economy. ...more

March 1, 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 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

Faye Dowdell and other Bay area folks spent the morning at the Tampa Port Authority office for the first installment of the NFL's Super Bowl XLIII Playbook for Small Business Workshop Series. The free workshops are designed to help local small and minority businesses. ...more

December 11, 2008

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

For 13 years, Kendall Duncan got up every morning and headed to Busch Gardens, where she and her friend Angie Frazier worked with lions, tigers and all sorts of other exotic animals. ...more

June 14, 2008

SEBRING — Eileen Rodriguez acknowledged that doing business overseas can be challenging, but it also might be profitable. "It's kind of scary when you're trying to think about doing business with somebody who speaks a different language, is from a different culture, they don't do contracts the same way we do," said Rodriguez, interim director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of South Florida. ...more

June 10, 2008

Free Seminar Planned On Starting Small Business SEBRING — The Small Business Development Center of the Heartland will present a free seminar titled "Steps To Start A Small Business." It will be held Wednesday, May 28 at the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce Welcome Center, 227 U.S. 27 N., in Sebring from 2 to 4 p.m. The seminar will be taught by Bill McKown, certified business analyst with the SBDC. It is designed for persons thinking of starting a small business, or who have started a business, and want to make sure they did it correctly. Licenses, marketing and business plans are among the items discussed. ...more

May 24, 2008