BUIES CREEK — The first of a series of bi-monthly Entrepreneur Meet-ups will be held at the Harnett County Public Library beginning Thursday, Aug. 27, from 6 to 7:45 p.m. Harnett entrepreneurs Ryan Dailey and Jackie Dixon will speak and answer questions about starting and growing their rapidly expanding businesses, iGrow Golf and KidsZone Community Learning Center.
Small Business Center Director Nancy Blackman will also be on hand to speak and answer questions about support for business start-ups in Harnett County. The event is geared to persons interested in starting or expanding a business, supporting local businesses, or learning more about enrichment opportunities for children in Harnett County.
“These networking events are part of a suite of activities that focus on opportunities to do business and do good through entrepreneurship” said Nick Dula, director of Harnett County Economic Development.
In addition to these county-wide meet-ups, the Harnett County Public Library is sponsoring a business Nanobator every other month. The Nanobator will offer basic research and referral assistance for county residents that are at the very beginning stage of thinking about a potential business or non-profit idea. The desk will be staffed by students from the Social Entrepreneurship Club and the Campbell Business Librarian.
Several upcoming annual events also highlight entrepreneurship in Harnett County.
Borris Abbey, Ph.D., J.D. the new Lundy Chair of Business Philosophy at the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, and the Adam Smith Club are teaming with Nick Dula to produce the first Grow Harnett County! symposium where a select panel will address opportunities and challenges for civic entrepreneurship development in Harnett County. The public is encouraged to attend this event on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at the Leon Levine Hall of Medical Sciences, home to Campbell’s Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine.
The annual Small Business Summit, an exposition of resources to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses sponsored by Small Business Center Director Nancy Blackman, will be held on Thursday, Sept. 10 at the Triangle South Enterprise Center in Dunn.
Professor LeJon Poole, Ph.D., and the Healthcare Management Club will focus on healthcare entrepreneurship at the annual Healthcare Management Symposium in November.
The Entrepreneur Meet-ups and the business Nanobator, were developed through a 2014-15 Institute of Museum and Library Services Library Services and Technology Assistance (LSTA) grant awarded to the Business Library through the State Library of North Carolina. The grant investigated the use of libraries as a partner, a place, and a provider of resources to support fourth sector entrepreneurship in rural counties.
“Everything is working together; the achievements of the LSTA grant were fostered in part through the training and inspiration gained by Campbell’s long participation in the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation’s Social Entrepreneurship retreats and institutes. In turn, the success of the LSTA grant became a foundation for the Foundation’s recent award of a faculty Fellowship to Dan Maynard, our Business Librarian. I am sure all this good work will generate more collaboration and future funding opportunities,” said Dawn Neighbors, Campbell’s assistant vice president for corporate and foundation relations.
“I agree,” said Dan Maynard, the School of Business’ librarian and LSTA Project Manager. “Many of our long-term efforts are beginning to bear fruit, and the ideas seem to be catching on with the students. I had five students working as paid Research Associates on the LSTA grant, two graduated, and each of the three returning students ran and was elected President of a student club. I am proud that my LSTA alumna are now the presidents of the Social Entrepreneurship Club, the Adam Smith Club, and the Healthcare Management Club and that all of these clubs are supporting Campbell’s local entrepreneurship initiatives. It is great to see student and faculty support combine with these new Public Library and the Economic Development Office programs. This is shaping up to be quite a year for entrepreneurship in Harnett County.”
Wiggins Memorial Library, Social Entrepreneurship Club continue alliance with Harnett County Library