Fulton County Touting Entrepreneurial Initiative
The Fulton Economic Development Corp. says a three-year entrepreneurship initiative has led to the creation and retention of jobs throughout the county. The organization says the effort has led to the launch of 10 businesses and a revolving loan program.
The goal of the program was to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem and support small business. FEDCO cited the U.S. Census Bureau, which said 90 percent of businesses in Fulton County have less than 19 employees.
"We know that comprehensive economic development includes quality of life initiatives such as trails, recreation, shopping, and eateries," said Terry Lee, FEDCO executive director. "By creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem, we’re addressing these factors while creating an environment where entrepreneurs can get support for strengthening their existing businesses, for experimenting with ideas for expansion, and for new business owners to learn about starting a business before taking the critical first steps. We’ve seen businesses take more calculated risks because they’re confident in the support they have from us, their local economic development organization. We’re happy with the results and the impact the program is having but there is more work to do. We will continue to add resources that support our local entrepreneurs."
Part of the program included the NxLevel Business Planning and Management Class, which was offered twice annually. FEDCO says 74 students, representing 66 businesses, took the class which led to the launch of aforementioned 10 new companies and the expansion of eight others.
FEDCO announced the results of the initiative as part of Indiana Entrepreneurship Week.