Searching for the best
It's that time of year when we ask you to nominate your favorite businesses, organizations and individuals for our annual awards. So think about who has impressed you, where you have had an extraordinary experience and who has done amazing things with their business this year. Those are the sort of people we're looking to recognize.
Everyone is invited to submit nominations, and you are welcome to self-nominate. Here is the list of award categories: 
Nominations will be accepted until 5 p.m. on February 12. The award recipients will be recognized at the Chamber of Commerce Annual Celebration which will take place mid-March.
5th Grade Entrepreneurs
Earlier this week, I had the chance to be a part of the Entrepreneur for the Day program that the Grinnell 5th graders participated in. They spent the day developing business concepts in small groups, talking about product development, marketing, budgets and the difference between being an employee and being an entrepreneur. The program was led by Poweshiek County Extension staff.
I felt so much energy when I walked into each classroom, and I could tell they were having fun and were quite excited about their business ideas. Part of the excitement might also have been due to the fact that I walked in the room with my husband, whom many immediately recognized as the video game store owner, a store many of them frequent.
We were there along with Bill Hammen of Bill's Jewelry and Val Hammond of the Spaulding Inn. We rotated among classrooms and the students got the chance to ask us questions about our businesses. It was quite fun, and really interesting to hear the kinds of business questions that were on the minds of 5th graders. They asked what the best and worse parts of being a business owner are, what we wish we would have known before we started, types of expenses we have, how we market ourselves, working with employees, how we work to prevent theft, and so much more. I was quite surprised by the variety of questions and level of detail. It certainly wasn't all serious, though. David answered plenty of questions about popular video games and his favorite super heroes.
I hope that at least a few of those students become entrepreneurs in our community one day. We need young people like them with enthusiasm and innovation to open new ventures and to carry on existing businesses in our community. I'm curious to see which of them are running their own businesses in Grinnell 20 years from now.
~ Emily Counts
Did you know our office works with all types of businesses that are looking to start or grow here in Grinnell? We aim to be a resource to new businesses no matter where they're at in the start-up process.
From brainstorms over coffee to giving feedback on business plans, and from touring potential locations to connecting them with other community resources, I'm working with several prospective business ventures right now.
If you're thinking of starting a business, now is a great time to get serious about it. By getting all of your research and planning done during the winter months, you can be ready to open once the weather warms back up.
If you have any interest in opening a business, please contact our office. And if you've thought about starting a business but something is holding you back, let us know so we can try to help you and others like you overcome that roadblock.
Each business is unique, but some of the main ways we work with new businesses include:
Since our office is always working with prospective businesses and current businesses, we may be aware of upcoming changes/transitions that aren't public knowledge yet. Our policy is to let each business tell their story when they're ready, but if you come to us with an idea, we just might know of someone else starting something that could affect you. For instance, one time a prospective new business came to me looking for help finding a location. I happened to know of another new business that was interested in having sub-tenants. The two had great synergy and ended up sharing a space. If I wouldn't have been aware of both of their plans, they likely wouldn't have connected and ended up sharing their space, operating expenses, and synergy with each other.
If you are starting a business in Grinnell or exploring the possibility, please get in touch with our office to see how we can assist you. It doesn't matter if you're about to open, or if you're not even sure if your idea would work here. Let us help you get started.
~ Emily Counts
