It was a time for celebration as about 10 business owners and entrepreneurs graduated from the inaugural Aubrey Local Business Accelerator Class on Feb. 25 at the Aubrey Community Center.
Executive Director of Aubrey’s Municipal Development Christine Gossett, who ran the program, shared her excitement for the moment.
“We've been met with enthusiasm from the businesses that participated, but I also think we've learned a lot about what Aubrey's business base is and where we can grow moving forward and helping these small businesses get to that next level,” she said. “For me, that's been important.”
There were speeches from Aubrey Education Foundation Director Holly Drew and Aubrey 380 Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jana Temple.
Aubrey Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Perry read a proclamation honoring the first class of the Aubrey Local Business Accelerator, signed by Mayor Chris Rich.
The event was spearheaded by a local business owner Tarsha Hearns, who is a principal consultant with Economic Growth Strategies, “a firm that helps cities and municipalities develop small business initiatives and programs.”
When Hearns looked to get involved in the community, she noticed there were few if any programs for small business owners and decided to take action.
“Because of my background in managing and operating programs in other parts of the Metroplex, I came to the Aubrey MDD and pitched an idea to put together a local area business accelerator to support the local businesses here,” Hearns shared.
The strategies include using the business model canvas, which Hearns described as a management tool to help improve small businesses.
It evaluates nine key areas, including customer relationships, key partnerships and revenue streams, to name a few.
“I picked that tool because it is something that anyone at any level can use,” Hearns said.
She worked with Gossett to facilitate the course and created the class to help small businesses regardless of where they are in their journey.
Program graduate Heather Anderson, a broker and owner of Cottoge & Co. Realty, said the program has been a great learning experience and has helped her as a firsttime business owner and realtor.
“As a first-time business owner and realtor and because you work for yourself, you don’t always have everything set up,” she said. “When they opened this class up, I signed up, and I was able to fill gaps in my business plan that I didn't know were a thing or that I was missing, and I was able to actually see my entire plan spread out in front of me and see what I do when I'm not in fight-orfl ight mode in business.”
Reaping the benefits already, Anderson noted that not only was the class benefi cial, but also she was able to use the strategies she learned to enhance her social media presence for her business.
Sean Hickman, who owns and operates Divine Dents, a small business in Aubrey, learned about the program through a Chamber of Commerce meeting and thought it was a great opportunity to grow and take the business to the next level.
“I've tried quite a few different things in business, and this was just one,” Hickman said. “I knew that what they were offering was one way to grow, and I definitely have gotten more than I anticipated.”
Now, Hickman said, he has a renewed since of confi dence with the tools he’s learned over the course of the program.
City Manager Charles Kreidler was in attendance at the graduation ceremony, and he shared what the event meant to the city.
“We want more businesses in Aubrey that want to come here and bring their expertise in and provide us with the services that we need,” Kreidler said. “We're growing, so we want more services for our citizens, and this is fantastic what they have going here tonight.”
