CABOT — Current and potential small-business owners have a new resource to turn to in the Cabot area.
Cabot is the pilot city for the new Cabot Business Assistance Office. It will serve as a satellite office for the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, a division of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s College of Business.
John Twyford, who works for the center, said it is Arkansas’ premier business-assistance provider.
Small business owners and those who would like help in starting new businesses will have an opportunity can make an appointment with Twyford at the new office, which is in the Cabot City Hall building, 101 N. Second St.
“It came about with the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010,” said Twyford, who is a business consultant with extensive banking and management consulting experience. “It allowed me to put more resources into five central counties.”
Those counties are Lonoke, Pulaski, Saline, White and Faulkner, with the first satellite office is in Cabot. Other offices will follow.
“I’ve worked with this type of assistance center before in Texas,” said Billye Everett, executive director of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce. “Many times there are people who want to start a business, and this is a one-stop shop where people can get what they need. Also, it is good for an existing business owner who needs help with inventory, book work or anything else.”
Everett described the new business-assistance office as a win-win situation. The consultations are free, but Twyford said there is a nominal charge for seminars and other educational courses that are offered.
Twyford said he can assist people who need advice on startup or on existing small businesses, as well as advice on business and financial planning, marketing, loan packaging, management issues and more.
“It’s another tool in the arsenal of helping a business grow and thrive in any situation,” Everett said. “And it’s convenient to have one on the ground here; it’s really great. We are excited to have it here.” A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday to mark the opening of the Cabot Business Assistance Office.
Everett, Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert and Gary McMillan, chairman of the chamber’s Economic Development Committee, led the effort to establish a convenient place for the new office, which is a joint venture of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, the city of Cabot and the Cabot Chamber of Commerce.
To set up an appointment with Twyford, contact him at jstwyford@ualr.edu or (501) 683-7700.
The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center is a partnership program of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business. To learn more, visit asbtdc.org.
Staff writer Jeanni Brosius can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or jbrosius@arkansasonline.com.
Three Rivers, Pages 125 on 10/30/2011