Lake County summit strives to help entrepreneurs, small business owners

MINNEOLA — Regional and local business organizations are partnering to host the Lake County Business Owners Success Summit (BOSS) to provide answers to area small business owners on how they can survive in today’s economy on Thursday, March 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Minneola City Hall, located at 800 N. U.S. Highway 27.

The free summit includes a panel of speakers that will help entrepreneurs understand the latest trends in small business technical assistance, banking and economic development. The panel will be responding to information received from registrants when they register online. The online registration asks several questions about what are the individual’s most pressing business issues, such as access to working capital, marketing and business planning.

A few of the speakers on the panel include Jerry Ross, Director of the Disney Entrepreneur Center, James Spencer, Site Manager for the UCF Business Incubator-Leesburg, and Dottie Keedy, Director of the Lake County Department of Economic Growth & Redevelopment. After the panel, participants will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with business resource providers, including: 

• Disney Entrepreneur Center
• Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF
• Lake County Department of Economic Growth & Redevelopment
• Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission
• UCF Business Incubation Program
• Workforce Central Florida

“The current economic climate is transforming the way Lake County companies do business,” said Minneola Councilman Victor M. Ortega, who helped organized the event. “The global recession presents many challenges, and business owners at every level are urgently seeking practical answers to their most pressing concerns. Perhaps one of the greatest difficulties they face is simply knowing what resources exist, and are available to help them sustain, grow, and prosper their businesses.”

To register for the first Business Owners Success Summit, call Linda Green with the Lake County Economic Growth & Redevelopment at (352) 343-9899 or log on to www.thebosslink.com.