Lake County Department of Economic Growth & Redevelopment supports virtual entrepreneur center

TAVARES — The Lake County Department of Economic Growth & Redevelopment is encouraging entrepreneurs that are looking to start, expand or relocate a business to use a new online one-stop resource, titled “Virtual Entrepreneur Center,” organized by the Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC) at www.flvec.com.

The Web portal is maintained by FHTCC, in partnership with local economic development organizations, including the Lake County Department of Economic Growth & Redevelopment. The Virtual Entrepreneur Center catalogs local, regional, state and global resources for starting and growing a business, such as feasibility, industry and competitor analyses. In addition, the online center provides links to other business resources, such as local permitting codes and forms.

“The entrepreneur center is an excellent resource not only for entrepreneurs, but any company that provides business services,” said Dottie Keedy, Director of the Department of Economic Growth & Redevelopment. “Updated constantly, I encourage all Lake County business owners to acclimate themselves with this new tool.”

Established business owners that offer services catering to entrepreneurs can use www.flvec.com as a directory to find new customers. Companies specializing in areas, such as law, accounting, information technology and communications, can list information on the Web site at no charge to assist entrepreneurs with locating available products and services they can use to start or grow a business.

The FHTCC is a regional economic-development initiative of the universities of Central Florida, South Florida and Florida. The partnership also involves more than 20 local and regional economic-development organizations and 14 community colleges. The strategic approach to high-tech economic development includes matching research funds, workforce development and a marketing program.

For more information about economic development in Lake County, call the Lake County Department of Economic Growth & Redevelopment at (352) 343-9899.