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Expo to offer business advice

The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley Elkins-Randolph County Chamber executive director Lisa Wood, left, speaks with Ging Murdock, owner of Ginrollsandpancit. Murdock will be one of the presenters at the second Elkins Entrepreneurs Expo Wednesday to provide information for anyone interested in opening a new business.

ELKINS — The second Elkins Entrepreneurs Expo will be offered Wednesday at the Phil Gainer Community Center.

The Elkins-Randolph County Chamber has partnered with the Randolph County Development Authority and Elkins Main Street to sponsor the free event, which will get underway at 10 a.m. with an optional “Downtown Opportunity Tour” hosted by the West Virginia Hub’s Downtown Appalachia Revitalizing Recreational Economies (DARRE) program.

“If people want to join us for the downtown tour, the RCDA is taking the lead on it, along with assistance from the DARRE program from HubCAP,” Elkins-Randolph County Chamber Executive Director Lisa Wood told The Inter-Mountain.

“The RCDA is setting up locations, starting with the Seneca Mall and then walking down Davis Street talking to some building owners who have space available for retail or businesses,” she said. “They will end at Riverview Apartments across the bridge on South Davis Avenue where they have three retail spaces. During the tour, you not only get to see the space, but you get to have conversations about what those spaces have the potential to become.”

The Expo doors at the Phil Gainer Center will open at 12:30 p.m., and workshops will get underway at 1 p.m. Along with live educational workshops, the event will feature informative round tables, educational booths, discussions, storyboards and valuable meet and greet interaction.

“We condensed the workshops and we have 16 of them that will run over a four and a half hour period,” Wood said. “We are excited about everything we have planned and the only big difference this year is that we have moved the workshops to the afternoon. Those who come can attend one class, or they can attend up to four workshops if they would like.”

Wood said that between the workshops, a half hour will be built in during which participants can visit tables that will be providing information they may need.

“They can walk around and have one-on-one conversations with many of the different presenters who will be there,” said Wood. “We will have anywhere from 20 to 25 vendors set up between the workshops.”

Several new business owners will be on hand who will discuss what has, and what hasn’t worked for them since opening their business.

“The new business owners will be there to answer any questions someone may have,” Wood said. “New owners may want to know if it’s possible to have a full-time job and still run a business. We will have people there that can talk to them about that. Some of our participants at last year’s event who have since opened new businesses include Gingrollsandpancit, Southern Kitchen and the Mossey Merchant.”

The evening will be capped off by a reception at 5:30 p.m. that is free and open to the public. The Business Education Series guest speaker will be Dr. Danny Twilley of Ascend West Virginia.

There is no charge to attend the expo and further information can be obtained by calling 304-636-2717 or going to the Elkins-Randolph County Chamber’s website at www.erccc.com.

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