Continuing to build on the foundation it put in place more than a decade ago, the St. Clair Economic Development Council has added another building block – the Small Business St. Clair initiative – and will launch its first ever Small Business Week Nov. 1-6.

The week raises awareness about the importance of small business in communities throughout St. Clair County and will feature free, virtual programming on a variety of subjects integral to starting, growing and strengthening a small business.

Experts in their fields, presenters will address one or two topics in one or two videos per day throughout the week, touching on issues relevant to small business. The plan is to highlight topics small business representatives have expressed as needs: Accounting Practices, Human Resource Tips, Insurance, Soft Skills, How to Build Processes, Social Media and Online Platforms for Business Efficiency.

Ten- to 20-minute presentations will be given throughout the week on EDC’s Facebook platform, and videos will be archived on a specially designed website for the initiative as a resource center for small business.

The website, filled with resource information, links and guidance on starting a business, marketing it, growing and expanding it, may be found at SmallBusinessSt.Clair.com and is accessible on the EDC site as well as in standalone form as an online resource center that will continue to evolve to meet needs.

As part of its strategic plan, the EDC, in addition to its work with industry and large commercial concerns, has been focusing efforts on small business, which makes up 99% of all businesses in St. Clair County.

EDC work began about two years ago with chambers of commerce throughout the county, providing assistance to bolster the services they offer their small-business-dominated memberships. Candice Hill, retail specialist for EDC, has been the liaison between the chambers and EDC, tailoring programs and efforts to meet their needs. “The Small Business St. Clair Initiative is the next cycle,” she said.

“We realize that the majority of business in St. Clair County is small business, and we want to provide resources that are relevant to ensuring success,” Hill said. “A lot of people and entities have played a part in making this come together – the St. Clair County Commission, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Jacksonville State University Small Business Development Center, Jefferson State Community College and our chambers of commerce.”

Local business groups have been “valuable partners critical to the success of this effort,” Hill noted, citing groundwork done by Springville, Pell City, Moody, Odenville, Leeds and Ashville chambers of commerce and the Argo Business Club. A steering committee from all the groups involved have been guiding the process.

Together with EDC, these partners have “created a way to help small business in St. Clair County, welcoming new business and giving them the help they need.”

Through Small Business St. Clair and Small Business Week, “it gives us the opportunity to expand our reach to small business in general, going beyond chamber membership and startups,” Hill said. “We want to all work together toward a similar goal of helping all the county’s small businesses, no matter what stage they are in. We want to help them meet the challenges and struggles facing them, arming them with tools they need to succeed and strengthening the backbone of our communities.”

Story by Carol Pappas, Discover St. Clair Magazine