Winslow Councilwoman Samantha Crisp ran her campaign on support of small business. Since she took office in June of 2018, she has attended multiple conferences and has had conversations about how to incubate business in rural Arizona. Her latest project is a series of workshops designed to encourage Winslow residents to move forward with their business ideas.
“Small business is the backbone of any community,” Crisp said, “But especially in a rural setting. These workshops or seminars will be a way to show entrepreneurs where to start in the process of opening a business in Winslow. This idea has been in the works since last year. It began as a way to get our farmer’s market vendors to be legitimate home businesses.”
Crisp speaks often about business incubators. To explain what that means, she said, “An incubator provides tools, training and resources needed to start a business.”
The series will be nine weeks long and feature two-hour sessions once a week. Crisp said, “This series will be open to everyone and free of charge. We will start in week one with presenting the legal aspects of starting a business. That means everything from licensing to registering your business name and website information, how to obtain your tax identification and more. I have invited the Secretary of State’s Office because that is who handles the business licensing. Hopefully, they will send a representative to help with that. We also have resources from the county and the Arizona Department of Revenue. There is a lot that goes in to the first steps.”
In week three, Crisp plans to have lists of available commercial properties in Winslow. “Week two will be all about writing business plans. Week three will be where we get into finding a location that is appropriate for your business. We have quite a few commercial buildings standing unused in town and we should really look into utilizing them. I have been on the Navajo County website myself compiling a list of properties. At that week three seminar, we will have local realtors and the city inspector and code compliance representatives to let us know about building codes and permitting. Beyond that, I would really like to have a list of local contractors available to help these potential business owners get their properties up to code and ready to open for business.”
She continued, “Financing is going to be a big topic as well. We will have with us a grant writer, banks, credit unions and some ‘angel’ investors. There are small business loans available and grants that can help with buildings or startups, you just have to know where to look. That is what our week four will focus on.”
The remaining seminars will educate entrepreneurs on topics such as business accounting, staffing and insurance and security. “This is definitely a crash course. Starting a business is not an easy task and it is even more difficult trying to navigate it all by yourself. This program will offer resources and contacts and networking that will get some things going here in our town. I understand that it won’t be overnight that we have 15 new businesses but I am hoping that the ripple effect of getting free education into people’ s hands will pay off. We have a lot of local talent here and I would like nothing more than to have all of our commercial buildings and store fronts filled with local business owners.”
Crisp looks forward to the week eight topic of marketing. “As business owners, especially those just starting out, we have to know how to get our name out there. I will have marketing directors available to answer questions. There will also be some focus on social media promotion and marketing. That is where our world is right now, we are seeing more and more social media replacing traditional advertising routes. Some people may not really understand how to navigate that and we will help during that session. Things like listing locations that are willing to put up advertisements on their message boards or windows will also be helpful. If all our business owners work together, it could be a great boost to our local economy.”
The free nine-week program will begin at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3, at the Hubbell Building, located at 523 W. Second St. Reserve a space in advance by emailing Crisp at scrisp@winslowaz.gov.
“Anyone and everyone are welcome to attend any or all of these workshops. The goal is to educate people on what is available and how to begin the processes of getting off the ground.”
