Spruce Root, a regional nonprofit business developer, will be hosting a small business workshop this Saturday in Wrangell, called Business Basics. The workshop is designed for Southeast Alaskan entrepreneurs who want guidance with planning their business ideas.
“Maybe it’s something that they’ve just had an idea in the back of their brain for a really long time, and they really want to make an effort to see that to fruition,” Spruce Root’s Client Services Director Ashley Snookes said.
She said attendees will learn how to start their businesses by planning for it, pricing whatever they’re selling and how to get additional support. She said it’s really common for people to just sit on their ideas for a long time, which is why additional support is helpful.
Sharing ideas for growth
“Starting a business isn’t something that you should ever put pressure on yourself to do completely on your own,” Snookes said. “You really need extra resources and people to get that up and going.”
Snookes said the class is interactive and it’s important to share business ideas for growth, even when people are too nervous to share. She said she encounters that a lot because people want to protect their own ideas.
“I think it’s one of the big barriers to people actually starting businesses, is doing too much of that,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you go on the street and tell everybody. But really, to start a business, it takes so much work, and most people on the street are not going to put the work in to steal your idea.”
She said Spruce Root has worked with hundreds of businesses in the region, ranging from selling food to guitars.
Registration closes on Wednesday, Nov. 12 and costs $25, but Spruce Root can waive the fee for those in need. The workshop is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Nolan Center.
