Guest Column by Ryan Nolander

Many of our local companies were started by entrepreneurs who had an idea for a new or improved product and turned that idea into a successful business.  Look throughout our community and you will see numerous examples of successful entrepreneurs.  Realizing that the majority of business growth in Greater Minnesota comes from helping your existing businesses grow, or helping startups be successful, we realized that we needed to make helping entrepreneurs a priority. This is where the Albert Lea Entrepreneurial Advancement Program arose from.

As a refresher, the ALEAP project started with a group of participants in a recent Blandin Community Leadership Program cohort, ALEDA and a partnership with a local marketing company.  The five areas of focus are:

1) Creating a monthly networking and mentor program.

2) Creating co-working office space downtown.

3) Offering a training program.

4) Hosting a “Shark Tank” event to highlight the importance of entrepreneurs to the community.

5) Offering a micro-lending program.

This month I want to provide an update on the monthly gatherings.

The ALEAP monthly gatherings continue to meet the third Thursday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Marketing Plant in downtown Albert Lea. Since June 2015, the ALEAP networking events have been focused on bringing entrepreneurs together with other entrepreneurs and local business experts to provide resources and mentorship opportunities.  At these past gatherings there has been a speaker from the local business community that has presented about a business success or topic and has been available to answer questions.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the monthly gatherings, we feel that we need to make some changes to the ongoing format.  We realize the importance of outside speakers, so they will still play a large part in future events, but beginning in second quarter 2016 we will be tweaking the format to also start incorporating topic nights and expert panels. These changes look to continue to encourage collaboration between seasoned business owners and new entrepreneurs and reflect what our ALEAP participants have been looking for in the feedback they have provided.

Starting this month, ALEDA and The Marketing Plant will be hosting the first topic night. During this event we will be discussing topics that the entrepreneurs have selected to discuss. Participants can engage on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ALEAPteam) and vote on the topics that are most important to them. The month of May will be the kickoff of our expert panel events. Three community legal experts will be available to answer questions and discuss essential topics important to new and existing business owners. In June we will have a local entrepreneur, Jena Thompson from Daisy Blue speaking about her business and experiences starting a new company.

We encourage all members of the community who are interested in starting a new business, have a small business or have been in business for decades to join us at the monthly events.  Come support new business development in Albert Lea and learn how you can help us grow.

If you have any questions, or are interested in participating, please feel free to show up on the third Thursday of the month or contact our office at 507-373-3930 and we will point you in the right direction.

Until next month, remember that we are all in this together.

 

Ryan Nolander is the executive director of the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency.