VALDOSTA, GA – The 2015 Southwest Georgia Bank Business Plan Competition opens on Friday, Jan 31, providing contestants with one-of-a-kind opportunities to grow their new businesses.

The winner will receive $10,000 in start-up capital from Southwest Georgia Bank for the new business, in addition to marketing and financial packages from various sponsors within the local business community. The winner also will receive a free Chamber membership and publicity throughout the year at Chamber events and in Chamber publications.

“We recognize that small businesses are the backbone of our economy,” Jeff Hanson, Executive Vice President of Southwest Georgia Bank said. “Many entrepreneurs or small businesses have great ideas, but lack the capital or the financial planning that can take that great idea and turn it into a successful venture.”

Everyone who enters the competition has the opportunity to attend workshops and meetings with local business professionals who will advise and provide training on developing a successful business plan.
“The Business Plan Competition provides a structure for vetting great ideas and providing input that can be the difference in making a business thrive,” Hanson said. “This program positively impacts all applicants, not just the winner, so it is a win-win for everyone involved.”

The goal of the competition is to train and educate new businesses in order to ensure the success of the local economy while also creating jobs for recent college and university graduates in the Valdosta-Lowndes county area.

“We are very fortunate to have numerous outstanding educational institutions located in our community that graduate thousands of students annually who are well trained and eager to remain in our community. Unfortunately, many have to leave our area in order to find the work they seek,” Hanson said. “By supporting the Business Plan Competition, we hope to create more opportunities to retain this talent by expanding jobs locally for college and university graduates.”

Through creating and supporting new businesses, the Southwest Georgia Bank Business Plan Competition aims to create space for more jobs and higher level of economic security within the community.

The 2014 winner, Angela Roark with Monarch Hair Solutions, LLC, was announced by Jeff Hanson, at the Chamber’s 102nd Annual Membership Meeting on Jan. 30.

For more information about the competition or to register, contact Varian Brown at (229) 247-8100 ext. 234.

Source: Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce Press Release