ODESSA, Texas —
In a modern world seemingly dominated by large corporations, it’s easy to forget about those smaller businesses that exist in local communities.
According to the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, events like the Governor’s Small Business Summit help highlight just how important they are.
The summits are held throughout the year across the state and aim to help Texas small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs succeed. They help to do that by connecting them with the resources and information needed to start, strengthen and grow a business.
“In most, any community, small business is the backbone and certainly in Odessa, in this area it's the same way," said Tom Manskey, director of economic development for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce. "Typically well over 70% of employment comes from small business in the local community.”
When necessary, not everyone has the means or time to go out of town to explore state or federal options for aid. So, summits like this are convenient for these small businesses.
“And we know the governor's office has a lot of state and federal resources that they can utilize to assist small businesses," Manskey said. "So, we thought we would bring those resources to bear here all at one time today, so that our local small businesses could see what type of help and assistance they could get.”
While it’s good to hear what federal and state options are out there for business owners, Manskey said a lot of times business owners don’t know about what resources are at their disposal in their local community. He also said it’s important to remind them of those resources whenever possible.
“We want small businesses to know that there's help, there's assistance, there's programs that can help you grow your company locally," Manskey said. "We have money through the Odessa Development Corporation, depending on if you qualify, that we can help small businesses grow.”