Downtown Business Academy Takes Shape in Chehalis

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The Chehalis Community Renaissance Team kicked off its newest initiative Thursday afternoon with a Powerpoint presentation and plenty of pizza for the dozen or so attendees at the Chehalis Theater.

Based on the initial response, future sessions of the Chehalis Downtown Business Academy will include as many topics as there were toppings on those pies.

Representatives of the business communities of both Chehalis and Centralia showed up to collect information on what is a planned series of lectures and discussions about how to better run their companies, develop marketing plans and hire better employees.

Nicole Sampson, a CCRT board member and owner of the Delfin Agency, set the stage for the first three of what will be monthly academy sessions, as well as what she hopes the initiative will become in the long run.

“We’re looking to build a community of people who together can help each other build up their businesses,” Sampson said. “We want to create a toolkit for local entrepreneurs and get feedback from them about what they need help with and how we can provide that space for them to learn.”

Sampson is slated to be the keynote speaker for the first academy class in April, which will be on digital marketing strategies. Attendees will learn about advertising techniques in May and hone their business finance skills in June.

Annalee Tobey, executive director of the CCRT, said the idea for the Downtown Business Academy grew out of a few classes offered at Chehalis Coworks. The hope is that over the long run, classes will feature a mix of formal lectures and less structured discussion groups. Cost of attendance will be about $20 per session, though vouchers for a free session will be available at future meetings of the CCRT.



Class times will also vary based on the topic and target audience. Subjects of more interest to retail proprietors may take place early in the morning, before normal business hours. Meeting locations are subject to change as well.

“A priority for us is to develop a support system for local businesses,” Tobey said. “More than just a singular topic once a month, we want people to be able to ask questions and get advice from each other when they need it. We would love to take our lead from the community as far as what they need. We want this to be something we can add to the menu of things the CCRT can do for local businesses.”

Attendance at the first meeting Thursday was not limited to traditional business owners. Jason Mattson, executive director of the Lewis County Historical Museum, said he wanted to check out the group to get tips on how to run the business end of the museum.

Aside from generating more income and a higher visitor count, Mattson hopes to learn more about social media and get new ideas for visual displays.

“I think something like this could be good for a lot of different kinds of businesses,” Mattson said. “Learning about things like this never hurt anyone. I think even a seasoned business would have a reason to come out and get a fresh perspective or pick up some different ideas.”