Small Business Resource Fair comes to St. Helens

Columba Economic Team, with its Columbia County SBDC, Keep it Local, and GRO Greater programs, is hosting Columbia County’s first-ever Small Business Resource Fair, an event designed to connect entrepreneurs and business owners with local business services to start, grow, and thrive.

"The Columbia Economic Team is excited to host this year's first ever Small Business Resource Fair in celebration of Small Business Month,” said Columbia Economic Team Small Business Specialist Sierra Trask. “Oftentimes, business owners and start ups ask us where they can find local resources like accountants, marketers, videographers and more. This inspired us to create a fair to gather as many resources as possible in the same room. There's so much our county has to offer local businesses and start ups, and this event is a great way to show that off."

The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the John Gumm Building and Civic Center (251. St. Helens Street, St. Helens). Attendees can expect to connect with more than 25 local service providers such as bookkeepers, marketers, lenders, CPAs, business advisors, and others.

Free professional headshots are available at the GRO Greater Headshot Lounge with participants receiving one black and white photo and one color photo with option to review and approve on-site. The event also offers three free professional development classes on common business topics. The schedule is as follows:

9:30 - 10:30 a.m., "Protecting Your Business Against Fraud" by InRoads Credit Union; 10:45 - 11:45 a.m., "How Strategic Lending Can Help Your Business Soar" by Wauna Credit Union; Noon - 1 p.m., "How to Use Canva and its AI Tools" by the Columbia Economic Team

For more details, visit the Columbia County SBDC Facebook page at facebook.com/ColumbiaCountySBDC.