West Virginia Entrepreneurship Update August 2021

WV Secretary of State Update

The Honorable Mac Warner, WV Secretary of State- [email protected]

The Secretary thanked everyone  who works in the ecosystem for continuing to support the development of a thriving business climate in West Virginia where new ideas are always welcome and where entrepreneurs feel at home.

He announced that West Virginia has been named one of the “Top 10 Business Climates” in the United States.

Business Facilities Magazine also recently recognized WV as a “Rising Star” – as a state where the business climate is welcoming and improving.  In the Secretary of State’s Office,  they are doing their best to develop and implement technology that helps entrepreneurs and business owners spend more time creating jobs than worrying about bureaucratic paperwork. With the help of the legislature — and with our partners at SBDC, the WV Tax Department, the Department of Labor and Workforce WV — back in 2018 WV One Stop Business Center was opened.  Just about everything the Business & Licensing Division does for the business community can now be done online in real time. Filings for 117,000 businesses and nonprofits, UCC filings, and registrations for charities, notary publics, sports agents, marriage celebrates, scrap dealers, etc. can now all be done online.

Just about an hour ago……it was announced that the Business4WV business portal has received and completed the ONE MILLIONTH TRANSACTION!   Secretary Warner wants to thank everyone in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and to let us know that the Secretary of State’s Office is doing it’s part to make it as easy to open a business and to stay compliant in West Virginia.

Spotlight Program WV Entrepreneurship Network, WV BusinessLink Soft Launch

Bill Woodrum, WV Entrepreneurship Network, [email protected]

Dara Macan, National Director Partnerships and Engagement, SourceLink [email protected]

Matthew Ditchen, Marketing Manager at West Virginia Department of Commerce, [email protected]

West Virginia BusinessLink is a supportive platform that connects entrepreneurs to a network of local, regional, and statewide resource partners to foster innovation, growth, and prosperity. The August WVEE meeting was the soft launch of the site which went live on August 9, 2021!

Follow us on Social Media for more information in the coming weeks:

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Other program updates and notes:

SBA Small Business Week 2021-September 13-15

Nikki Bowmar, Public Affair Specialist at WV District office of the SBA

Ms. Bowmar announced the National Small Business Week 2021 Virtual Summit will be September 13-15, 2021.
This year’s events will take place in a virtual atrium and will include numerous educational panels providing retooling and innovative practices for entrepreneurs as small businesses look to pivot and recover towards a stronger economy.
The SBA will share important information about the many programs and services available to help small businesses start and grow, build resilience, retain employees, discover new markets, and join key networks. The event will include representatives from Fortune 500 companies who will discuss their paths to success and share resources to help small businesses on their entrepreneurial journey.  Highlights of the summit will include virtual booths to develop one-on-one connections with public and private sector partners to create opportunities for collaboration and information-sharing in real-time.  In addition, small business participants can learn more about new business strategies, meet other business owners, and talk with industry experts. Speakers will be announced at a later date.

SBA is also continuing the monthly Small Business Briefings to ensure you stay up to date on all the programs and services offered by the SBA. These briefings are the first Friday of every month at 10 am eastern time. If you are interested in being added to our contact list, just email us at [email protected]

Classroom2Career Summit on Friday, September 17th from 9-12pm.

Amber Ravenscroft, Edventure Group [email protected]

The EdVenture Group, Marshall University iCenter, West Virginia Department of Education, and West Virginia University Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship are collaborating to host the Classroom2Career Summit on Friday, September 17th from 9am-12pm EST.  The event will focus on collaborative conversations related to work-based learning and entrepreneurship education in the state, as well as highlight some current initiatives. Participants can attend at two in-person locations: Huntington, WV or Morgantown, WV (limited space for both – automatically transitioned to virtual when we hit capacity) as well as virtually via Zoom. Registration is now open at https://c2csummit2021.eventbrite.com

Rural Rise Virtual Summit-September 20-21

Tina Metzer, NCRD [email protected]

Registration is now open for the upcoming 2021 RuralRISE Virtual Leadership Academy & Summit!

 

or watch the full video below.

August 2021 Meeting of WV Entrepreneurship Ecosystem