Up & Coming Weekly

January 21, 2020

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 22-28, 2020 UCW 15 COVER STORY Building Business Rally: Let's do business by CAROLYN JUSTICE-HINSON If you are a local business owner or are looking to start a new venture, the Building Business Rally, which will be held on Jan. 30, is a must for you. "is could have one of the biggest impacts on keeping dollars local than any other event this year," said Christine Michaels, president and CEO of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber. e event will be held at the Ramada Plaza, 1707 Owen Dr., from 2-6 p.m., and features purchasing and procurement representatives for Fayetteville and Cumberland Count y's largest buyers who have over $1 billion of needs and opportunities for local vendors, regardless of your business. "To have the purchasing staff from the major companies and government entities all in one place, and all with dollars to spend, is an unbelievable opportunit y for local busi- nesses to make the right connections," said Michaels. Robert Van Geons, president and CEO of the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation, said the Building Business Rally is significant for our commu- nit y. "ese major organizations spend hun- dreds of millions of dollars each year, and if they have to go out of Fayetteville/Cumberland Count y to find businesses to meet their pro- curement needs, we are exporting that wealth to other people and places," said Van Geons. "Imagine if we spent all our public dollars here, how much better our communit y can be. Our hope with events like the Building Business Rally is by educating our entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs, we can build that eco- system, keep more dollars local and churn that funding through our local economy." e town of Hope Mills is one entit y looking to keep their dollars local and will be at the event. In the next five years, the town projects it will spend over $35 million on major projects, in- cluding the construction of the John W. Hodges Public Safet y Building, design and implementa- tion of the Heritage Park Masterplan, and the Hope Mills Golf Course Masterplan. "As we continue to see huge increases in fu- ture economic development, focusing on our lo- cal contractor and vendor base is paramount to the grow th of the base of local businesses in this region, " said Chancer McLaughlin, planning and economic development director for town of Hope Mills. "is event is so important to us because growing our local general contractor pool is vital to creating a sustainable tax base that ultimately results, not only in keeping local companies in business but also helping retain many of the local college students, creating op- portunities for employment." e Building Business Rally is part of a com- munit y wide initiative by local elected officials to increase the amount of funding spent locally on the wide range of service, supply and equip- ment purchased by local government. Michaels emphasized the event is for ever y t ype of business, and the needs of these orga- nizations are not just construction. Suppliers, professional service providers and prime and sub-contractors of all sizes should attend. "We are educating and engaging local busi- nesses on how to work w ith us and the t y pes of goods and ser v ices we need, " said cit y of Fayettev ille Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen. "We w ill be there because it's v ital that our commu- nit y foster an env ironment where businesses can thrive and grow. Even though you think you might not belong there, check it out and you may just find an opportunit y that's perfect for you." Michaels said one might equate the Building Business Rally to attending a job fair, only here you are connecting your business to organiza- tions that have money to spend and are looking for local vendors to spend it with. "Having attended a previous rally, I would encourage other businesses to bring materials such as a capabilit y statement that tells them about your services, references that can talk about your performance and business cards because you want to make sure you stand out," said Michelle Horne, president and CEO of Lan- dart Solutions. "Time is money. It's exciting to have a one-stop-shop and be able to participate in and find opportunities throughout the com- munit y in a short period of time." Over 100 businesses are recognizing the po- tential opportunities available and have already registered to attend the Rally. James Suber, owner of JS Designs is registered and says as a small business, getting the word out is hard and the event makes that easier for him. "I am looking for ward to it because I hope to get the word out about the services we have to offer and hopefully gain business. I think this is a great opportunit y for us to introduce ourselves to the communit y." Joel Angarita of BGS Ser vices agrees that as a local small business, his biggest challenge is getting his company's name out to the com- munit y and says the Building Business Rally offers even more than promoting his ser vices. "I also believe by attending, it will help recog- nize the gaps that aren't being filled here," he said. is is an opportunit y to introduce your company to 15 major organizations and tell them how you can help them and find out what they are looking for," said Ramona Moore, director of sales and marketing for Holiday Inn & Suites West/Fort Bragg. Even with extensive involvement and a long work histor y in our communit y, Moore knows taking advantage of this opportunit y is impor- tant to her and other local businesses. "As a new hotel, I need to get the word out, and this is the perfect (venue) for that. … I would tell all businesses to take advantage of this great event and don' t miss this opportunit y." e Building Business Rally is free to attend. Businesses are encouraged to preregister at w w w.faybids.com or can register at the door. All registrants will have their company infor- mation shared with the participating procure- ment representatives. The Building Business Rally, held on Jan. 30 at the Ramada Plaza, will feature over $1 billion of needs and opportunities for local vendors, regardless of the business. CAROLYN JUSTICE-HINSON, Communica- tions/Community Relations Officer Fayetteville PWC. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. (910) 484-6200

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