What Do You Do With a Good Business Idea? Piedmont Housing Alliance Takes You Inside the CIC
We all have good ideas, from time to time. They come, they go. Usually in the shower. Entrepreneurs are no different, except when a really big idea strikes both their brain and their heart. Then, they seize it, examine it, talk about it, put it on paper. Excitement builds, until they realize they do not know the next step.
How do you turn an idea into a business? Where do you get the tools, the money, the know-how, the contacts? Who you gonna call?
Enter the Community Investment Collaborative (CIC), offering under-resourced local entrepreneurs education, micro-loans, mentoring, networking, and more.
We may picture an entrepreneur as a loner or a rebel on his/her own with a golden nugget of an idea. The truth is, no one succeeds in business alone. All new business owners need to know the people who can help them get what they need to succeed, and that is what the CIC teaches.
Launched in 2012, the CIC program is built on four pillars designed to help entrepreneurs start or expand their business:
>An established and proven business-education program
>Extensive mentoring, peer discussions, and ongoing support
>Startup financing or ongoing microfinancing to qualified graduates
>Networking within and across the community
The CIC is all about business building, which is why Piedmont Housing Alliance is such a terrific partner. Piedmont Housing’s certified housing counselors teach personal finance as part of the CIC training and are available for individual financial counseling and coaching. Piedmont Housing is also the local service provider for the Virginia Individual Development Account (VIDA) program, a matched-savings program that encourages asset-building by matching participants’ savings with $8 for every $1 they save, up to a maximum of $4,000 in matching funds, to be used towards business start-up or expansion, homeownership, or post-secondary education. For more information about VIDA: https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/index.php/business-va-assistance/startingexpanding-a-business/virginia-individual-development-accounts-vida-business.html
It all starts with the application. The next workshop begins in February 2017. Take the reigns of your idea and see where it leads you. Never before have entrepreneurs had such amazing support and opportunities.
Email: info@cicville.org or Phone: (434) 218-3481