Looking for help with a great idea or a special need in the coming year?
In the lingo of Rhode Islandese, just “askaboudit!” said M. Cary Collins, professor of entrepreneurship at Bryant University in Smithfield.
Examples of local resources readily available include: the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the Rhode Island Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, the Small Business Development Center at Johnson & Wales University, the John H. Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University and the Ocean State Consortium of Advanced Resources, he said.
“An active entrepreneurial network fostered by the likes of BetaSpring and the R.I. Economic Development Corporation also lends itself to heavier use, since virtually everyone in that community wants to help you,” Collins added.
Business owners with new ideas certainly should think global, Collins agreed, but “cultivate expertise on a local level.
So if, for instance, a business owner wants to learn more about the U.S. Small Business Administration, he or she should call the SBA office in Providence or Executive Director John Cronin of the Small Business Development Center. •
