WEDNESDAY, APR. 4: EEZy Does It! is a monthly column presented by the BEDC’s Economic Empowerment Zones Agency (EEZA). Every month, read about entrepreneurship and business opportunities, obtain business management tips, and find out what’s going on in the EEZ business sector.
Recently, the Somerset Economic Empowerment Zone (SEEZ) and the Sandys Parish Council hosted the Somerset Community Speaks event.
Both organizations worked extremely well together to present 10 Somerset Business Opportunities to the public.
At the conclusion of the event 50 budding entrepreneurs expressed an interest in taking advantage of some of the business opportunities available regarding the potential Somerset beach concessions and various event planning ideas.
So, everyone is asking what’s next? In a nutshell, our next steps are to help those business opportunities become a reality so that the SEEZ is a vibrant place to live, work, and play.
On Thursday, April 5 the SEEZ will be meeting at Salt Rock Grill with the entrepreneurs who expressed interest in the 10 Business Ideas reviewed at the Somerset Community Speaks Meeting.
This will be the first of many planning sessions where we will work with entrepreneurs to further develop their business plans.
We are excited about this opportunity to support and further develop local business and look forward to sharing the results of the Thursday planning session with you in a future article.
In my role as Economic Development Officer, I hope to help create inspiring visions of success, starting the right fires by bringing key people and information together to support their passions and then, as hard as it may be, let entrepreneurship flourish by getting out of the way.
The SEEZ is also continuing to work with Somerset stakeholders and partners to analyze the community-based feedback in an effort to build capacity for new community leaders to be developed.
Core partners committed to working with the SEEZ include: Sandys Parish Council, Sandys Rotary, Kiwanis Club of Sandys, Sandys 360, Somerset Police, Somerset Cricket Club, West End Ministerial Alliance, and West End Chamber of Commerce. We are facilitating the creation of a Somerset Collective focused on moving Somerset’s visions to a reality.
Additionally, we are engaging Somerset businesses to individually support them where needed. Somerset has many colourful and thriving businesses. We have found that Somerset is so much more than a thoroughfare to Dockyard.
It is actually an unknown destination to stop and enjoy. One can find everything from restaurants to fine retail to drug stores, beauty salons, hotels, spas, beaches, historic buildings and the list goes on and on.
Our role at the SEEZ is to assist Somerset stakeholders in leveraging and promoting these enterprise and community assets.
As an organization that focuses on and encourages grass root and organic development, the SEEZ recognizes the importance of being a tangible part of the area we are serving.
In this regard, we are pleased to announce that we have identified a new area office located on the lower floor of the Prince Albert Lodge, next to HSBC. By mid April we look forward to being able to provide our full complement of services to the Somerset community and stakeholders at large.
Should you have any questions or are interested in learning more about the business opportunities in Somerset, please call me at 704 -9056 or e-mail me at wspriggs@bsbdc.bm.
We look forward to discussing how your ideas can take root and flourish in Somerset.
William Spriggs is the Economic Development Officer for the Somerset EEZ. Having had a long-standing relationship with the BEDC as former general manager, he is responsible for providing business owners in the designated EEZ and surrounding areas with business development advice and loan/ grant guarantee assistance