The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, in partnership with the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, will host a free financial workshop, “Where’s the Money”, on Monday.  The workshop is from 10 a.m.-noon at the INCubator in the Business Development Center, 100 Cherokee Blvd. 

The free workshop will put aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners face to face with representatives from a variety of alternative funding sources. Representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Accion, and BrightBridge Inc. will share business requirements and preparation needed to access these alternative sources of capital.

“The purpose of the workshop is to reduce or even eliminate the frustration that many business owners experience when trying to secure funding,”said Warren E. Logan, Jr., president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga. “As a community partner, our role is to get behind our local businesses and help them figure out ways to attract more customers, spur job growth, enhance their profit share and ultimately grow their business.” 

The “Where’s the Money” workshop is one of Urban League’s accelerated business programs, offered through its Entrepreneur Center. By partnering with the Chamber, the two organizations are providing business loan assistance to a broad range of businesspeople that can benefit from these services.

“A majority of the Chamber’s 2,000 members are small business owners,” said Maria Noel, director of the Chamber’s African American Business Development Program. “Over half of our INCubator tenants are women and minority owned businesses, and our 12 Councils provide outreach to business owners throughout Hamilton County and the international business community. In addition, the Chamber’s newest initiative connects African American business owners to business resources and customers.” 

The Urban League’s Entrepreneur Center provides a series of workshops and classes that teach business owners and entrepreneurs how to create a smart and original blueprint to grow their business. Since 2012, the Entrepreneur Center has assisted more than 100 businesses through a combination of services including, but not limited to, start-up business training classes, business plan development and identification of financing and procurement opportunities.

The workshop is free and open to the public.  To register, send an email to nburney@ulchatt.net or call 756-1762 ext. 25.