Hi there!
Welcome to the Columbia Entrepreneurship Alliance. We are a group of entrepreneurially-minded individuals and organizations striving to make Columbia, Missouri a more robust, connected ecosystem for those looking to start or grow their own business. As a subscriber to this newsletter, there are so many ways you can get involved with what we’re doing:
Visit startmo.biz to see our newly-designed website
Download our ecosystem resource guides and watch presentations from our past Jumpstart events at startmo.biz/resources
Have an upcoming event you want sent to our members? Promote your event on the CEA calendar!
Apply to present at one of our Jumpstart events
Want to be featured in this newsletter? Visit https://www.startmo.biz/contribute/ and we will get in touch with you regarding specifics and logistics.
More than anything, we hope you will use this community to help build your own business or organization as well as provide it as a resource for new and aspiring entrepreneurs. Let’s get connected!
- The CEA gang
Community Contribution Corner
Featured: Columbia Chamber of Commerce Small Business Week
Small businesses are at the core of Columbia and are a vital part of what makes our community a great place to live, learn, work, and play. The Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year award is an annual award given to an outstanding Chamber member business. The Small Business of the Year Finalists are selected with a scoring matrix by a distinguished panel of independent judges.
This year’s finalists for the Small Business of the Year Award include DogMaster Distillery, Healium, Missouri Business Alert, SOA Architecture, and Voluntary Action Center!
Every year, leading up to the award celebration, the Chamber celebrates all small businesses in Columbia during Small Business Week. This year’s Small Business Week Schedule is below. Please note: All Small Business Week events require advanced registration.
Small Business Week will kick off on May 3 at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and virtually at 7:30 a.m. Throughout the week, finalists will present free seminars showcasing their businesses.
May 3 at 4:00 p.m. - Healium, 4013 Frontgate Drive, Suite 107. Register here.
May 4 at 4:00 p.m. - SOA Architecture, 2801 Woodard Drive, Suite 103. Register here.
May 5 at 12:00 p.m. - Missouri Business Alert, 401 S. 9th Street, Room 200 in the Reynolds Journalism Institute on the University of MO Campus. Register here.
May 5 at 4:00 p.m. - VAC and DogMaster at DogMaster, located at 210 St. James Street. Register here.
The week will conclude with the Small Business of the Year Awards Celebration on Thursday, May 6 at 4:30 p.m. at The Blue Note. You can register for all Small Business Week events at www.comochamber.com/events.
Small Business Week is presented by Willimas-Keepers LLC. The Small Business of the Year Award Celebration is presented by Central Bank of Boone County.
Questions? Contact the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President of Operations, Penny Kuhns-Knarr, at penny@ColumbiaMOChamber.com.