LAKEWOOD, Ohio – An important part of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce’s mission is focused on providing the business community with educational opportunities.
That’s why last year the nonprofit organization the Small Business Education Series.
“The series was launched by the chamber in partnership with the City of Lakewood,” said Lauren Small, CEO and President of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s just to support our small businesses in the community and surrounding communities, as well as chamber members by bringing them education on current topics. It’s free to attend for small business owners, which is fantastic.”
The impetus for the series reflects the chamber’s decision to turn to a better understanding of how best to support small businesses.
“One of the things we’ve heard a lot from our members and the business community is that they need small business training because Lakewood has so many sole proprietorships, just small, really micro businesses,” she said.
“They are certainly very smart and business-savvy, but may not have all those areas of expertise under their belt.”
While marketed by the chamber, the series events are open to any business owner or manager.
“The chamber has an education task force, which is one of our chamber committees,” she said. “Steve Meka from STEM Handmade Soap is the leader of that committee for us.
“We have several team members and chamber board members on the committee who help find relevant topics and speakers that are interesting and timely.”
Just like last year, the chamber plans to host six Small Business Education Series events in 2025.
The next Small Business Education Series event will take place at 9 a.m. Tuesday (Jan. 14) with “AI Made Simple: Practical Tools and Tips for Small Business Success” followed by a financial panel scheduled for February 11.
All series programs are held in the Lakewood Public Library multipurpose room.
“We committed to doing six a year for a total of five years,” she said. “And if it’s successful, we’ll keep doing it.
“It’s just something that the chamber is good at that we can bring value to our small business owners.”
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