Business Skills Training
Workshop
Supported by a grant from CSREES, a business
skills training workshop in Texas provided
outreach professionals with tools to help
entrepreneurs build their businesses.
The purpose of the workshop was to expand
technical skills and create high-performance
programming for outreach professionals. These
professionals take these skills to their
communities, where they work with entrepreneurs
to build profitable farm-based, rural retail,
and value-added small and micro businesses.
With presenters drawn from both the Land-Grant
University System and the private sector,
more than 70 participants had an opportunity
to learn from leaders in fields such as e-commerce,
marketing, financial planning, business operations,
and customer service.
Inter-agency collaboration was a main theme,
considering that participants came from a
variety of organizations including extension
(67 percent), local and state government
(15 percent), and tribal and other colleges
(17 percent).
The workshop also provided an opportunity
for inter-regional collaboration. Participants
came from all regions, including Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands, in part through financial
support from the Southern
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
(SARE) Program and the Western
Rural Development Center.
The workshop was designed and organized
by the Cooperative Extension Service National
Home-Based & Micro Business Design Team,
supported by a grant from CSREES and logistical
and material assistance from the Southern
Rural Development Center.
Workshop proceedings are posted on the Southern
Rural Development Center's Web site.
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