Mountain BizWorks :: Training | Financing

Smoky Mountain Dance Center is proud to be a member! Mountain BizWorks is a great starting point for rookie entrepreneurs lookings to launch a new business, as well as an excellent resource center for experience entrepreneurs with hopes for improvement or expansion.

Nicole Polzella - Smoky Mountain Dance Center

The Gateway Club, Inc.
Category: Entertainment - Clubs/Venues
Suzanne Tinsley
Arthur O'Neil
37 Church Street
Waynesville, NC 28786
Phone: (828)456-6789
Fax: (828)246-0842
Email: info@thegatewaylub.com
Website: http:// thegatewayclub.com

Heidi Stewart Law Firm
Category: Entertainment - Clubs/Venues
Heidi Stewart
144 East Chestnut Street
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828)225-6030
Email: mail@heidistewart.com
Website: http://www.heidistewart.com/

Focusing on providing quality, accessible, legal services to our clients in the areas of Family Law, including Elder Law Issues,Guardianships, Adoptions, Child Custody and Visitation, Divorce and Property Distribution. as well as assisting clients in Business Law Matters (including Corporation and Limited Liability Company formations).

Visit our online directory for a complete listing of alumni-owned and operated businesses!

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For over two decades, Mountain BizWorks has been in the hope business, the dream business, the opportunity business. We have been helping small business owners build the economy of Western North Carolina one business and one job at a time. Mountain BizWorks values serving all individuals who aspire to be entrepreneurs and they believe that people should be able to create a better life for themselves and their families through business ownership. Mountain BizWorks believes that successful businesses create long-term social benefits and economic prosperity, particularly in underserved communities. They value the dignity and work of each individual and encourage self-sufficiency, accountability, and cooperation. Furthermore, they value being a community that bridges the gap between entrepreneurs of varying incomes, geographies and ethnicities. Mountain BizWorks is an entrepreneurial, non-profit organization that operates with a double bottom line of social impact and financial viability -- ensuring a permanent resource for the Western North Carolina region.

In 2009, Mountain BizWorks was able to provide its services to 1074 entrepreneurs (65% were low-income, 61% were women, 26% were racial or ethnic minorities). Those individuals created 163 businesses and expanded 390 businesses. In turn, those businesses created 309 jobs and sustained 1147 jobs. We also made 49 loans totaling almost $792,800.

Since thriving small businesses are central to a vibrant regional economy, our vision is that every entrepreneur has access to business training, support, and capital for creating and sustaining successful businesses.

Alumni Spotlights

Casa dei Bambini: House of the Child is a bilingual village school with two communities – the toddler community is for ages 18-36 months and the preschool area is for 3-6 years. The center’s philosophy is that of a bilingual, family centered, and early childhood evidence-based practices approach. The school embraces hands-on experiential learning practices from many early childhood philosophies including Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Waldorf (Steiner). The program includes a dual language immersion approach where half of the day is spent speaking Spanish and the other half speaking English. This facilitates the acquisition of a second language for both English and Spanish speaking children.

Since opening in September 2005, the school has grown to a staff of eight full-time employees with 60 students and a waiting list. The program runs year-round and the hours are Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., with extended care until 5:30 p.m. For more information on Casa dei Bambini: House of the Child, visit their website www.houseofthechild.org or call 828-254-CASA.