Feb. 11, 2022
CREATE BRIDGES program to offer hands-on training to small business owners
By Brandon L. Mathews
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
- CREATE BRIDGES to launch series of workshops — Skill Share — for small business owners
- Multiple workshops available: Optimizing social media pages, branding support and more
- In-person workshops at the Spring River Innovation Hub with virtual participation available
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LITTLE ROCK – A community and economic development program from the University of
Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is launching a new effort to help small business
owners market and advertise their businesses.
CREATE BRIDGES, which stands for Celebrating Retail, Accommodations, Tourism, and Entertainment by Building Rural Innovations and Developing Growth Economies, will host a series of workshops to deliver specific advertising skills to small business owners. This five-part workshop series, called Skill Share, will feature presenters from the Division of Agriculture along with subject matter experts. Attendees will increase their working knowledge of key social media platforms, learn free branding tools to create eye-catching materials, develop photography skills to feature their products or inventory and more.
All five workshops will be held at the Spring River Innovation Hub (SRiHub), located at 7 East Cherokee Village Mall, Cherokee Village, Arkansas. Dinner will be provided with limited seating; a live virtual option will be available. All workshops will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will last approximately two hours.
“We are grateful to partner with CREATE BRIDGES and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture to support small businesses in our tri-county area. The SRiHub is a great resource for small businesses who need help with these topics or professional co-working space,” Graycen Biggers, Spring River Innovation Hub board member, said.
The SRiHub is also home to the new Small Business Center, an initiative funded by CREATE BRIDGES to support small business owners across Fulton, Izard, and Sharp Counties with technology needs such as podcasting, photography, vlogging, marketing and more.
Skill Share workshop dates and topics include:
- March 14 – Optimizing Your Social Media Pages — Amy Cole
- March 21 – Making Your Brand Come to Life Using Canva — Keisha McKinney
- March 28 – Utilizing Google My Business, Tripadvisor, and Yelp — Brandon L. Mathews
- April 4 – Learning to Use the Camera on Your Phone — Keisha McKinney
- April 11 – Maximizing Customer Experience — Julianne Dunn
Businesses can RSVP at https://uaex.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1Olgzqnbwbi4b7E. For questions or more information, contact Julianne Dunn at 501-671-2078 or jbdunn@uada.edu.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
About CREATE BRIDGES
CREATE BRIDGES (Celebrating Retail, Accommodations, Tourism, and Entertainment by
Building Rural Innovations and Developing Growth Economies) is a three-year pilot
with the first year spent engaging the community and collecting information and the
second year spent implementing strategies designed by the regional steering committee.
The process is designed to raise awareness of the role these important businesses
play in the local economy; determine challenges and barriers negatively impacting
those businesses; and develop and implement strategies to strengthen the retail, accommodation,
tourism and entertainment sectors within a region. To learn more about CREATE BRIDGES,
visit www.uaex.uada.edu/createbridges.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact:
Julianne Dunn
Economic Educator
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
501-671-2078
jbdunn@uada.edu