Economic Development News
a publication from the Charlottesville Office of Economic Development April 2013 |
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| NEW WOMEN'S BOUTIQUE OPENS ON THE CORNER |
On Monday, April 14th, Bluetique Cheap Chic, opened in Charlottesville. The store's grand opening on the Corner, located at 111 14th Street NW, was very well attended with eager customers lining down 14th Street before the doors opened. Bluetique offers a selection of preppy, trendy, and game day apparel that caters towards young women, all at affordable prices.
Bluetique's business model combines the goal of providing cute and fun clothes at fabulous prices with a concerted effort for the business to become part of the local college community. This strategy has allowed Bluetique to rapidly increase their store locations.
Established in 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky, Bluetique's success has now grown to five stores in other college towns: Bowling Green, KY, Oxford, OH, and recently, Harrisonburg, VA and Charlottesville. Bluetique has plans to expand to Knoxville, Tennessee and Raleigh, North Carolina later in 2013.
Please join us in welcoming this new business to the City of Charlottesville! For more information, please visit Bluetique online at www.bluetiquecheapchic.com.
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COMMUNITY JOB FAIR, MAY 1ST AT JOHN PAUL JONES ARENA
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The 2013 Charlottesville Community Spring Job Fair, is less than one week away. On Wednesday, May 1st from 10:00am until 3:00pm at John Paul Jones Arena, the largest job fair of its kind in Central Virginia, will host over 65 employers and 10 community resources. During the Job Fair, the following wide range of resources will be available, including a panel discussion about the characteristics employers seek in a job candidate and a workshop on starting a small business; onsite resource room where job seekers can get help with resume writing, interview tips, etc., and access to local resource agencies. The job fair is free and open to all job seekers, but pre-registration is strongly suggested. To view a list of participating employers, or pre-register for the event, please visit the job fair WEBSITE. If you are an employer looking for qualified candidates to fill your open positions, employer registration information is also available on the website. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Hollie Lee in the City of Charlottesville's Office of Economic Development, at leeh@charlottesville.org or 434-970-3117.
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| CEDA RECOGNIZED FOR JEFFERSON SCHOOL CITY CENTER |
The Charlottesville Economic Authority (CEDA) was recently recognized by the Virginia Downtown Developers Association (VDDA) for the continued efforts with the Jefferson School Community Center.
On Thursday, April 4, 2013, during the VDDA's Annual Awards Luncheon at the Union Train Station in Downtown Petersburg, Jason Ness accepted the award on behalf of the current and past CEDA Board for their important role in making this a successful project.
The Awards of Excellence are presented to showcase the achievements of organizations, individuals, and government in meeting the challenges of downtown management and revitalization. The award criterion was to recognize excellence in building improvements and redevelopment projects. Nominations included public or private real estate development, building improvements and adaptive re-use projects.
The $18 million dollar project was completed in December of 2012, with a grand opening in January of the following year. CEDA has been involved in this effort and continues to manage the City's loan to the Jefferson School Foundation for the project.
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| BIOTECH EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM IN CHARLOTTESVILLE |
The Charlottesville/Albemarle County community is sponsoring a Life Sciences Education Summit as part of the upcoming Celebration of the Biosciences in Virginia hosted by Virginia Bio to be held at Boars Head Inn on May 2. The Education Summit will bring together area educators, government officials, biotechnology industry representatives and economic developers for an energetic conversation focused on the future of STEM-H education in the Charlottesville/Albemarle community. Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Health (STEM-H) education is a leading strategy for establishing the region as a hot spot where the life sciences flourish.
The morning-long STEM-H Education Summit is focused on developing actionable outcomes that will encourage early scientific interest in our schools, develop career pathways, and nurture our life sciences industry. Remarks from the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation will kick off the event, followed by a look at Central Virginia's current STEM-H education and workforce development programs. Most importantly, participants will identify the next steps in building important partnerships between educators and industry leaders.
"We looked up and saw an emerging community of life science interests. To support this environment with the necessary workforce, we need to create educational pathways at all levels." said Tom Thorpe, President of Afton Scientific based in Albemarle County.
The summit is part of a series of events celebrating biosciences in Virginia on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of Virginia Bio, which will culminate that evening with a statewide reception and banquet. Virginia Bio is the statewide organization promoting commercialization of the life sciences in Virginia. It promises to be the most comprehensive and largest gathering of Virginia's life sciences industry in memory. The Education Summit is open to interested members of the community, but space is limited on a first come first serve basis - registration and more details can be found here: http://vabio.org/anniversary/education-summit
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| EXPANSION OF THE DARDEN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS INCUBATOR |
 University of Virginia's Darden School of Business has expanded its business incubator allowing it to become a year-round facility and has doubled the number of businesses it can incubate to 25. The W.L. Lyons Brown III Innovation Laboratory, known as the i.Lab, opened on April 11th after the $1.3 million dollar expansion. It features a new room for presentations, a location for Skype meetings, a suite of offices, and a kitchen area. Another change is that startups applying to incubate their business ideas no longer need to have a Darden student onboard. Now anyone from the University's schools, or the Charlottesville community, can apply. According to Michael Lenox, associate dean and executive director of the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Darden, "We've long observed that our students in the business school benefit immensely from others in the University. You pair an engineering student with a medical student and a business student and good things happen." For those entrepreneurs that did not receive a spot in the i.Lab, they can get coaching there and students will also be able to take courses created for the i.Lab, which will be team taught by faculty across several disciplines. To learn more about the i.Lab, please CLICK HERE.
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WORKSHOP ON STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS
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On Wednesday, May 8th from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, Piedmont Housing Alliance will be offering a free informational session for entrepreneurs considering starting a business.
The session will be held at Piedmont Housing Alliance's office at 1215 E. Market St. The workshop topics will include:
- How to take the first steps
- The cost of being in business, including start-up costs and financial stability
- Current resources available
- Information about the Virginia Individual Development Account (VIDA) and CIC, the Community Investment Collaborative
For more information, or to reserve a seat, please call (434) 817-2436 or visit www.piedmonthousing.org
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
May 1, 2013 - Chamber Business Academy: Become 8(a) Certified & Secure Sought After Government Contracts - 9:00AM-12:00PM
The Chamber of Commerce is teaming up with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and DIA to share with our members the following: an overview of recent past and up-coming potential construction and service contract work requirements at Rivanna Station, how to become 8(a) certified, how to develop 8(a) partnerships, and how to bid on Federally-funded Construction and Services Contracts. For more information or to register for this event, CLICK HERE.
May 1, 2013 - SCORE: Dream Big Workshop - 6:30PM-8:00PM
This free workshop is designed to show those who are interested in developing a Business Plan what they can expect and the services of Score that available to help them. To register for this workshop, CLICK HERE.
May 2, 2013 - SBDC: Keeping the Books - 1:00PM-5:00PM
Your business records allow you to monitor cash flow, track deductible expenses, prepare financial statements, and support your tax returns. In this workshop, you'll learn the fundamentals of basic bookkeeping tasks and how to use your chart of accounts. You'll learn to record and match revenues & expenses, record receipts & disbursements, handle end-of-period closings, and read financial reports. This seminar is not software-specific and will apply to any manual or computerized accounting system. It is an excellent foundation course for QuickBooks training. To register for this event, CLICK HERE.
May 7 & 9, 2013 - SBDC: QuickBooks for Small Business - 1:00PM-5:00PM
This 8 hour class, which is taught in two, 4-hour sessions, assumes you have no experience with QuickBooks, and covers the following topics: QuickBooks functions, menus, navigation, and help; chart of accounts; sales of products and services; expenses; bank and credit card reconciliations; fixed assets and bank loans; reporting, including customizing, filtering, and downloading reports to Excel; as well as several other topics. For more information or to register for this event, CLICK HERE.
May 16, 2013 - Chamber: How to Make More Money for Your Business - 12:00PM-1:30PM
In this session, you will learn the following: how to think like a banker where cash is king, how to focus on your key business drivers and measure your success, and how to create your own financial model and follow the money. For more information or to register, CLICK HERE.
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The Office of Economic Development is the City's primary vehicle for economic development services. Our mission is to serve as a catalyst for public and private initiatives that promote the long-term economic vitality of Charlottesville.
The Economic Development staff works to expand the tax base and to provide quality job opportunities for citizens through new business development, retention/expansion initiatives, and workforce training. The Office also coordinates and administers the functions of the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority (CEDA). The Authority issues revenue bonds and assists with front end capital for projects.
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