COLLEGE TOWN, FL — Entrepreneurs in the Big Bend region gathered for workshops on cash flow, marketing, cybersecurity, and funding during the second day of Small Business Week 2026.
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During Small Business Week, entrepreneurs learn how to grow in an ever-changing economy. Day two focused on giving entrepreneurs hands-on resources and real connections.
Inside the AC Marriott Hotel, business owners moved from workshop to workshop, learning about everything from managing cash flow and marketing to cybersecurity and finding funding opportunities.
The free event, hosted by the Florida Small Business Development Center at FAMU, brought together entrepreneurs, advisors, and community leaders from across the region.
Tangela Lofton, the regional director of the Small Business Development Center, says the goal is clear.
"To support and foster growth and development in our community by way of supporting the business owners, their innovation, their business concepts, and their ideas, so we hope that this event will continue to bring what it has brought for the last 43 years: that support, and the understanding, that confidence that business owners need to be able to grow and scale globally," Lofton said.
Beyond the workshops, organizers say one of the biggest benefits is simply getting local businesses in the same room together.
Amia Nunn, the owner of Haulin Threads and a FAMU alum, spoke to the impact of the event and the role the community plays in her business.
"My business actually drives off of community; if it wasn't for the community, I wouldn't be where I am today. I started off as a small business and a 300 square-foot building, and last July, I actually upgraded to a 700 square-foot building right in Railroad Square," Nunn said.
Nunn also says the event offers something small business owners don't always have access to on their own.
"So the best thing about it is that it gives us the opportunity to grow. By us being small business owners, we don't always know what's the best way to handle our business work. With SBDC, it does help to put you into an actual structure to make sure that your business is thriving in a way that it needs to survive," Nunn said.
According to organizers, small businesses continue to play a major role in the Big Bend economy, and events like this are designed to help entrepreneurs navigate challenges while continuing to grow.
Organizers say the hope is that business owners leave with more than just information, but with lasting connections and tools they can immediately put to use in their own businesses.
The three-day event concludes Thursday.
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