TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — "It gives us that advertisement that we can't always afford and gets us into a bigger market," said Eric Mckinnon, the owner of Leola's Crab Shack in Tallahassee.
Mckinnon is excited for the impact Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week will have on his business.
"It definitely gets us into a different arena of customers, so we definitely see an increase in people from other parts of the city," said McKinnon.
The Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality (OEV) is parenting up with several community organizations to provide collaborative resources, workshops, and networking opportunities for local businesses during MED Week to help them grow.
"All of those resources to help our businesses build capacity so that they can grow, they can manage more jobs, take on larger projects and then subsequently be able to create more jobs," said Darryl Jones, the Deputy Director for Minority Women and Small Business Enterprise Programs at OEV.
Jones said MED Week is geared towards giving new and existing businesses the tools and resources to expand their reach which can enhance the local economy.
"Immediately when I decided to open a business which I never thought I would but because of the resources in our community it allowed me to really think outside of the box," said Colette Washington, the Founder and CEO of Florida Health Science Consulting.
Washington partners with local universities to provide people interested in the health care field clinical training so they can get hands-on experience, giving them a leg up when they apply to jobs, in addition to medical and graduate school. Something Washington said wouldn't be possible without that key community support.
"It allowed me to learn and educate myself on the business side of things that I just didn't know," said Washington.
Minority Enterprise Development Week starts on October 17th with daily education sessions and workshops for local businesses to take part in. Plus, the MED Week Food Truck Fest is happening next Thursday, October 20th.
