(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce co-hosted a tour of open business spaces and introductory business workshops.
When the pandemic hit, people worldwide began to rethink the way they work.
This prompted a lot of people to quit their day job and get entrepreneurial.
“I feel like the pandemic has caused a lot of people to reevaluate their priorities, and I think we’ve recognized, as a result of that, that we’re not promised tomorrow. life is short, and why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?” Future business owner Stephanie Crowley said.
Aspiring business owner Stephanie Crowley is among those who have felt the impact of the pandemic and taken the risk to stray from the monotony of their day job and follow their dreams of starting a business of their own.
“I just recently resigned from my 40+ hour-a-week job to start my own business, a business that I’ve been passionate about for the last, probably, 22 years. I feel like the time has finally come for me to take that leap and go ahead establish a business,” Crowley said.
This desire to start her own business is what prompted Crowley to attend the Downtown Open Spaces Tour and Workshop Tuesday afternoon.
The workshop and tour presented by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, as well as the St. Joseph Downtown Association and Missouri Western State University Center for Entrepreneurship was held to give current and aspiring entrepreneurs some training.
“We discussed the steps to starting a business. You know, do you have the personality to own a business? So really talking about what it takes to own businesses, the reality of it. You know, so many people get lost in even defining what their startup cost is, so we went through those steps with them,” Annette Weeks, Director of the Center of Entrepreneurship said.
Following the workshop, attendees were taken on a tour of available properties in downtown St. Joseph that could one day be home to their business.
For chamber CEO Natalie Redmond, the goal of bringing new and current businesses downtown is to keep downtown St. Joseph going ‘in the right direction.’
“Downtown is the heart of our community, so by having a successful downtown makes our whole community stronger,” Weeks said.
Finally, for those wanting to take on the challenge of becoming a business owner, Crowley offers one major piece of advice.
“Follow your passion, do what you love. if you love what you do, it’s not work. I’ve always heard that and I’m a firm believer in that. And don’t give up, don’t give up,” Crowley said.
People interested in starting their own business are always encouraged to reach out to the Missouri Western Center for Entrepreneurship if they need help getting started.
