Passion for Entrepreneurship Drives Project Open

Here at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, we have a passion for helping entrepreneurs succeed. Project OPEN does just that by assisting small business development and retention and aiding both aspiring entrepreneurs and established small business owners with the financial and technical resources needed to create and expand successful businesses. Our mission is to help strengthen our local entrepreneurial businesses, position our community for economic development within, and create a strong, friendly environment for a small business to start and flourish.

“Economic development isn’t always just about recruiting big companies or creating hundreds of jobs at a time,” Renee Duxler, president and CEO at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce said, “The backbone of this community is small business and we’re proud to have entrepreneurial infrastructure that is able to support and cultivate new and expanding small business.”

For new and existing entrepreneurs, Project OPEN provides gap financing. Gap financing is the amount of money needed when conventional lenders are unwilling to assume 100% of the risk of lending. In order to access funds from Project OPEN, applicants must secure anywhere from 20 -40% of the financing needed from a bank or credit union, and then Project OPEN works to come in with a loan for the remaining needed to fully fund the start-“The gap loan funding program through the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce allowed us to expand and realize the full potential of the customer service we wanted to provide,” Chris Mikesell owner of Salina RV said, “Being able to

In 2022, the Salina Area Chamber and Project OPEN was able to give out $320,000 in lowinterest loan capital, and $20,000 in grant funding for start-ups and expansions in Saline County.

In a special collaboration with Kansas State University-Salina, Project OPEN also offers FREE business training courses. ‘Basics of Marketing, Management, and Strategy’ focuses on essential information to assess the feasibility of one’s ideas to start or grow their business. ‘Financial Basics and Tools’ is geared to accurately calculate future sales and costs, determine working capital needs, and prepare for the future needs of new and existing businesses. These classes are intended to be taken together, as they walk entrepreneurs and start-ups through the creation of a full business plan. Anyone is welcome to attend, however, both classes are mandatory for businesses interested in gap financing. Registration for Summer 2023 courses are open now!

In addition to our partnership with Kansas State University-Salina, we have also partnered with Wichita State University and Network Kansas to provide an entrepreneurial certificate program. “Growing Rural Business” is an 8-week training course, custom-made to meet the needs of existing rural business owners who are ready to grow. Taught by faculty and staff from Wichita State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship who are experts in running businesses, this program provides hands-on, practical solutions and techniques to grow and modernize business ventures while living in a rural setting. More information and registration links for the Growing Rural Businesses Entrepreneurial Certificate Program can be found at www.wichita.edu/grb.

“As a relatively new entrepreneur with a business about four years old, I sometimes found myself sort of ‘hunting and pecking’ for the right keys and solutions related to operational questions and growth opportunities,” Joanne Smith, a graduate of the certificate program said. “While trial and error is a great teacher and a necessary part of my business evolution, I was grateful for the opportunity to have a more formalized education offering provided right here close to home.” purchase the inventory to have at-the-ready for our customers was a crucial piece in growing our business. We’re now getting ready to hire our 4th employee because of the demand and fast growth.”

If you’re ready to turn your good idea into a GREAT business reality, Project OPEN is for you! For more information about Project OPEN, please contact Jaclyn Crow at (785) 827-9310 x127, or email: jcrow@salinakansas.org You may also visit: www.projectopensalina.com