Una, Chamber Of Commerce Survey Explores Need For Business Development Center
Feb. 02, 2010
Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033
FLORENCE, Ala. - The University of North Alabama College ofBusiness and the Shoals Chamber of Commerce have begun exploring thefeasibility of a Center for Business Development and Advancement. Thecenter would help the business community in assessing and addressingtheir strategic and operating issues as well as to enhance theirlong-term performance. In the next few weeks, Shoals-area business leaders will be invited toparticipate in a brief survey, designed to take a snapshot of thecompetitive issues, operational barriers and market opportunitiescurrently faced by local businesses of all types and sizes. "At this early stage, we simply want to see how the College of Businessmight better serve this community," said Dr. Kerry Gatlin, dean of theUNA College of Business. "The purpose of this survey is to see whatkind of demand there is for a service such as the Center for BusinessDevelopment and Advancement." The Center for Business Development and Advancement, if established,would provide local business owners and leaders with a comprehensiveand affordable range of highly effective business tools and services.Such tools and services could include consulting, business training,strategic development and process improvement, to name a few. "Statistics have shown that, for every 10 businesses that start up,eight to nine of them fail within four years," said Steve Holt,president of the Shoals Chamber of Commerce. "We want to know why,particularly in the Shoals area, so that we may find ways help thembecome more successful and profitable." The survey will be issued via e-mail to all Shoals Chamber of Commercemembers and any other business leaders who wish to participate. Eachbusinessperson taking the survey will be eligible to receive a freeexecutive overview and analysis of the survey results when they arecomplete. For more information, or to be included in the survey, contact the Shoals Chamber of Commerce at 256-764-4661 or shoals@shoalschamber.com.About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.