JANUARY 11, 2008
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — January 7 was the deadline for entries in Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s 2008 Business Plan Competition, and 28 Windham County entrepreneurs submitted their business plans. Seventeen of the applicants entered in the Existing Business category and 11 in the New Business category.
The next step in the competition is for the panel of judges to review the entries and select the finalists in each category. The winner in the Existing Business category will receive a prize of $20,000, and the New Business category winner will receive $10,000. All finalists will receive $1,000 prizes. The winners will be announced and the prizes awarded on March 12.
The pool of business ideas submitted hints at the wide range of talents and interests of the people in Windham County. Enterprises related to art, food, high technology, construction, publishing and health represent just a few of the business plans BDCC received in this, its third annual, competition. Entries came from Brattleboro, Dummerston, Dover, Londonderry, Newfane, Putney, Saxtons River, Whitingham and Wilmington.
Among the existing businesses entering the competition are a Mexican restaurant in West Dover, an art gallery in Brattleboro, a company in Dummerston making natural home insulation, an herbal remedies producer in Bellows Falls and a developer of data visualization technology in Wilmington.
Plans for creating new businesses include a publishing company, a disc jockey service, a micro distillery, a timber framing shop and a recycler of waste vegetable oil for fuel.
A detailed schedule for the competition and a list of its rules can be found on the website http://bdccbusinessplancompetition.com, or by a link from the BDCC website, www.brattleborodevelopment.com.
BDCC’s annual Business Plan Competition has become a successful entrepreneurial event. Its purpose is to help raise awareness in the community about small business and entrepreneurship, and to encourage new business development by helping interested community members develop viable business plans, gain public attention and earn financial rewards.
BDCC is a private, nonprofit economic development organization that serves as a catalyst for industrial and commercial growth in Windham County. Its primary objective is to create and retain a flourishing business community that supports vibrant fiscal activity and improves the quality of life of all the county’s residents. Founded in 1954, BDCC is one of 12 Vermont Regional Development Corporations. It owns and manages the Cotton Mill industrial park/incubator and the new business park at the former Book Press building, among other facilities.
For more information about BDCC, call 802-257-7731 or e-mail bdcc@sover.net.