Montgomery Biz Meet Up

Business owners, managers, non-profits, entrepreneurs and prospective entrepreneurs are invited to drop in at Discover Uwharrie Welcome Center from 5 until 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27 for the inaugural Montgomery County Biz Meetup. The training will be focused on Marketing through Networking with an engaging conversation facilitated by the MCC SBC Director and TDA Director.

Montgomery County has been without a forum like the former Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce for a good many years, but efforts are underway to change that. The Montgomery County Chamber used to have regular events called Business After Hours and Montgomery County Biz Meetup is following that same tradition.

Imagine a monthly gathering where someone can attend and say:

"I have an idea."

"I need help finding a resource."

"We're hosting an event."

"We can provide that service."

"Our organization is working on this."

"Have you met the people doing that?"

"How can we help?"

And, most importantly:

"What can we build together?"

We believe Montgomery County has an incredible collection of people, businesses, organizations, industries, communities, and ideas. This initiative is an opportunity to connect those pieces—not through a membership fee or an outside organization, but through relationships, cooperation, and a shared commitment to seeing Montgomery County thrive.

Come as you are. Bring what you know. Share what you can. Learn from others. Make a connection. And let's see what we can build together.

“We are not looking to revive the Chamber, but to create a more informal alliance of Montgomery County’s business community,” Holden said. “There’s real value in businesses getting to know one another. We want to talk with them to find out how they feel about the idea of an alliance. If they like the idea, we then want to learn from them what the organization should look like to best serve them and the community—not create another burdensome item on a long to-do list or drain their coffers of money they could otherwise be using to promote their businesses or organizations.”

It’s important that we draw support from all corners of the county, Coulthard added. “The plan is to move the event around the county. And, no, we don’t have a schedule yet.”

By moving throughout the county, we can introduce people to different communities, businesses, facilities, programs, and resources while making sure participation is accessible to people from every corner of Montgomery County.

Each month can look a little different depending on the host and the needs of the community. There may be a featured topic, a new business spotlight, an upcoming event discussion, a community project, a resource exchange, or simply time to meet one another and talk.

Those who attend the Aug. 27 event will have the opportunity to complete a very short survey and one of the questions they will be asked is whether they’re willing to host a meetup. Another question relates to how often they would like to meet.

The alliance is intended to be very organic – for businesses, by businesses. Even the name is a place holder, said Coulthard. “It just seemed like it needed to have a name. We’re calling it Montgomery County Biz Meetup, but we’ll leave it up to the group to decide what the organization will be called.”

The event takes place Thursday, Aug. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Discover Uwharrie Welcome Center, 102 West Main Street in Troy. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call Marla Coulthard at (910) 572-2224.