ROANOKE, Va. – After surviving the coronavirus pandemic and now facing inflation and worker shortages, small business owners in Roanoke are getting a helping hand.
On Monday, 60 people representing dozens of restaurants across the Roanoke Valley participated in the first Foodiepreneur Symposium.
The Roanoke Regional Small Business Development Center organized the gathering to teach business owners about marketing, budgets, and hiring employees.
Entrepreneurs learned how to be proactive when it comes to legislative changes, like a ban on styrofoam, that could impact their operation.
“It’s really going to impact their cost of goods, their suppliers, where they get things, how do they maneuver those costs, do they have to change their prices,” Amanda Forrester, Roanoke Regional SBDC Director said. “All of those are conversations we’re going to have to see what that looks like next.”
Forrester also said that in-person networking helps entrepreneurs learn from one another’s experiences.