The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation is celebrating a successful year in 2015, citing continued growth in the county’s manufacturing industry, as well as the $42 million in Regional Cities grant funds awarded to the North Central Indiana Region.
Looking ahead, though, MCEDC Executive Director Jerry Chavez says the corporation is also working to help new businesses build from the ground up. “Our mission is probably four-fold if you look at our strategic plan, and attracting or helping new businesses get set up in Marshall County takes a lot of our time,” he says. “There are great opportunities across Northern Indiana. I would say that Marshall County has a rich history on entrepreneurs and new businesses starting up and we want to get back to that particular space.”
Chavez says that strategy has worked well for the county in the past, and it could help further grow the economy in the future, “Marshall County has historically been able to have entrepreneurs provide resources, and [we] have had great success in businesses starting up from the ground up. Maybe some of those businesses have started their operations in their kitchen or in their garage, and that has led to big operations in Marshall County.”
As part of the effort to encourage new businesses, the MCEDC is partnering with SCORE Indiana to host a series of workshops in 2016 to help potential entrepreneurs learn how to get started. The first of the workshops, called The Fundamentals of Small Businesses, takes place this morning from 9:00 to 11:00 at the MCEDC offices in Plymouth.
