The Laurinburg/Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce is giving entrepreneurs an opportunity to have their business questions answered at the chamber’s office, 606 Atkinson Street, on Small Business Day Sept. 14.

The counseling is free for anyone looking to open or expand a business in Scotland County.

 Counselors from many regional organizations will be on-site for one-on-one sessions. Whether it’s a question about financing, marketing, cash flow, or business plans, counselors will be able to steer participants in the right direction. Counselors will include April Gonzalez from the US Small Business Administration, Phyllis Queen, business consultant at UNC-Pembroke, Meena Ahuja, director of the Center for Economic Empowerment & Development in Fayetteville and Beth Wilkerson, assistant regional director with the Small Business and Technology Development Center at UNC-Pembroke. Each counselor will work with participants individually in one hour sessions, and appointments must be made in advance. 

“We offered this program in May, and had a great response from local business owners and would-be business owners,” said Matt Kendall, chamber program director. “These counselors have a wealth of knowledge and experience and come from different backgrounds. If there’s a business questions out there, I know this team will have an answer.”

Coinciding with the Small Business Day, several seminars are lined up through a partnership with Richmond Community College’s Small Business Center. Each seminar will explore a variety of topics. The schedule is:

The 360° Manager – September 9

E-mail Marketing Strategies – October 14

Time and Stress Management Tools – November 4

Planning and Strategizing for Profitability – December 14

Each session is 8:30 – 10 a.m. in the new RCC F. Diane Honeycutt Center, 600 McLean Street. Chamber members may attend free of charge, and non-members may attend for $5.

For information, call the chamber at 276-7420.