BENNETTSVILLE — The city of Bennettsville announced exciting news Friday morning — a $120,000 grant awarded to them from the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission (SCRC) for Bennettsville’s Business Start-Up Lab, designed to support current and future entrepreneurs in the city.

“The concept we have for this grant is to build an entrepreneurial pipeline into downtown Bennettsville. Over the years we have seen a lot of our entrepreneurs jump out starting their business, only to close a couple of months later. I’m not sure if that is due to a lack of support or knowledge in running that business. So, we really wanted to start looking at ways we could support our small businesses more,” explained Brittany Jones, the director of business and community development for the city.

A highly competitive grant, Bennettsville’s application competed with over 356 pre-applications submitted in Alabama, Georgia, Missississppi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Bennettsville was one of only seventy-five applications in the state to advance to the full application process, and one of only twenty-four projects awarded in the state.

Jones says the funding provided through the grant will go towards the implementation of a 12-week business start-up boot camp, and a 10 week business accelerator program, financial literacy education, and access to financial tracking software, the establishment of a downtown retail cooperative (accomplished already with Bennettsville and Co) and a start-up pitch competition with seed money for winners.

We will be using the Bennettsville Community Center conference room for training, so we are really excited about that,” shares Jones.

Another component of the grant is the city’s development of a business incubator that will provide training, financial tools, and seed funding for entrepreneurs in efforts to revitalize Bennettsville’s Main Street corridor and beyond.

“We looked at other Main Street community models to see what programs worked for them. I remember when we looked at Hartsville, they had something called Startsville where entrepreneurs pitched their small business ideas. Following a presentation and vote, seed money was awarded to the winning individual to assist them in getting started,” said Jones, adding a similar process is planned for Bennettsville.

“Individuals will be able to pitch their business ideas before a panel of judges, and following a vote, a winner will be presented with seed money to assist them in funding their new business,” explains Jones.

The 12-week Business Start-Up Boot Camp aims not only to teach participants how to write a business plan, but also to help small business owners put their plans into action after they are created.

A unique aspect of the grant Jones says she is particularly excited about is the financial tracker.

“The financial tracker involves assisting entrepreneurs with tracking their finances for a year so they can then apply for a loan,” says Jones, adding, “Not everyone realizes when going to apply for a loan, most banking establishments require you to show a track record of your finances to justify seeking a loan, so this will be very helpful.”

Another stipulation of the grant, according to Jones, is for the small business winner to be located inside Bennettsville’s historic downtown district as part of the city’s continued efforts to fill any vacant buildings still present downtown.

Jones said Bennettsville and Co was established with the expectation of securing the grant. However, because the city had not received the grant yet, launching the business beforehand required faith.

“We knew it was a step forward in the direction we wanted to go in so we had to really step out on faith when opening ahead of knowing if we had secured the grant. Bennettsville and Co. is continuing to be a success, proving the demand for small local business is here,” said Jones.

Administrator William Simon says he is excited to see the additional support, both financially and educationally, for local small business owners.

“We are excited about this opportunity and honored to support current and future business owners. Small businesses are the foundation of our economy. Thank you SCRC and Mrs. Brittany Jones and her team,” said Simon.

Mayor Tyron Abraham shared he is excited about the business start-up lab that will now be available for local entrepreneurs through the grant.

“I’m very excited about our city being awarded this highly competitive $120,000 grant. This funding will allow us to develop a business startup lab, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs in our community,” said the mayor, adding, “It is a step toward providing quality business training and revitalizing our city. This will benefit both our citizens and the city’s future growth.”