AMPLIFY Clearwater, the chamber of commerce organization for the Clearwater area, has taken the reins of the Clearwater Business SPARK network with the goal of reaching more small businesses.
SPARK, a partnership of organizations that provide support and expertise to small businesses, was previously under the City of Clearwater’s Economic Development team.
“Because we were one of the original partners we had the organizational infrastructure to take it on so to speak,” says AMPLIFY Clearwater President and CEO Amanda Payne. “As of October 1, we are officially the managing organization for SPARK.”
Following the transition, Payne says AMPLIFY wants to create more networking opportunities for the partner organizations in SPARK and the local small businesses that the organization assists.
“We want to see if we can’t create a council, so to speak, that really supports our small business community,” Payne says.
She says regular networking events will be a priority because small business owners often learn the most from their peers. The plan also includes educational programming in areas such as compliance with Department of Labor regulations, lending programs for small businesses and various business accounting software.
The first SPARK networking event following the shift to AMPLIFY Clearwater is this Thursday, Oct. 6, from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Clear Sky on Cleveland, 418 Cleveland St. in downtown Clearwater.
For more information go to AMPLIFY Clearwater and Clearwater Business SPARK.
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