Center for Great Neighborhoods hosts six-month “makers” class with small business specialist

Covington’s Center for Great Neighborhoods hosted a makers workshop last weekend for small businesses led by Ashley Berger Heyburn of Makers Megaphone, who is also an Etsy Small Business Specialist. Over the next six months, she will work with 11 Covington-based businesses to help them better market and grow their brands.
 
“This is the first time The Center has done an event like this, although other groups have done or are doing business training,” Program Director Sarah Allan says.

 
Most of the businesses enrolled in “How to Make Your Creative Business Thrive” have a few years of business under their belts. Going forward, Berger Heyburn will do one-on-one Skype calls with each business to provide further mentorship to address each business’ specific challenges; another group meeting in the Fall will wrap up the class.
 
“We’re excited about the class and are looking forward to the outcome,” Allan says. “We’ve worked with a number of these businesses before and are continuing those relationships, but we’re also working with some that are new to us and building new relationships.”
 
The businesses enrolled in the class are:
A Squared Decor
Erica Watson
Eye Candy
Fritz Kulhman
Meddling with Nature
Pique on Pike
Sharon Roark
Steven Sanders, CVG Made
Tess Burns, Wife of the Chef
Ties by Scotti
Yogi and the Farmer
 
The business coaching was made possible through a grant from LISC to help grow maker businesses in Covington. It was also held in conjunction with some of the work being done at Hellmann Lumber Mill, as several artists based at Hellmann are taking the class.