- December 23, 2024
Loading
When you own a small business, you get it.
Magdalena Piekarz, owner of Elite Dance and Travel, had a graduation event with her own business the night before, so she didn’t plan on participating with a booth on April 29, at the Small Biz Expo, at Central Park in Town Center. But she went to the event anyway.
“We love to support local business,” Piekarz said.
Reanna Schultz walked around the lake with her children and handed out slips of paper with the name of her business on it, King Kong Junk Removal, which was launched just two days earlier.
“We just got a trailer done and got a couple jobs already,” Schultz said.
Meanwhile, Joe Chaney and Joe Smith, of McElfresh Roofing and Solar, showcased their offerings for new roofs. The company has offices in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach, but they are getting more and more business in Palm Coast. In this city, they said, it’s expected that people will maintain their homes and keep property values up. In Smith’s experience, Palm Coast is a rare city in Florida, with no “bad section” of town. He said Palm Coast is more receptive to small businesses than anywhere else he can think of in the state.
The Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce put the event on, thanks to the efforts of President and CEO Greg Blose, who also was master of ceremonies. CareerSource Flagler Volusia and the city of Palm Coast also helped make the event possible, with Flagler Health Care Plans as the main sponsor.
About 130 businesses had booths.
"Small businesses are 80%-90% of our local jobs in this community, so we’ve got to treat them as real, economic partners, and work on making sure they’re successful in our community," Blose said. "People can relate to small businesses. It’s America. You risk money, you’re out there trying to do business, and you work hard, and, hopefully, you're rewarded for it. It's not guaranteed."