UNA Pressroom

Una, Chamber Of Commerce Survey Explores Need For Business Development Center

Feb. 02, 2010



Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@xfmlsp.com, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - The University of North Alabama College of Business and the Shoals Chamber of Commerce have begun exploring the feasibility of a Center for Business Development and Advancement. The center would help the business community in assessing and addressing its strategic and operating issues as well as enhance its long-term performance. In the next few weeks, Shoals-area business leaders will be invited to participate in a brief survey, designed to take a snapshot of the competitive issues, operational barriers and market opportunities currently faced by local businesses of all types and sizes. "At this early stage, we simply want to see how the College of Business might better serve this community," said Dr. Kerry Gatlin, dean of the UNA College of Business. "The purpose of this survey is to see what kind of demand there is for a service such as the Center for Business Development and Advancement." The Center for Business Development and Advancement, if established, would provide local business owners and leaders with a comprehensive and affordable range of highly effective business tools and services. Such tools and services could include consulting, business training, strategic development and process improvement, to name a few. "Statistics have shown that, for every 10 businesses that start up, eight to nine of them fail within four years," said Steve Holt, president of the Shoals Chamber of Commerce. "We want to know why, particularly in the Shoals area, so that we may find ways help them become more successful and profitable." The survey will be issued via e-mail to all Shoals Chamber of Commerce members and any other business leaders who wish to participate. Each businessperson taking the survey will be eligible to receive a free executive overview and analysis of the survey results when they are complete. For more information, or to be included in the survey, contact the Shoals Chamber of Commerce at 256-764-4661 or shoals@shoalschamber.com.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: xfmlsp.com and xfmlsp.com/unaworks/.