Local business leaders attend BEDC’s Lunch and Learn workshop
The Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation hosted a Lunch and Learn event for local businesses last week, an event that BEDC Executive Director Colton Buckley says may be offered quarterly if there’s enough interest.
About 15 local and area business representatives attended the luncheon that focused on financial literacy.
Jason Kelton, the regional coordinator of community and economic development for the West Central Texas Council of Governments, and Kenny Heaton, a business consultant and CARES Act coordinator for the Small Business Development Center in Abilene, talked to the attendees about the services offered by their agencies. The WCTCOG provides a variety of services, including high-risk loans for businesses that have been turned down for traditional loans.
The Northwest Texas SBCD in Abilene is hosted by Texas Tech University and offers business consulting, assistance with research and analysis, as well as access to workshops and webinars on topics such as digital marketing, obtaining government contracts and more.
At the Lunch and Learn session, Heaton addressed basic business finance topics, including income statements and balance sheets, explaining how each works and the importance of business owners maintaining the reports.
He encourages all business owners to be financially literate and understand basic financial reports. “You need to know about your business; you need to understand the financials of it and where you’re going,” Heaton said. “I call your financial statements your business GPS. Without them, you don’t know where you are, and if you don’t know where you are, then you have no idea of where you are going or how to get there.”
Heaton then walked the luncheon attendees through the different elements of the reports and pointed out some of the mistakes many business owners make regarding their finances. He talked about the differences between a sole proprietorship and a limited liability company, as well as the pros and cons of the two business structures. He also offered some advice for those in a business partnership.
For more information or business assistance, Heaton can be contacted via email at kenny.heaton@ttu.edu and Kelton can be contacted at jkelton@westcentraltexas.org.
Kenny Heaton, a business consultant and CARES Act coordinator for the Small Business Development Center in Abilene, talks to local business owners about balance sheets at the Lunch and Learn event hosted by the Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation. (Photo by Tony Pilkington / Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: Jason Kelton with the West Central Texas Council of Governments, left, and Kenny Heaton with the Small Business Development Center in Abilene, presented a workshop on financial literacy at the Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation last week. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
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