WACO, Texas (KXXV) — The Waco 254 Group wants to give one new and one existing business an opportunity to join the thriving Waco market. They will be taken under their wing for a year and provided with everything needed to grow and succeed.
- To apply to either a new or existing business, click here.
- When applying for a new business, it will be under The Ember Project.
- When applying for an existing business, it will be under The Phoenix Project.
- If you would like to be a business partner for this initiative, clickhere.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It’s been said when small businesses succeed, communities thrive.
“They are the backbone of most communities. They're the heart of what 254 Group does,” Tracy Eaker, Owner and Agent of The 254 Group, said.
Tracy Eaker, owner and Agent of 254 Group, tells me about a new initiative to boost local businesses.
“I have a heart and a passion for them, and so in conversation with some of the business owners that I have in my circle, we were talking about how blessed we are number one to have a business and that there's a lot of people who would love to have a business,” Eaker said.
It’s called Catalyst, where one brand new business will have the opportunity to start from the ground up, and one existing business will get the support it needs.
Ellum Creative, Laura Evan Price, and I were in a brainstorming session one day about something completely different, and we were like, what if we, you know, help somebody start a business? What if we brought all of our business people together And all of our friends who own successful businesses and offered to help somebody walk through that process,” Eaker said.
Here’s how it works: you nominate your own business or someone else’s, and if it gets chosen for one year, The 254 Group will provide everything needed to get a business started or help boost what’s existing.
“We do encourage them to open themselves kind of up and let us know what they have already tried, what kind of finances they already have, where are your struggles in opening a new business or with the struggling business they may have to open up their books and let us come in and take a look and see if we can help them," Eaker said. "Why are they struggling, we don't want to just pour money into a business that will fail again. We want to ensure that we are pouring into the right business and owner that will heed the instructions of all the 25-plus businesses that we plan to bring on board."
From providing CPAs to understanding LLCs to web and branding design, finding your space, and more, it’s an initiative that Eaker hopes keeps the pulse of small businesses pumping throughout our community.
“Being able to go and support somebody who laid their dream out is just fantastic,” Eaker said.
