July 29, 2022

7/29/2022

AN ENTREPRENEUR...... state of mind exists here in Ponca City. According to youreconomy.org (and we checked: their stats come from federal data) Kay County (which is mostly Ponca City) ranks in the top 20 of job growth out of the 77 Oklahoma counties in 2021. AND barring our top three employers, every other business in town employs less than 500 people qualifying them as small businesses. Small businesses that began with an individual, or a family or a dream to start a company, own a franchise or just be their own boss. Congratulations on surviving the pandemic, getting into growth mode after the big P and helping Ponca City and Kay County grow, grow, grow. Now about that workforce.....

PCDA's workforce arm Ponca Works. has been plugging away at the workforce retention and attraction conundrum for 10 years now. Last week during Girl Power Camp, staff had a great moment while touring a local company. Keep reading: It's good! And then there is the Entrepreneur Roadmap for those thinking of starting a business and wondering what resources are available. Staff also want to congratulate some of our small businesses in growth mode.

THE CUTENESS FACTOR..... An entrepreneurial spirit (say that three times fast) exists when you have offspring imitating what they see everyday. Make sure you check out the young ones following in adult footsteps. Lemonade stands are up and down Grand Avenue this week for Crazy Days. Buy one. Heck, buy one at every stand and see which one you like the best! Staff does love a good small biz story. And these entrepreneurs are so photogenic!

FINDING FUNDING...... for your small business startup may be tough. But there are a lot of resources to help: Pioneer Tech Business Services, PCDA, Oklahoma Small Business Development Center. your local banker and believe it or not, some grants are out there right now, if your business qualifies. Would you like a list of these resources? With phone numbers and contact points? Look no further. And if you have a tough time reading this great resource on your phone, stop by the PCDA office at City Central and staff will give you your very own copy. And tour you through the building. And possibly introduce you to some other small businesses. Staff is friendly that way.

GROWTH......is nothing to be afraid of for your small business. Many business owners like being a "lifestyle" business: they work when they want to and the business pays their bills. Many times this lifestyle owner is also a "soloproneur" and doesn't really want any employees. Well, we can't say that about businesses in the AIP. For instance, Cookshack is a family owned company, celebrating over 50 years in their industry, which continues to grow and diversity every year. An expansion project is underway at the company's current location in the Airport Industrial Park with the dirtwork all ready for the concrete to be poured. Though the rest of us are loving this rain break, the concrete pour is not.

BEFORE......was five years ago during the 2017 Girl Power Camp held at Pioneer Technology Center. 20 soon to be eight grade girls discover the allure of welding, power tools and all the products made right here in Ponca City. Brenna found a love of machining and building that summer.

FAST FORWARD.....to Girl Power Camp this summer and guess who is employed at CME as a new hire? Yup, congrats Brenna. And congrats to Ponca Works for the outreach to keep future workforce working in Ponca City. (Brenna is on the right of the picture with her CME co-workers). A big thank you to all the companies that allowed the Girl Power campers to tour their facilities.