Small Business Support
More than half of the Oak Ridge Chamber’s membership is made up of businesses with 20 or fewer employees. As such, we offer specific programming to enable our small businesses to prosper.
Small Business Networking
Our in-person Small Business Networking is your chance to promote your business to about 25 other businesses in a round-robin introduction. Be sure to bring plenty of business cards and information about your services!
We gather in our Joyce Conference Room on the second Thursday of each month from 8-9:30 am. Attendees have the opportunity to present a 1-2 minute elevator speech, enjoy refreshments, hear from our sponsor and our featured business of the month, and enjoy open networking.
In the end, it's all about the networking! Stay as long as you'd like and make new contacts while renewing old ones.
Small Business of the Month
The Small Business of the Month designation is awarded every month to a member of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees are eligible to receive this designation. The award is sponsored by Enrichment Federal Credit Union.
Benefits
Winners enjoy additional marketing during the month the business is honored. Those benefits include:
- An advertisement in The Oak Ridger
- Featured in the Oak Ridge Chamber's Weekly Newsletter
- Press releases sent to area media outlets & posted on the Chamber's website
- A banner to display at your business for the month
- A plaque to keep and display at your business
- Monthly winners are eligible to win the Small Business of the Year Award
Eligibility Requirements
Current member in good standing
50 employees or fewer
Active involvement in the community
How to Apply or Nominate a Business
Click the button below to nominate a Chamber member or self-nominate as the Small Business of the Month. For more information, contact membership@orcc.org
Shop Small Saturday
Each year, the Oak Ridge Chamber organizes a special activity to promote shopping at local businesses during the holiday season, often in conjunction with Shop Small Saturday. Small Business Saturday started as a campaign launched by American Express on Nov. 27, 2010, to help small businesses gain exposure and inspire consumers to shop within their communities during the holiday season. The day became official in 2011 when Washington State mayors, governors, senators, and President Obama shared their support for Small Business Saturday.
In 2012, American Express amplified the campaign by helping small business owners promote their businesses. The credit card company offered small business owners free personalized ads to spread across the web. That year, an estimated $5.5 billion was spent at small businesses nationwide. By 2013, communities began celebrating the holiday by pledging support to their local businesses and organizations.
In 2015, the number of people who shopped at small businesses on Small Business Saturday increased by 8% from 2014 to more than 95 million people, and spending reached $16.2 billion. Consumer spending has continued to grow, with online shopping becoming a more common way for small businesses to sell their products. Online spending grew 13% between 2019 and 2020 and grew at a slower rate of 2% in 2021.
Today, most Americans know what Small Business Saturday is. Of those who participate, nearly all recognize how important the holiday is to their communities.
Small Business Week
Small Business Week is April 28 - May 4, 2024. For more than 50 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. The Oak Ridge Chamber helps recognize our small businesses with special events during this week. Check the Chamber’s event calendar for more details.
TN Small Business Development Center
The Tennessee Small Business Development Centers were created to foster economic and business development in the region by providing high-quality advice, assistance, counseling, and training at low or no cost for entrepreneurs, professionals, independent small business owners, or would-be small business owners to help promote growth, expansion, innovation, increased productivity and managerial excellence in the free market economy.
The Centers provide free and confidential counseling on an individual basis by experienced and trained small business specialists, usually former executives and business owners. These specialists can provide information, direct business owners to resources, and act as reviewers of plans and proposals by offering realistic and constructive criticism.
In addition to individual business assistance, Center professionals conduct or participate in workshops, seminars, and classes on a variety of business and management topics of interest to small business owners. The Centers also maintain general business information resource materials or can make referrals to information resources in government, the education system, or private industry.
The SBDC can help with the following topics, plus more:
- Organizing and starting a business
- Researching markets and industries
- Develop business strategies and plans
- Seeking resources and capital
- Budgeting, accounting, and recordkeeping
- Manufacturing and engineering
- Researching and developing products
- Understanding people, tax, and legal issues
- Implementing cost and inventory controls
- Buying from and selling to the government
- Analyzing finances and insurance
- Harnessing computers and technology
- Acquiring equipment and technology
- Entering or expanding international trade
- Buying, franchising, or selling a business
- Advertising, promoting, selling, and publicity
The Small Business Development Centers are not lenders, investors, or grantors but do advise owners on financing and the development of proposals. The Oak Ridge Small Business Development Center is sponsored by Roane State Community College, the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (under a cooperative agreement).
The Oak Ridge Center serves Anderson, Campbell, Cumberland, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, and Scott counties. Workshops, seminars, and counseling sessions are scheduled in all counties served, as well as Oak Ridge. Also, service is not limited to individuals or companies in the above counties. Many entrepreneurs or owners considering locating in the service area, wishing access to service area resources, or just taking advantage of the assistance provided contact are helped by the TSBDC.
Looking for more info about the SBDC?
Tennessee Small Business Development Center
at Roane State Community College
c/o Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce
1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Voice (865) 483-2668
Fax: (865) 483-1728
Email: swilliams@tsbdc.org
UT APEX Accelerator Info and Seminars
The UT Center for Industrial Service's (CIS) APEX Accelerator assists businesses in competing successfully in local, state, and federal government contracting.
UT CIS has provided these services since 1986. APEX Accelerators are funded, in part, by the U. S. Department of Defense and is administered through a cooperative agreement with the DOD Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). APEX Accelerator services are delivered to you at no charge.
Some of our counseling services:
- Bid searching
- Capability statements
- Cyber security (CMMC)
- Elevator speeches
- Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)
- Market research
- Registration in local, state, and federal vendor databases.
- Registration in the System for Award Management (SAM)
- Assistance to SBIR/STTR applicants & awardees
To become an APEX Accelerator client, please click the "New Client Sign-up" here: https://tnapex.ecenterdirect.com/?home=5
To see upcoming webinars and conferences: https://tnptac.ecenterdirect.com/events?reset=1
For questions, please contact East TN APEX Counselor Jutta Bangs at 865-483-0623 or jutta.bangs@tennessee.edu.
Hear from a Local Small Business Owner
