ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) – Small business owners looking to grow their business were offered an opportunity on February 20 to learn more on how they can thrive in Central Louisiana.
At a news conference on Thursday, Louisiana Central announced they will host a series of CEO roundtables for small businesses in Cenla. They said these will be opportunities for local entrepreneurs to expand and grow their businesses, a part of an initiative from Louisiana Economic Development (LED).
Louisiana Central’s Business Acceleration System, along with LED, is hosting the series for Central Louisiana. Applications can be submitted for the 2025-26 CEO Roundtables series until March 31, 2025.
They said the roundtables look to enable peer-to-peer learning for small business leaders across Cenla alongside structured discussions focused on driving business growth.
“They’re local, which means you can show up here and get mentorship face-to-face with them,” said Jason Ingalls, Chief Cyber Security Officer at C3 Integrated Solutions. “No matter what your business may be, whether it’s a service business or a product business, many of these folks have built businesses themselves, and they can help you understand and avoid the pitfalls that maybe they learned or maybe someone taught them to avoid.
The program is based on mentorship and has brought together 20 of Cenla’s small-business entrepreneurs. They qualified small businesses as those that have generated between one-to-ten million dollars and have between five and 50 employees.
“Mentorship is the key to entrepreneurship,” said Gary Perkins, Executive Director of Louisiana Central’s Business Acceleration System. “All of us that are successful business owners have had great mentors in our past and the small businesses are the backbone of our economy here. If you look at all of our private employers, the biggest ones are entrepreneurial-driven businesses that started a couple of generations ago.”
Perkins said that since International Paper’s announcement that it would close their mill in Campti, it has become even more evident how much Cenla relies on small businesses.
“We just saw International Paper leave Campti and how devastating that is for Natchitoches Parish, but our homegrown businesses aren’t leaving,” said Perkins. “They’re staying here, and so they’re invested in Central Louisiana. They grow our economy, and they’re important.”
Through the roundtables, Louisiana Central said participants will gain access to a confidential forum where they can exchange insights, tackle challenges and learn how to implement strategies that can enhance their business operations and foster long-term success.
“Louisiana Central has a lot of functions,” said Perkins. “Everything from recruiting big businesses like Procter & Gamble and Union Tank Car to our entrepreneurship program. They’re where we help the small businesses grow and prosper and be part of our economy.”
For more eligibility information and how to apply, visit https://louisianacentralevents.com/ or contact Gary Perkins at gperkins@louisiana-central.com or 318-880-6332.
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