Inside Perry, Georgia
Inside Perry, Georgia
From Idea to Open Doors: How Perry’s Free Business Blueprint Helps Entrepreneurs Start and Grow
A new kind of startup support just landed in Perry—and it’s designed for real life. We’re unveiling Business Blueprint, a free, self‑paced training platform that helps local entrepreneurs move from “I’ve got an idea” to “I’m open for business,” with clarity, confidence, and a direct line to our team when questions pop up.
We walk through what makes Business Blueprint different: short video modules you can finish on a lunch break, full captions and transcripts if you prefer to read, and a practical workbook that turns watching into doing. You can start anywhere—idea validation, market research, brand basics, funding and financial planning, or operations—and jump to the topics that match your stage. Best of all, a built‑in “I need help” button connects you to our economic development office for fast, human support and referrals to trusted partners like the Small Business Development Center.
This isn’t generic startup advice. We partnered with the Startup Support Center to bring expert‑led content and paired it with local know‑how so you understand both the business fundamentals and how to work smoothly with City processes—from permits and home occupation requirements to timelines that keep your plan on track. Whether you’re exploring a side hustle, launching a storefront, or expanding an existing business, Business Blueprint lowers barriers, speeds learning, and makes Perry easier to do business with.
If you’ve been waiting for the “right moment,” this is it: free access, flexible learning, and real support when you need it. Check the show notes for the quick application link, get your welcome from Mayor Walker, and start your first module today. Enjoying the conversation? Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who’s ready to build something great in Perry.
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Welcome to the Inside Perry Podcast, where you get an inside look at Perry Georgia's local government. We're glad you chose Perry where people make the difference. Whether you stay a few hours or lifetime, your time at Perry will be rewarding and unforgettable. I'm Tabitha Clark, communications director for the City of Perry. So welcome to the Inside Perry Podcast. We are really excited to showcase one of our brand new kind of ventures and services that we have for brand new or newish entrepreneurs here in the city of Perry. So I have Holly Wharton here, our economic development director, to talk about business blueprint. So, first off, Holly, what exactly is business blueprint?
SPEAKER_00:Yes, so business blueprint is a service that we are able to offer to local entrepreneurs who may be interested in starting a business or maybe somebody that's already started a business and they're looking to expand or diversify what they're offering. So Business Blueprint is an online system where people can log in and access all kinds of training opportunities. So if you're familiar with something like LinkedIn Learning, something like that, it's it's a setup very similar to that. So it's really great and um it's a good opportunity that we're able to now offer to the business community.
SPEAKER_01:Right. And I'm so glad you brought up LinkedIn Learning because this is set up when I went in there just to test it out, super simple as far as there is a module for information about a certain topic, and it's not very long, and that it gives you the information you need, and then of course, resources after that. Having that as a step-by-step process, that's super easy.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. And you can start anywhere you would like in the system. So even if you just have an idea and you think you may want to start a business, there's a section called idea validation where you can learn more about how to move your idea along. Or if you're looking to really expand, or maybe you're needing additional funding, there's a section for funding and financial planning and then all sorts of other specialized training opportunities as well.
SPEAKER_01:I love that because, you know, I mean, instead of being inundated with all this information, because you know, starting a business or running a business, not for the weak of heart, you know. That's right. Um, so having this kind of chunked out and focusing on one thing at a time, super useful and effective. So let's talk about that, the usefulness and effectiveness of how this program works.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So as with LinkedIn learning that somebody may have looked into in the past, everything is video based. So once you get into the training modules, you'll choose what you want to do and you'll access a whole repository of videos that are selected to support whatever it is you're looking to train on. And so all of the videos are super short. So if you have 15 minutes, you can log on and you can get some training in. All of the videos also have captions. So if you like to watch things with captions, like a lot of people. I always do.
SPEAKER_01:I can't I can't hear without my captions, is what I always say.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. So everything has captions, everything has audio, everything has transcripts available. So if you just want to read everything, you can do that as well. There's also a workbook supplied with the system so that you can follow along and do activities and kind of track along with your training. And then also within the system, there's a really handy button in there. It says something like I need help or I'd like to talk to someone. If anyone is using Business Blueprint and they click that button, I'm gonna get a notification from them that says, Hey, somebody has a question. And so I'll be able to reach out to them directly and maybe put them in contact with an appropriate resource, maybe with the small business development center that we work with a lot, or maybe they have a question about getting a permit for something in the city and and I can help with that.
SPEAKER_01:So that's great. So not only are they short and informative, but if you just need a little extra help or a little extra information, it's super easy and simple to, you know, connect with you to make sure that they fully understand what they just learned.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. The idea with this is that local prospective businesses may go through this whole system if they choose to, and they're gonna have a very well-rounded view of what it takes to start a business. And so when they do get into the thick of starting a business, going through the development process is gonna go a lot smoother for them because they're gonna understand every step of the way.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, sure. So what we talked about was not weak, you know, week apart, is you know, just getting that basic solid foundation is instrumental into making things run smoother, just like you said.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. And we're really excited about this because it's a partnership that we have with a company called the Startup Support Center. They're the trainers that are on all these modules, they're industry professionals, they do this all over the country. So we've partnered with them and we're able to offer this to our community for free. So even better. Exactly. So free ninety-nine is always the best price. And so um, even if you just want to give it a shot, it's free, so you're not losing anything, even if you're just a little bit interested or curious to see what it's like.
SPEAKER_01:And that also goes back to how easy this is. It's a self-paced program.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. So it's really ideal for people that are maybe looking at starting a business, but they have a full-time job already. Sure. So maybe you do some of this on your lunch break, maybe you do it at night or early in the morning. It's really flexible and self-paced.
SPEAKER_01:It seems like the perfect program, I'm telling you. So, how does somebody who's interested in this access?
SPEAKER_00:Yes. So if you are interested in participating in this business blueprint training software, we would encourage you to fill out a form. We have that available on our website, and also we can put it in the show notes, right type of thing.
SPEAKER_01:Of course. Always the show notes, always look those.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so um, there's a quick little form to fill out. We just want to know who you are and what you're interested in. So we will review those forms, and then once I receive it, I'll send you the link to get started. And then once you receive that link, you will log on and set up your account. And as soon as you access it, you'll be greeted with a video from Mayor Walker saying, Hey, welcome to Perry. We're excited you want to start a business here, and then you can launch into any of the training programs that you would like.
SPEAKER_01:Right. I love it. It's super simple, risk-free, and it's free.
SPEAKER_00:So and it's free.
SPEAKER_01:Um, so let's get to the heart of this. Why is the city of Perry providing this service? Why is it important for us to make sure that people have access to it?
SPEAKER_00:So we talk a lot about um offering a higher level of service in everything that we do in the city of Perry, whether that's providing water and sewer service or public safety response. This is a way that we can provide a higher level of service to our local business community and prospective businesses. If you want to start a business here in Perry, we want you to have all the resources that you need to be able to do that quickly and efficiently. And so we're happy to be able to provide this to the community and hopefully help anybody out along the way.
SPEAKER_01:Sure. And it's a win-win if if you can be successful, you know, or at least have the tools to start a successful business, or at least get you into the mindset and then you bring your business to Perry, it's a win-win for everybody.
SPEAKER_00:It really is. And, you know, we want to make sure that it's easy to work with us as you're going along through your development process, or maybe you're even just wanting to start an online business and you need a home occupation permit. You know, we want to be able to help with any aspect of starting a business.
SPEAKER_01:That's wonderful. So just a recap, we're talking about our brand new business blueprint, kind of entrepreneur startup, newish entrepreneur software, um, where you can have the resources for free about how to start or how to enhance your businesses here in Perry. So just as Holly said, we have the show notes. So make sure you click on that for the application form and more information about this. So, Holly, you know, just to kind of summarize, why should somebody look into this?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think if anyone is curious about starting a business, there may be questions that they have. Um, and you may not know who to go to to ask those questions to. And so this is an opportunity to really access a lot of different categories of information from all aspects of starting a business and really kind of gain some of that knowledge, even if it's just a little bit, or even if it's just to get in there and realize you can click that button and talk to somebody directly. Also, I'm always available, so even if you're not interested in doing this and you do have a question about starting a business, you can check out our website. There's some resources on there, and also my contact information is always on the website. So happy to talk to anybody anytime.
SPEAKER_01:Sounds good, and it will be in the show notes. Thanks for listening to the Inside Perry Podcast, your inside look at Perry's local government. Take a look at the show notes for more information about today's episode. If you like Inside Perry, we encourage you to subscribe and share the podcast with your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you around in our amazing community where Georgia comes together.