Flagship Enterprise Center

| 2701 Enterprise Drive | Anderson, IN 46013 | 765.622.0100

ANDERSON, Ind. — Anyone starting a business needs to go to this website. Anyone thinking about starting a business should visit the site. Anyone who already has a small business should probably be checking out the site. At least that’s what Flagship Enterprise Center Director DeWayne Landwehr said.

“If I were king,” he joked, “I would require every business owner to become thoroughly familiar with Tools for Business and go through and graduate from some of the business courses on the site. I would want my kingdom to be economically flourishing, and I’m convinced if every business owner went through the site, their business would be better.”

This Tools for Business Success is a special section of the Corporation for Economic Development’s website. The CED is underwriting the cost for the site.

“This site is providing an invaluable resource to the community,” CED Executive Director Rob Sparks said. “Our goal is to see people be successful in their business ventures. If this site can assist in that then that’s a good thing.”

There is help at every level — from those who just have an idea to already established businesses. There are tools to help with legal documents needed to incorporate a business, assistance with proper tax procedure, specific resources for veterans and even an option for 24/7 live online help.

“A lot of jobs in America are created by small businesses,” Sparks said. “Most of these businesses don’t have a human resources department, they don’t have consultants at every level. The things they can find out on this website can help them make better decisions to position themselves to be in a place where they are a more profitable business.”

There are hundreds of management tools on the site, Sparks said. There are even online courses that explain business practices, terminology and methods, Landwehr said.

“Business owners need this information for their businesses to flourish,” he said. “When we had one act in town — General Motors — business could stay afloat without a whole lot of effort. This is a different economy. We have a different picture than we had in the past. Businesses need to upgrade and update their skills and knowledge. These business tools on the site can find almost anything you could need to learn or use as a business owner.”

Landwehr said one of his roles at Flagship is to coach and mentor entrepreneurs. This site is something that he has already referred to countless times.

“There are so many entrepreneurs that we run across here that have terrific ideas,” he said. “They know their products and services backward and forward as they should, but they don’t have a clue about how to run a business.”

Contact Abbey Doyle, 640-4805, abbey.doyle@heraldbulletin.com.