A new way to grow
THYNK Innovation & Entrepreneur Center to host Blooms and Business event
BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
VALLEY —THYNK Innovation & Entrepreneur Center is hosting a Blooms and Business event on Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. CT.
“This is an event that we decided to launch called Blooms and Business that allows us to bring current business owners and potential business owners together and talk about the hardships of starting a business or having a business, and while we’re doing that, we are going to create a flower arrangement,” said THYNK Innovation & Entrepreneur Center Project Lead, Kesha Coniglio.
Through creating a collaborative and crafty environment with local business owners, Coniglio said she hopes to create a free space for discussion and problem-solving.
“We found that when people are kind of engaged in doing an activity, it allows them to freely speak about anything, and this will allow us to kind of chit chat about the hardships of being a business owner and how we can resolve that collectively, what people have tried their experiences and then me as a professional, what I suggest might help,” she said.
Along with sharing success stories, Coniglio said she wants to create an environment where local business owners can ask questions and seek advice from other entrepreneurs who have been in similar situations.
“I just want people to come and it be relaxing,” she said. “It’s in a relaxing atmosphere that people can feel confident that they can ask a question and it’s not going to be, like, an ignorant question, or that people are frowned upon if they ask it.”
Coniglio said the intention behind the THYNK Innovation & Entrepreneur Center is to create a space that business owners or future business owners can utilize for a variety of needs.
“It was previously named just the Innovation Center, and we wanted it to have more of an identity, so we rebranded it, THYNK, and really are trying to have a focus in the greater Valley area, and Chambers County all the way to West Point,” she said. “We wanted to allow people that are interested in business or who already have a business to come to the center, and they can start out with learning about their business if they haven’t even started one.”
THYNK provides a variety of membership packages for local entrepreneurs to further cultivate their businesses.
“I think the whole mindset of THYNK is that a tremendous amount of people open businesses, and they are lost,” Coniglio said. “They don’t even know what the next steps are. So we’re trying to be a guide for them and provide resources so that people have a successful business, and it’s long-term. We are helping these businesses to become a catalyst in our community. That’s what we’re wanting for our next generation of entrepreneurs.”
For more information about THYNK and the Blooms and Business event, visit THYNK Innovation & Entrepreneur Center on Facebook or www.thynkinnovate.com.
“At all of our events, you do not have to be a member; there’s just a fee, but if you are a member, you get a discount,” Coniglio said. “So [Blooms and Business] is $40, and you can message us on Facebook and social media, and we’ll lock in your spot. We only have about 20 places.”
