In order to bring Chattanooga to its full potential, both businesses and area residents need to not just invite women and minorities to be a part of the city's progress, but to "put money where our mouths are," according to panel members at a recent discussion hosted by the local Chamber of Commerce's Southside Council.
The council held the meeting at Main Street's green|spaces to better determine the needs of the rapidly growing and diverse community.
"Our footprint is very diverse; it's from Lookout Valley to East Lake, Main Street to the state line," said Dawn Hjelseth, green|spaces director of development and a member of the local council. "So you can imagine that, in there, there is a lot of different businesses. And specifically, we need to find ways that we can support our women- and minority- and veteran-owned businesses."
A Southside Chamber Council survey found that female and minority business owners in the area are particularly concerned with being taken seriously by bigger businesses, Hjelseth said.
For Bright Bridge Women's Business Center's Linda Murray Bullard, the answer is largely about building a strong network.
"Networks are better than cash," she said.
However, Josh Woodrow, a community leader and pastor at Bridge City Community, an interdenominational Christian church in Alton Park, said networking is only part of the solution. First, opportunities to network must exist.
"We've got a real challenge, not only when it comes to minority- and women-owned businesses, but organizations," he said. "Because we're an incredible city, we've got so much to offer and so much to promote; so much innovation that we just named part of the city the Innovation District. What we've done is overlooked a lot of those [woman- and minority-owned] businesses because we are chasing after the next best thing - the biggest thing.
"What ends up happening is we aren't having the opportunity to find investments or partnerships with the bigger firms. We're unable to make it to the point that we can make it to that networking and attain those skills."
In order to find more ways to provide such opportunities and strengthen the area, the Southside Chamber Council will continue to look at the problem and host discussions, Hjelseth said.
For more on the local Chamber or its Southside Council, including contact information, visit chattanoogachamber.com.
Email Gabrielle Chevalier at gchevalier@timesfreepress.com.