The News Reporter
Monday, July 18, 2011
LIFESTYLES
Local artist Leigh Fowler wins a top spot in business
plan contest Whiteville artist and art teacher Leigh Fowler of Whiteville was first runner-up in Entrepreneurial Open Southeast NC, a competition that pitted her business plan against submissions from a nine-county area. Fowler’s business, SmART Studio to Go, will offer a “packaged art experience” for children in the form of art kits that arrive each month in the mail. |
Published: Monday, July 18, 2011 10:40 AM EDT
A Columbus County entrepreneur will be able to expand her company, thanks to a $2,500 prize she won in a business plan competition sponsored by the Small Business Centers at area community colleges.
Leigh Fowler of Whiteville won first runner-up in Entrepreneurial Open Southeast NC, a competition that pitted her business plan against submissions from a nine-county area that included Wilmington to Fayetteville.
Fowler’s business, SmART Studio to Go, will offer a “packaged art experience” for children in the form of art kits that arrive each month in the mail. Each kit will include a lesson rooted in art history and will guide students in creating a piece of art based on the style of masters such as Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keefe and Vincent Van Gogh.
SmART Studio to Go is a natural extension of Fowler’s existing business, Studio 110, which provides after-school art lessons to pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students. The SmART Studio to Go kits will be based on Fowler’s curriculum that she has developed at Studio 110.
A Whiteville native, Fowler graduated from UNC Wilmington in 1994 with an art degree. She served as executive director of the Columbus County Arts Council from 2000 through 2006. Her accomplishments included creating a local sales gallery, coordinating public exhibitions and organizing summer arts camps. She later transitioned into the advertising industry and currently works as a graphics designer for Columbus Regional Healthcare System. She has two daughters, Isabel, 15, and Mia, 13.
Fowler plans to use her prize money to create a website for SmART Studio to Go. Because she plans to target a nationwide market, creating a strong online presence is one of the company’s top priorities. The business will target three primary groups of consumers: parents and grandparents of school-age children, home schools and online schools, and parents and teachers who want to supplement the arts programs available in schools.
“In addition to establishing a website, I plan to use the award funds to work on initial packaging and some internet marketing,” Fowler said. “This will be a great jumpstart for me. My hope is to have the website live by August and be in a position to take orders for November so as to capitalize on the Christmas buying season.”
Brenda Orders, director of the Small Business Center at Southeastern Community College, counseled Fowler during the development of her business plan. Orders believes online businesses like SmART Studio to Go present tremendous opportunities for Columbus County entrepreneurs.
“Today’s economy is far less contingent on location and physical infrastructure than it is on creativity and digital marketing,” Orders said. “With Leigh’s experience developing art curriculum for students and her understanding of online business, SmART Studio to Go is well positioned for success.”
The competition came at the perfect time for Fowler. She had been planning SmART Studio To Go for almost a year, but said the competition motivated her to fill in many of the missing pieces in her strategy and to think through all aspects of the business.
“I am the kind of person who works best with a deadline. This coupled with such great input and feedback from Brenda and the Small Business Center at SCC turned out to be a wonderful combination,” Fowler said.
Columbus County businesses and entrepreneurs entered a total of eight completed business plans in the Entrepreneurial Open Southeast NC competition. Three additional Columbus County businesses advanced to the semi-final round.
DNA Conceptions, owned by Amy and Daniel Purifoy, is a multimedia production firm that offers a variety of services and products including live-event production, marketing solutions, printing, religious digital media and wedding photography and videography.
Edwards’ Enterprises, owned by Gregory and Harriet Edwards, is a trucking firm that provides transportation for agriculture needs, as well as concrete, asphalt and slate products.
Southern Style Printing and IT Solutions, owned by Hardy Shaw, provides computer and technical consulting, such as training, networking and upgrade service, to local small businesses as well as home personal computer users.
“We were thrilled with the number and strength of the business plans submitted by Columbus County residents,” Orders said. “Each entrepreneur will benefit from having completed a business plan. Taking a critical look at ideas and crunching the numbers are important steps for a startup business or established company seeking to expand.”
Judges for the final round of the business plan competition were Scott Daugherty, North Carolina small business commissioner; Tony Johnson, senior director of business development for the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center; and Anne Shaw, interim state director of the Small Business Center Network.
Funding for the competition was provided by the NC Rural Economic Development Center’s Entrepreneurial Regions Mini-Grants Program.
For more information about the SCC Small Business Center, contact Brenda Orders at (910) 642-7141, ext. 419 or borders@sccnc.edu.
