• By Bryn Lenkaitis
• Posted Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Community & Economic Development Launches Online Application for Small Business Development Program

Apply today for the 2023 Forsyth County Micro-Enterprise Individual Development Account (IDA) Program. Businesses receive financial literacy education provided by Experiment in Self Reliance (ESR) and small business training provided by S.G. Atkins CDC. To date, the Micro-Enterprise IDA program has invested over $61,000 in matching capital to participating businesses.

Courtney James, President/CEO Support Systems of Forsyth County, began her journey as a small business owner in Forsyth County’s Small Business Individual Development Account Program to fine tune her business plan, receive financial coaching and to learn how to budget/save and successfully scale her business through networking opportunities. On April 10th, 2022, James received the award for the Woman Owned Business of the year presented by Winston-Salem's Women’s Business Center. Over the past three years, James has built an innovative transportation system in Forsyth County removing the barrier to success that a lack of transportation can present and providing a practical solution for many of our county residents. Support Systems has also partnered with various community organizations to provide transportation, one of which being the Greater Winston-Salem Inc. ASPIRE Internship Program for high-school students in Forsyth County. As James looks back on her experience going through the program, she has this to share with potential applicants.

“When Support Systems of Forsyth originally began, we only had two vehicles and we were putting all our receipts in a cardboard box. The Small Business IDA Program changed all of that. We were able to save the maximum amount and received a huge share amount that increased our fleet. The technical assistance we received as well was a real eye-opener; we now have QuickBooks, and it has saved us tremendously regarding grant submissions to keep record of our receivables and payables. Gregory and I are so grateful for the IDA Program and how it has grown our business. Today we have nine employees and ten vehicles - thank you so much Forsyth County!”

-Courtney James, President/CEO Support Systems of FC

TO APPLY visit: bit.ly/SmallBusinessIDA