A new champion for independent businesses
By Times Staff WriterA new organization championing independent businesses will hold its first meeting this week, and its organizers hope to attract members from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
Owners of privately owned businesses with no more than six locations can join the Tampa Independent Business Alliance for first-year dues of $20. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Mise en Place Restaurant at 442 West Kennedy Blvd.,Tampa.
Mise en Place owner Maryann Ferenc, a founding member, said about 50 people have signed up so far. Many members of the new group have been loosely connected for the past couple of years through an annual July 4 event called Independents Day, which encouraged people to shop at local businesses.
Ferenc said local chambers of commerce have been doing a better job of focusing on the issues affecting small business owners, but there is more to be done.
"We've got to find the synergies for both the independent and the large corporate businesses and allow them to move along parallel tracks," Ferenc said.
© 2004 St. Petersburg Times
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