Intern Connects With 54 Business Owners

PCDC summer intern Paige Dexter has been hitting the pavement in Phelps County this summer talking to area business owners to encourage internship programs and discover future business opportunities.

“I have had a lot of really positive feedback as far as the project and business owners seeing the benefits of a young professional coming to the area and then possibly returning to live and work in the future,” Dexter said.

One goal of her work here is for at least five business owners in Phelps County to hire interns in by the summer of 2017, and she is well on her way to that goal with 16 already expressing interest.

Here’s a sampling of some of the work she’s completed so far this summer:

1. She has interviewed 54 business owners (41 small, 13 large) in Holdrege, Bertrand and Loomis about internship programs and business needs.
2. Of those interviewed, 16 business owners are interested in starting an internship program. Dexter will follow up with those business owners and provide detailed information about how to fund an intern, how to create job descriptions and hiring timelines.
3. She has interviewed nine business owners who are looking to transition their businesses to new owners in the next 5-10 years. PCDC staff plans to work with these owners over the next year to help create a succession plan and identify potential new owners in an effort to retain local businesses and services.
4. She identified vacant buildings in downtown Holdrege that could be become potential new business locations.

If you are a business owner and would like more information about starting an internship program or want help in creating a business succession plan, please contact Paige Dexter (through Aug. 12) or PCDC Project Coordinator Alli Donohue at PCDC at (308) 995-4148.