From Idea to Open Doors: How Perry’s Free Business Blueprint Helps Entrepreneurs Start and Grow

A new kind of startup support just landed in Perry—and it’s designed for real life. We’re unveiling Business Blueprint, a free, self‑paced training platform that helps local entrepreneurs move from “I’ve got an idea” to “I’m open for business,” with clarity, confidence, and a direct line to our team when questions pop up.

We walk through what makes Business Blueprint different: short video modules you can finish on a lunch break, full captions and transcripts if you prefer to read, and a practical workbook that turns watching into doing. You can start anywhere—idea validation, market research, brand basics, funding and financial planning, or operations—and jump to the topics that match your stage. Best of all, a built‑in “I need help” button connects you to our economic development office for fast, human support and referrals to trusted partners like the Small Business Development Center.

This isn’t generic startup advice. We partnered with the Startup Support Center to bring expert‑led content and paired it with local know‑how so you understand both the business fundamentals and how to work smoothly with City processes—from permits and home occupation requirements to timelines that keep your plan on track. Whether you’re exploring a side hustle, launching a storefront, or expanding an existing business, Business Blueprint lowers barriers, speeds learning, and makes Perry easier to do business with.

If you’ve been waiting for the “right moment,” this is it: free access, flexible learning, and real support when you need it. Check the show notes for the quick application link, get your welcome from Mayor Walker, and start your first module today. Enjoying the conversation? Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who’s ready to build something great in Perry.

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Visit us at perry-ga.gov.

We hope to see you around in our amazing community...Where Georgia Comes Together.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to the Inside Perry Podcast, where you

(00:03):
get an inside look at PerryGeorgia's local government.
We're glad you chose Perry wherepeople make the difference.
Whether you stay a few hours orlifetime, your time at Perry
will be rewarding andunforgettable.
I'm Tabitha Clark,communications director for the
City of Perry.
So welcome to the Inside PerryPodcast.

(00:25):
We are really excited toshowcase one of our brand new
kind of ventures and servicesthat we have for brand new or
newish entrepreneurs here in thecity of Perry.
So I have Holly Wharton here,our economic development
director, to talk about businessblueprint.
So, first off, Holly, whatexactly is business blueprint?

SPEAKER_00 (00:47):
Yes, so business blueprint is a service that we
are able to offer to localentrepreneurs who may be
interested in starting abusiness or maybe somebody
that's already started abusiness and they're looking to
expand or diversify what they'reoffering.
So Business Blueprint is anonline system where people can

(01:11):
log in and access all kinds oftraining opportunities.
So if you're familiar withsomething like LinkedIn
Learning, something like that,it's it's a setup very similar
to that.
So it's really great and um it'sa good opportunity that we're
able to now offer to thebusiness community.

SPEAKER_01 (01:30):
Right.
And I'm so glad you brought upLinkedIn Learning because this
is set up when I went in therejust to test it out, super
simple as far as there is amodule for information about a
certain topic, and it's not verylong, and that it gives you the
information you need, and thenof course, resources after that.
Having that as a step-by-stepprocess, that's super easy.

SPEAKER_00 (01:54):
That's right.
And you can start anywhere youwould like in the system.
So even if you just have an ideaand you think you may want to
start a business, there's asection called idea validation
where you can learn more abouthow to move your idea along.
Or if you're looking to reallyexpand, or maybe you're needing
additional funding, there's asection for funding and

(02:16):
financial planning and then allsorts of other specialized
training opportunities as well.

SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
I love that because, you know, I mean, instead of
being inundated with all thisinformation, because you know,
starting a business or running abusiness, not for the weak of
heart, you know.
That's right.
Um, so having this kind ofchunked out and focusing on one
thing at a time, super usefuland effective.
So let's talk about that, theusefulness and effectiveness of

(02:43):
how this program works.

SPEAKER_00 (02:44):
Yeah.
So as with LinkedIn learningthat somebody may have looked
into in the past, everything isvideo based.
So once you get into thetraining modules, you'll choose
what you want to do and you'llaccess a whole repository of
videos that are selected tosupport whatever it is you're

(03:05):
looking to train on.
And so all of the videos aresuper short.
So if you have 15 minutes, youcan log on and you can get some
training in.
All of the videos also havecaptions.
So if you like to watch thingswith captions, like a lot of
people.
I always do.

SPEAKER_01 (03:21):
I can't I can't hear without my captions, is what I
always say.

SPEAKER_00 (03:24):
That's right.
So everything has captions,everything has audio, everything
has transcripts available.
So if you just want to readeverything, you can do that as
well.
There's also a workbook suppliedwith the system so that you can
follow along and do activitiesand kind of track along with
your training.
And then also within the system,there's a really handy button in

(03:46):
there.
It says something like I needhelp or I'd like to talk to
someone.
If anyone is using BusinessBlueprint and they click that
button, I'm gonna get anotification from them that
says, Hey, somebody has aquestion.
And so I'll be able to reach outto them directly and maybe put
them in contact with anappropriate resource, maybe with

(04:06):
the small business developmentcenter that we work with a lot,
or maybe they have a questionabout getting a permit for
something in the city and and Ican help with that.

SPEAKER_01 (04:15):
So that's great.
So not only are they short andinformative, but if you just
need a little extra help or alittle extra information, it's
super easy and simple to, youknow, connect with you to make
sure that they fully understandwhat they just learned.

SPEAKER_00 (04:30):
That's right.
The idea with this is that localprospective businesses may go
through this whole system ifthey choose to, and they're
gonna have a very well-roundedview of what it takes to start a
business.
And so when they do get into thethick of starting a business,
going through the developmentprocess is gonna go a lot
smoother for them becausethey're gonna understand every

(04:52):
step of the way.

SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
Yeah, sure.
So what we talked about was notweak, you know, week apart, is
you know, just getting thatbasic solid foundation is
instrumental into making thingsrun smoother, just like you
said.

SPEAKER_00 (05:05):
That's right.
And we're really excited aboutthis because it's a partnership
that we have with a companycalled the Startup Support
Center.
They're the trainers that are onall these modules, they're
industry professionals, they dothis all over the country.
So we've partnered with them andwe're able to offer this to our
community for free.
So even better.

(05:26):
Exactly.
So free ninety-nine is alwaysthe best price.
And so um, even if you just wantto give it a shot, it's free, so
you're not losing anything, evenif you're just a little bit
interested or curious to seewhat it's like.

SPEAKER_01 (05:39):
And that also goes back to how easy this is.
It's a self-paced program.

SPEAKER_00 (05:45):
That's right.
So it's really ideal for peoplethat are maybe looking at
starting a business, but theyhave a full-time job already.
Sure.
So maybe you do some of this onyour lunch break, maybe you do
it at night or early in themorning.
It's really flexible andself-paced.

SPEAKER_01 (06:00):
It seems like the perfect program, I'm telling
you.
So, how does somebody who'sinterested in this access?

SPEAKER_00 (06:07):
Yes.
So if you are interested inparticipating in this business
blueprint training software, wewould encourage you to fill out
a form.
We have that available on ourwebsite, and also we can put it
in the show notes, right type ofthing.

SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
Of course.
Always the show notes, alwayslook those.

SPEAKER_00 (06:24):
Yeah, so um, there's a quick little form to fill out.
We just want to know who you areand what you're interested in.
So we will review those forms,and then once I receive it, I'll
send you the link to getstarted.
And then once you receive thatlink, you will log on and set up
your account.
And as soon as you access it,you'll be greeted with a video

(06:44):
from Mayor Walker saying, Hey,welcome to Perry.
We're excited you want to starta business here, and then you
can launch into any of thetraining programs that you would
like.

SPEAKER_01 (06:54):
Right.
I love it.
It's super simple, risk-free,and it's free.

SPEAKER_00 (06:59):
So and it's free.

SPEAKER_01 (07:01):
Um, so let's get to the heart of this.
Why is the city of Perryproviding this service?
Why is it important for us tomake sure that people have
access to it?

SPEAKER_00 (07:11):
So we talk a lot about um offering a higher level
of service in everything that wedo in the city of Perry, whether
that's providing water and sewerservice or public safety
response.
This is a way that we canprovide a higher level of
service to our local businesscommunity and prospective
businesses.
If you want to start a businesshere in Perry, we want you to

(07:33):
have all the resources that youneed to be able to do that
quickly and efficiently.
And so we're happy to be able toprovide this to the community
and hopefully help anybody outalong the way.

SPEAKER_01 (07:44):
Sure.
And it's a win-win if if you canbe successful, you know, or at
least have the tools to start asuccessful business, or at least
get you into the mindset andthen you bring your business to
Perry, it's a win-win foreverybody.

SPEAKER_00 (07:58):
It really is.
And, you know, we want to makesure that it's easy to work with
us as you're going along throughyour development process, or
maybe you're even just wantingto start an online business and
you need a home occupationpermit.
You know, we want to be able tohelp with any aspect of starting
a business.

SPEAKER_01 (08:16):
That's wonderful.
So just a recap, we're talkingabout our brand new business
blueprint, kind of entrepreneurstartup, newish entrepreneur
software, um, where you can havethe resources for free about how
to start or how to enhance yourbusinesses here in Perry.

(08:36):
So just as Holly said, we havethe show notes.
So make sure you click on thatfor the application form and
more information about this.
So, Holly, you know, just tokind of summarize, why should
somebody look into this?

SPEAKER_00 (08:50):
Yeah, I think if anyone is curious about starting
a business, there may bequestions that they have.
Um, and you may not know who togo to to ask those questions to.
And so this is an opportunity toreally access a lot of different
categories of information fromall aspects of starting a
business and really kind of gainsome of that knowledge, even if

(09:13):
it's just a little bit, or evenif it's just to get in there and
realize you can click thatbutton and talk to somebody
directly.
Also, I'm always available, soeven if you're not interested in
doing this and you do have aquestion about starting a
business, you can check out ourwebsite.
There's some resources on there,and also my contact information
is always on the website.
So happy to talk to anybodyanytime.

SPEAKER_01 (09:35):
Sounds good, and it will be in the show notes.
Thanks for listening to theInside Perry Podcast, your
inside look at Perry's localgovernment.
Take a look at the show notesfor more information about
today's episode.
If you like Inside Perry, weencourage you to subscribe and

(09:56):
share the podcast with yourfriends and family.
We look forward to seeing youaround in our amazing community
where Georgia comes together.