MOULTRIE — On Wednesday, a state review team toured local business and favorably analyzed the community’s environment for entrepreneurial and small businesses. As a result, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) designated Colquitt County as an Entrepreneur Friendly Community, which now opens up more doors for local businessmen.

“We were just very impressed overall,” said Dara Barwick, director of the Regional Project Managers with the Entrepreneur and Small Business Program at the GDEcD.

Colquitt County is the 87th community in the state to be so named by the GDEcD. Tift, Cook, Lowndes and Brooks counties already have received the designation. Thomas and Mitchell counties are in the process.

The Entrepreneur Friendly designation entitles community businesses to free market research data and Web optimization analysis. Colquitt County businesses now can apply for an Entrepreneur Friendly Implementation Grant for up to $25,000. This is a matching grant, Barwick said. Also, the state offers a OneGeorgia Entrepreneur Market Development Guaranteed Loan from $35,000 to $250,000. Georgia guarantees those loans at 50 percent. Interest rates are two points above prime but may be an answer for people who have trouble borrowing from a bank.

Eighty percent of new jobs are created by small companies, Barwick said.

The designation indicates the community has worked to develop an environment that is welcoming to small business and entrepreneurs. Of Colquitt County’s 1,401 companies, 91 percent are considered small businesses. These small businesses have fewer than 20 employees.

With the help of GDEcD’s regional representative Rhonda Geiger, the chamber of commerce analyzed its entrepreneurial and small business environment. A survey of 35 small businesses was conducted as part of the process, revealing that 68 percent have been in business for more than eight years and less than 20.

Barwick was particularly impressed that most local entrepreneurs interviewed by the chamber said they would be interested in helping others getting into business. More than half think the county is an excellent or good place to start a business.

Forty-three percent said their sales and marketing were adequate, while 37 percent said improvement was needed in that arena. Eleven percent said sales and marketing were excellent, and 9 percent declined to respond. Regarding administrative and financial management practices, 57 said theirs were adequate while 29 percent said they were excellent. Only 14 percent said their needs improvement.

The majority of sales at local businesses come from within the county, and most don’t export at all.

The local workforce suffers, however, from a lack of a solid work ethic and computer technology skills, the survey indicated. Finding skilled employees is a large challenge, respondents said.

Of the 35 companies surveyed, 49 percent indicated they have plans to grow. That plan indicates a need in finding more money, space or help in that plan of action, Barwick said.

One of the review team, David Dunn of the Small Business Development Center, was surprised at the survey’s results that didn’t list access to capital as a major challenge in Colquitt County. His past experience is that for first-time entrepreneurs acquiring capital in Colquitt County was relatively difficult.

Moultrie stands “head and shoulders” over many other communities Dunn has served, he said.

“I agree, and I deal with them all over the state,” Barwick said.