Barwick and her team recommended a new task force led by a nonmember of the chamber concentrating on entrepreneurial and small business growth and development. Statistics show, she said, that the more entrepreneurs who open businesses in a community, the more successful all companies will be.

She also encouraged the chamber to play up Colquitt County’s unique assets, the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo, the diving well, the arts center, its historic downtown, craft and auto shows, hunting plantations, historic Frank McCall designed homes, its dominance in agriculture and the fact that it’s the hometown of U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

The team also praised the chamber’s custom of recognizing small businesses and its continuance of training and classes to increase their sales, but it would like to see more pointed strategy from the economic development board to recruit small businesses.

Looking at the survey, Colquitt County’s businesses have a “huge opportunity” for enhancing exports and e-commerce, she said.

“Most of the companies are using very little of both. The Department of Economic Development and the (University of Georgia) have international offices and export lists and can help companies either get started or improve their export ability,” she said, adding it might not be useful for some businesses but it could dramatically improve a bottom line for others.

Other suggestions were to incorporate skills and cultivate interest in entrepreneurship through the educational system to students as young as kindergarten level and developing a peer network for entrepreneurs to trade advice.

Thanks went out especially to the Entrepreneur Friendly Committee, its chairman, Katie Harrison of Moultrie Technical College and Amanda Holt Statom, vice president of marketing for the chamber of commerce, for their research and development of growth strategies that ultimately achieved the coveted designation for the county.