Officials hope to expand outreach of Spring River Innovation Hub

Chuck Jones wanted to start a business, and wanted to help revitalize Cherokee Villages’ Town Center. He settled in on starting a restaurant and then decided to open a pizzeria. He and his wife, Amanda Waser, traveled the country sampling different kinds of pizza.

Jones decided wood-fired brick oven pizza was his preference, and Falls Pizza Company was born. Virtually everything that goes into the pizza is made fresh, Waser told Talk Business & Politics.

“I wanted to make everything from scratch,” Jones said. Waser added “He’d make the pepperonis from scratch if he could.”

When the couple decided to start a business, they had many questions about how to begin, Waser said. It’s ironic because Waser is director of the Spring River Innovation Hub located in Cherokee Village.

The Hub is an economic development collaboration supporting entrepreneurs, artisans, and small business owners in north Arkansas. By connecting members to industry leaders, policymakers, educators, and others, the Spring River Innovation Hub initiative seeks to engage, connect, and promote entrepreneurialism and improve the quality of life in the region. It has a small business incubator and co-work space. The Hub provides co-work and meeting space, technology resources, mentorships, networking, marketing solutions, and support services for business startups and growth.

“We want to break down the barriers for people to start their own businesses,” Waser said.

The Hub offers several programs to help start, grow and develop small businesses, Waser said. The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) offers numerous classes that teach how to start a business, finance one, scale it and others. 

The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Office offers classes on numerous topics, including government contracts, sewing, mixology, and how to make chocolate. The Exchange is an event space that can be rented.

Others include a women’s networking series in the fall and spring, small business strategies, youth STEAM summer camps, and adult summer camps. It even hosted a bird watching program through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. This past year, participants went on three nature trail hikes to look for birds, Waser said.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), 90% of all small businesses (500 employees or less) fail within the first 10 years of operation, while one-third of all startups fail within the first 18 months.

The Hub’s goal is to counteract those statistics with support services that help startups succeed. According to SBA, small businesses donate 250% more than big businesses to local nonprofits and community causes.

One of the challenges for the Hub has been getting the word out to the public, Waser said. It’s based in Cherokee Village, but its service area includes much of north central Arkansas.

There are several signature events that are held at the Hub each year. The Arkansas Pie Festival, the only one of its kind in Arkansas, is held on the last Saturday of April each year. The Spring River Farmers Market opens Memorial Day Weekend and runs through the last Saturday in July.

Oktoberfest is held on the first Saturday in October, and there are plans to expand it next year, Waser said. The final event is Christmas Bizarre and Christmas in the Village held on the last weekend of November, and it extends to the first Monday in December.

The events draw thousands of tourists to the region, which in turn benefits local businesses and vendors, Waser said. The events help drive up sales tax collections, which helps support local government and services.

Waser said she hopes the Hub will grow to the point that they can offer office hours on a day-to-day basis. She also wants to partner with local businesses such as banks and insurance companies and have professionals from those businesses spend hours at the Hub giving advice.

“It’s beneficial for all those involved,” she said.

Another point of emphasis will be educating younger entrepreneurs about how they can get started. Studies have shown that if a person successfully starts one business, they are likely to start others.

“Once you get the youth excited, you get the entire community excited,” she said.