In addition to our core one-on-one business consultations, we are now offering free Office Hours for entrepreneurs in a county near you in partnership with your County Chamber of Commerce or another community partner that shares in our nonprofit mission to help businesses start and grow in Northwest Tennessee.
See Upcoming Office Hours Events Below
Office Hours are pre-scheduled for a specific day in one of the counties that we serve. See our calendar for the upcoming schedule. Counties we serve include: Lake, Obion, Weakley, Henry, Dyer, Gibson, Crockett, Carroll, and Benton but Tennessee residents from outside the Northwest region are welcome to attend as well.
Did we mention that this service is free? Activities of The Mill Entrepreneur Center are funded in part by a grant from LaunchTN and made possible by our community partners throughout the region.
What are Office Hours?
While 1:1 meetings are conducted on an as-needed basis, to help startups and growing businesses, Office Hours are conducted in each of the nine counties of Northwest Tennessee on specific dates and entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to get help with a variety of topics. We will cover topics ranging from marketing and social media to the basics of setting up a business for the first time.
Topics Available for Consultation
Business Setup – Technical Steps for Starting a Business
- Obtaining an EIN (Employer Identification Number) for the first time as a sole proprietor. This is an essential step for any new business as an EIN is required for many of the steps to starting a business.
- Consulting on business license setup.
- Consulting on the importance of banking, accounting, and legal services relationships.
- Obtaining assistance with legal help to set up more complicated business structures such as LLC and Corps or to establish contracts needed for business relationships such as partnerships. (This is the first step for us to help you get assistance through the AssistTN program, which, if awarded, will partner you will free accounting and legal assistance.)
- Obtaining assistance with getting your bookkeeping setup right for the first time. (This is the first step for us to help you get assistance through the AssistTN program, which, if awarded, will partner you will free accounting and legal assistance.)
- Learning the importance of separation of business and personal funds.
Business Model Optimization
- Knowing your customer and identifying the problem in the market you are trying to solve.
- Understanding your value proposition and how to articulate it to customers.
- Managing cash flow.
- Pricing appropriately for profit.
- Understanding leasing of office space and pitfalls to avoid.
- Partnerships and whether you need a partner or not.
- Considerations when purchasing an existing business.
- We also offer group cohorts covering all of the topics a couple of times per year. Learn more about our Startup Bootcamp program.
Marketing - Setting up social media accounts for the first time.
- Optimizing social media accounts.
- Social media best practices.
- Learning how to use short-form vertical videos in your marketing. I.E. TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Etc.
- Getting organized for website projects.
- Creating a marketing plan for your business.
Etc
- These are just a few of the topics that our business consultants can cover.
- Let us know what you need and if we can’t provide consultation directly, we will help you find help.
- Also, check out our calendar for a list of upcoming workshops and events that could help you on your startup and growth journey.
Getting Started
- Register today for one of our upcoming Office Hours events listed below.
- Registration is required so that we can schedule you with the appropriate consultant.
- If these dates don’t work for you, you can setup an initial 1:1 consultation call and then we’ll see how we can accommodate you best.
- Don’t hesitate to reach out, we are here to help.
- Call (731) 224-7710 or email
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Upcoming Office Hours Events
- Friday, February 20, 2026 - Benton County Office Hours hosted by Apex Bank >>>Register Today
- Friday, March 6, 2026 - Crockett County Office Hours hosted by the Crockett County Chamber of Commerce >>>Register Today
