Beautiful businesses at Biz Bash

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On Tuesday June 20, The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce helped sponsor an event calledBiz Bash at the RP Funding Center. Biz Bash allowed businesses and organizations the opportunity to showcase their work to the community. While attending Biz Bash, I had thepleasure of meeting and mingling with important local business owners and staff. In addition, I was able to bring along a few family members who were interested in what these businesses hadto bring to the business ecosystem.

​Walking into the event, it was filled with laughter and joy all throughout. There were tables lined all around the room with information on the different organizations that attended. There was delicious food provided by the RP Funding Center and its wonderful staff, along with raffle prizes. Not only did each business share more about their mission, they also networked with otherbusiness resources. I was encouraged to bring along family members who aren't familiar with the business world and who are new to entrepreneurship. It was a very humbling experience. " I don'tknow anything about Business but being there and being able to enjoy that experience issomething that will stick with me forever," said my Uncle Adalberto Arroyo. We were excited tosee the enthusiasm of the local business community.

​While being there, I was able to meet a few new coming and already established local resourcessuch as the Florida SBDC, Lakeland CRA, Catapult, and many more. My Family took a specialinterest in Prospera, which is a nonprofit organization that specializes in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs who are trying to establish or expand their businesses. MyGrandmother, Aracelis Fryar, who was born in Puerto Rico, and has recently started her ownbusiness had the privilege to meet and talk with Prospera in person. She spoke on her experiencewith the organization, saying “As a Minority and as a Woman it was nice to see a change likeProspera, who were welcoming and eager to help advocate for the Hispanic Community”. It was fantastic to see how big of a change people around the community were making.

Gratefully, I was able to attend as an intern with the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. During the2022-23 school year, I had the privilege of taking the Polk State Dual Enrollment EntrepreneurshipBusiness Course at Kathleen Senior High School which allowed me to learn more aboutBusiness and what it means to be an entrepreneur. Fortunately, I had gotten the opportunity to attend the Chamber this summer as an intern, to learn more about the different aspects of business and entrepreneurship in my community. While being at this event, I was able to meetand learn about other entrepreneurs and hear their stories and journeys. While doing so, I wasable to gain a new perspective of the business industry. I was so lucky to have the chance tointeract with many business owners. My family and I had a wonderful time, we enjoyed the wonderful refreshments provided and got to meet some amazing businesses and organizations. Ihope to get another opportunity to experience this again.

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