AMARILLO, Texas — The Barrio Neighborhood Planning Committee and West Texas A&M University will offer valuable business advice to El Barrio residents who are interested in pursuing entrepreneurship in three upcoming workshops.

The “Start A New Business” series will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the first Tuesdays of April, May and June.

The three-part series is presented by the Barrio Neighborhood Planning Committee, the West Texas A&M University Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, America’s SBDC at WTAMU, and the WT Enterprise Center. This partnership gathers a mixture of business knowledge, experience and voices from various professionals in our area.

“We want our barrio families to have livable wages and have the resources they need if they choose to pursue that through entrepreneurship,” said Teresa Kenedy, Barrio committee president. “Amarillo has a ton of resources that are available to new entrepreneurs and startups. Events like this help families create generational wealth within the Amarillo community.”

The first event —set for 6 p.m. April 4 in Alamo Community Center, 1502 S. Cleveland St. in Amarillo—will cover “Starting Your New Business” and will be presented in Spanish and English. The purpose of this session is to educate participants to learn the steps needed to start a new business in Texas. This event will be presented by America’s SBDC at WTAMU and cover all aspects of starting a new business including, “Filing a DBA (Doing Business As),” “Understanding How to Collect Sales Tax,” and “How to Market Your Business.”

Dinner will be provided by Teddy Jack’s Armadillo Grill and $450 in door prizes will be given away.

“It’s great to see so many organizations and financial institutions get out and support small businesses in Amarillo,” said Quintin Marquez, community development manager for City Federal Credit Union, one of the event sponsors. “It’s important for organizations like CFCU to go where the people are and show them that they are not alone when they are starting their business.”

The events on May 2 and June 6 will be held at the WT Enterprise Center, 2300 N. Western St. in Amarillo. The May event, “Entrepreneurs Supporting Your Business,” will feature a panel of experts discussing what they learned about starting and running a successful small business. The June event, “Financing for Your Business,” will seven different lenders with experience in banking loans, microloans, access to capital, and building trust with banking partners.

RSVPs are not necessary for the three events, and all are free. For information, contact Makenzie Knipe at America’s SBDC at WTAMU at 806-651-5151, or visit wtsbdc.com/elbarrio.

WT is committed to serving the region and well beyond with successful entrepreneurs and business leaders who are empowered to lead others. Partnering and retaining community businesses to improve the quality of life in the Panhandle and beyond is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021 — has raised more than $120 million.