Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR) program aims high in Lewis and Clark, Broadwater and Meagher counties in Montana

Hoping to better marshal the intellect of some of the community’s most savvy business leaders, officials with Montana Business Assistance Connection http://www.mbac.biz/ have joined with the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce http://www.helenachamber.com/ to implement a formal Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR) program http://businessresources.mt.gov/BRD_bear.asp .

“It’s a program that’s been pushed statewide for a long time, but we’ve never taken advantage of it,” said MBAC director Terry Myhre. “Everyone who’s in business has some areas where, if they knew there were people they could talk to, they would take advantage of it.”

Here’s how the program works. Interested small business owners in MBAC’s three-county (Lewis and Clark, Broadwater and Meagher) region can request a visit from a pair of outreach partners, who will conduct an interview of about an hour to develop a profile of the firm.

By JOHN HARRINGTON – Independent Record

Full Story: http://www.helenair.com/articles/2008/06/08/weekly_features/business/65bz_080608_betterbiz.txt