BluePrints for Business’ Business Improvement Grant (BIG) Program for the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce will move into its second phase as the Western Carolina University College of Business joins forces with the Asheville firm to conduct an economic impact study for the Chamber.

BluePrints for Business, a strategic business consulting firm in Asheville, funded the BIG Program, valued at $50,000, to help Chamber members find new ways to meet the challenges of today’s business environment. Measuring the impact of current recession will help businesses in the county better understand what they can do to stabilize and move forward.

“Businesses in Haywood County, just like businesses everywhere, need to understand how they can reposition the county’s economic base to move forward with a sustainable recovery,” said Tim Barrett, principal consultant and president, BPFB. “The study will provide data that each business can use to plot its own course as part of the Haywood County economic community.”

Details of the study, which could begin this spring, have yet to be formed by BPFB, the WCU College of Business and the Haywood County Chamber, the first county in the United States to become a Certified Entrepreneurial Community.

“This project meshes perfectly with our philosophy of education at Western Carolina University, where we want our students to take what they have learned in their classes and apply it in the real world to help solve regional problems,” said WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo. “This is a win-win. Haywood County businesses will benefit from the findings of the economic impact survey that our students will help conduct. Our students will benefit from a valuable experience that will add to their educational portfolio, and that will enable them to move smoothly from the classroom to the boardroom when they earn their degrees and begin their careers as business-ready graduates.”

WCU students will come from graduate and possibly undergraduate programs in the College of Business, said Ronald A. Johnson, dean of the college.

“Looking at business-performance metrics, they will evaluate individual company efficiencies and develop strategies to broaden their revenue base, and perhaps expand their markets along product lines or across the region,” Johnson said.

“We are exceptionally pleased to have Western Carolina University combine its resources with BluePrints for Business to help our members,” said CeCe Hipps, executive director of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce. “Our members will be able to use the results of this study to stabilize the economic base of Haywood County and create the strong business environment that provides secure jobs and an outstanding quality of life for the community.”