Asheville, NC  May 24, 2010 – Saying local businesses have suffered enough, Asheville consulting firm BluePrints for Business and the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce hope to offer a route out of the doldrums with a four-part seminar series, Gearing Up For Economic Recovery. The seminars will run four consecutive Tuesday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., beginning June 1 at the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, 91 N. Lakeshore Dr., Lake Junaluska.

Seminar topics and dates will be:

• Coping with the Current Economy, June 1

• Increasing Sales Through Marketing, June 8

• Deliver a Message with Oomph, June 15

• Social Media: The New Word-of-Mouth Advertising, June 22.

“Business owners in Haywood County who have survived the down economy have a sense that their time is now to start on the road to recovery,” said CeCe Hipps, executive director of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce. “Because the economic and marketing landscapes have changed so dramatically in the past two years, we want to give them a good starting point for their journey. All of them know about economic conditions and that there are a lot of new marketing tools and techniques available. We’ll show them how to put it all together.”

Tim Barrett, principal consultant, BluePrints for Business, which provides strategic business consulting services for small and mid-size firms in Western North Carolina and throughout the Southeast, says marketing and communications strategies and tools have changed at break-neck speed in the past two years.

“Everybody knows terms such as Facebook, Twitter, blogging, social marketing and search engine optimization,” Barrett said, “and there’s so much information out there about them that it can be very intimidating. When you break it all down to fundamental elements, business owners will see what makes sense for them, and that will make it easier to develop a strategy and put it into action.”

The cost of the seminars is $40 for Haywood County Chamber of Commerce members and $60 for non-members. Chamber members who attend all four seminar sessions will receive a full $40 refund.

About BluePrints for Business

Headquartered in Asheville, NC, BluePrints for Business traces its roots back to Central California, where it was founded as Barrett Business Resources in 1983. As individuals, BPFB principals have created, bought and sold businesses ranging from $8 million to $220 million in annual sales. As a team, they bring more than 100 years of combined business management, ownership and consulting experience in over 60 industries to small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Southeast. Consulting engagements by the firm’s  founding partners have included business start-ups, turnarounds, workouts, emerging growth, mergers and acquisitions. For further information, contact BluePrints for Business, 206 Merrimon Ave., 2nd Floor, Asheville, NC 28801. Toll-free: 866-913-4100 Phone: 828-252-8806  email: info@blueprintsforbiz.com  Internet: www.blueprintsforbiz.com.