The Oconee County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Office teamed together to have Oconee County designated as an "Entrepreneur Friendly Community" by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). Offered through GDEcD's Small Business & Innovation Division, the Entrepreneur Friendly initiative provides a community-based program that helps create an entrepreneur environment by incorporating an entrepreneur and small business strategy into the community�s overall economic development strategy.

Oconee County began pursuing the designation in the fall of 2007 and completed the designation process on April 7, 2008.

In order to work toward the Entrepreneur Friendly designation, a local committee was formed to lead this effort and support the initiative. This committee was comprised of local government, board of education, higher education, minorities, small business owners, utilities, media, and financial service representatives - a cross-section of the community.

The committee then began developing a booklet entitled "How to Start a Business in Oconee County" for distribution. Additionally, presentations regarding the initiative have been made to the Chamber of Commerce, local development authority, and civic organizations throughout the community.

On October 1, 2007 a Small Business Resource Fair was hosted at the Oconee County Civic Center. This event introduced entrepreneurs and potential business owners to resources that are available within the community from a variety of federal and state agencies. Representatives were present from the United States Department of Agriculture � Rural Development, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, GDEcD, the University of Georgia�s Small Business Development Center, Athens Technical College, and others. The community also developed other methods to provide information to entrepreneurs and small business owners throughout the community.

As an integral part of the Entrepreneur Friendly process, the committee interviewed a number of local entrepreneurs to gather data to aid in the development of strategies to more fully incorporate small business development into the community's economic development strategy. Once completed, the committee will aggregate the results and work with GDEcD to review the findings from the initiative.

Oconee County is one of 129 counties across the state of Georgia with the Entrepreneur Friendly designation.