Jackson Free Press

Business Development Professionals Roundtable

Small business professionals and entrepreneurs will get a chance later this month to talk with business leaders and give their input on expanding business education and growth in the Jackson area.

Jackson Business Accelerator Collaboration/ Community Business Strategies is hosting a Business Development Professionals Roundtable to promote entrepreneurship education in local public schools and after-school programs.

Michael Harris, program manager for Jackson Business Accelerator Collaboration, said the roundtable is the first step in creating a community consensus for kickstarting local business.

"The roundtable is an opportunity for people to physically get together to discuss these issues," Harris said. "The other part is, leading up to and following (the roundtable), I hold a series of one-on-one meetings with various community and business leaders to get their input. We also do an online survey, so that we don't just depend on one way of getting information in. Ultimately, what we're looking to come up with is a community strategy that various individuals, organizations and businesses can buy into in terms of how we can best support entrepreneurship education in our public schools."

JBAC has been in conversation with several local school principals and teachers trying to develop a curriculum for entrepreneurship education. The state Department of Education is also developing guidelines for the curriculum, Harris said.

"The challenge is that the teachers can't do it by themselves. It really needs to be a community partnership with the teachers in order to have an excellent program," Harris said.

All ages, including high school students, are welcome to take part in the roundtable. JBAC is co-hosting the event with the NAACP Black Leadership Summit at the Jackson Convention Center Nov. 29 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

New Tax Prep Service Opens

Lydia Martin was a pharmacy technician before she received IRS certification to become a tax preparer three years ago.

Since then, she has owned and operated Martin's Tax Services from her home. On Dec. 26, though, the online business-school student and mother of two will open Martin's Tax Services at its new location at 330 N. Mart Plaza, Suite 4, will offer the full range of tax-preparation services.

Martin said she will charge customers by the forms they request for tax filing. Customers can get a free estimate from Martin at the store or on the website, martinstaxservices.weebly.com, on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Fresh Shrimp Come to Richland

Fresh food is always better. For many, when it comes to seafood, the food needs to almost try to swim off the plate to be acceptable.

Shrimp lovers now have a place in the metro area to buy the pink crustaceans almost right out of the Gulf. The Shrimp Shoppe in Richland offers shrimp straight from the Biloxi and Pass Christian harbors to restaurants and private customers in bulk.

Owners and operators Christopher and Wanda Howell, of Brandon, purchase the shrimp on the Mississippi coast and deliver them in a refrigerated truck straight to their facility at 540C Industrial Drive in Richland. There, they sort the shrimp by size and other specifications including heads on or off, and deveined or not.

The Shrimp Shoppe then sells the shrimp to the customer's order while they are still fresh.

For pricing information or to place an order, customers can reach The Shrimp Shoppe at 769-524-4110.

New Business Expansions

The Penguin Restaurant and Bar now offers brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The special menu includes fried chicken, chicken tetrazzini, turkey and dressing, salmon, meatloaf, spaghetti and meat sauce, macaroni and cheese, green beans, squash, candied yams, butter beans and mashed potatoes.

Orange Peel, a clothing consignment shop at 422 Mitchell Ave. now has a furniture barn.

Silly Billy's Consignment Shop, located inside the former BoKay's building on Mitchell Avenue Fondren, now has a section devoted solely to vintage clothing.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Silly Billy's is located in Duling Hall in Fondren.