Millbrook GrowthLab Workshop Aims to Boost Local Small-Business Growth

On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the Millbrook Area Chamber of Commerce convened a day-long GrowthLab event titled Maximize Your Momentum at the Fieldhouse at 17 Springs, drawing business owners and nonprofit leaders from across Autauga County. The session ran from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and focused on strategy, leadership and planning materials intended to help local enterprises scale, form peer connections, and refine growth plans.

The chamber listed the workshop on its calendar and event registration page at business.millbrookchamber.org, and the program received local coverage from WSFA in early January. Organizers positioned the GrowthLab as a practical introduction to tools and peer networks that can shorten the learning curve for small-business operators looking to expand services, increase capacity, or sharpen long-term plans.

The workshop comes as Millbrook pursues a set of downtown initiatives centered on 17 Springs, a multiuse development being used as a community asset to attract commerce and foot traffic. City and chamber efforts to program activity at the Fieldhouse are intended to increase downtown vibrancy by providing entrepreneurs with convenient access to training, collaboration space and customer-facing events. For small businesses, those connections can translate into better access to local supply chains, new customer relationships, and clearer roadmaps for hiring or capital investment.

From a market perspective, targeted training and peer networks can improve the survivability and scalability of small firms, which are a primary engine of local employment and tax revenue. While the GrowthLab was a single-day introduction rather than a comprehensive accelerator, its emphasis on practical planning materials is consistent with best practices for supporting small-business growth: bolster managerial capacity, expand networks, and connect firms to resources that reduce barriers to scaling.

For local policymakers, the GrowthLab underscores the value of public-private coordination in economic development. Supporting recurring training, streamlining permitting for downtown activations at 17 Springs, and creating linkages to financing programs could amplify the small gains from one-off workshops into measurable increases in business openings, payrolls, and sales tax receipts in Autauga County.

The Jan. 7 GrowthLab represents one tangible step in Millbrook’s strategy to turn community assets into economic momentum. Organizers and participants will likely watch for follow-up opportunities that translate workshop planning into concrete actions this year.