CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — Charleston entrepreneurs hoping to sharpen their skills and grow their companies now have a chance to join an eight-month program designed to help businesses level up.
Applications are officially open for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Business Accelerator Cohort, a program built for business owners who have moved beyond the start-up stage and want to strengthen the foundation for long-term success.
The cohort meets for half-day sessions every other week and covers modules on systems and scale, growth and financial management. Participants also receive one-on-one mentorship and complete coursework and strategy assignments between sessions.
Celeste Granger, the Chamber’s senior vice president of programs and initiatives, said the program works because it creates room for honest conversations among people who might otherwise never cross paths.
“That’s where the magic really comes in and where we’ve seen a lot of strength come out of the program, having that safe space to talk about hurdles you’re seeing in everyday business and expand on ideas,” Granger said. “Having people from different business realms opens that up. It gives you a fresh lens and another perspective on how you’re thinking about your business. Many people know their industry well, but they may not know all the ins and outs of running a business and what that really entails.”
For Tanqueray Edwards, founder and CEO of T.R. Edwards Consultancy and a recent graduate of the program, the Accelerator came at a turning point in her career. After two decades in corporate roles, she said losing her job forced her to rethink her next steps.
“I spent more than 20 years in corporate roles leading business transformation and innovation,” Edwards said. “When my position was eliminated, I was just thinking ‘oh my gosh, what am I going to do?’ I realized it was time to pursue the work I had always been passionate about and build something on a smaller scale where I could shape the culture myself. ‘I am going to start my own business. I am going to become the kind of boss I always wanted.’”
It was a leap she took quickly.
“It was really just a leap of faith,” she said. “I knew it was something I wanted to do, that I had to do, and I felt called to support small businesses. So, I did minimal research, started my business and ran with it.”
But stepping into entrepreneurship alone wasn’t easy. Edwards said she initially pieced things together through online courses, podcasts and advice from others who had been through the process. Still, she said the Accelerator offered something she couldn’t find anywhere else.
“Without the program, I feel like I did okay, but the program really helped me pull it together,” she said. “It was a wing and a prayer at first. But it’s not the same as being in a small group and having honest conversations. We had a lot of raw conversations.”
Those conversations created connections she still relies on today.
“There’s that automatic baked-in support that I’ll have from here until forever,” Edwards said. “Those are friends now, not just peers. We celebrate birthdays and milestones together. It made a huge difference knowing I had a village and a strong support system.”
Edwards said dedicating focused time to improving her business is what made the cohort such an asset.
“You have to spend the time to work on your business,” she said. “We would do that every other week and, in between those sessions, we had educational material, homework pieces and strategy documents to create. It felt very rewarding and fulfilling to be sharpening my business.”
Chamber leaders said the Accelerator is designed for entrepreneurs who want to stabilize and scale up but need guidance, structure and community to move forward.
Applications are open through Dec. 3.
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