Carbon County wants businesses to flourish.

To help make sure this happens, the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corporation recently held an entrepreneur series to help people with business ideas, as well as small businesses in the community, learn about starting or growing a successful company. This is the third year for the series.A total of 11 participants sat in on the classes, which went through seeing if an idea would be a good business for the area, if participants are ready to be business owners, the finances involved and building a business plan.This year, the series took on the form of a competition, whittling down the participants to see who would go in the first "Guppy Tank." The tank was much like the television show "Shark Tank," where people go in front of investors to pitch their idea in the hopes of securing funding.Kathy Henderson, director of economic development, said that the series was well-received by the county entrepreneurs.There was one business that went before the Guppy Tank lenders on Thursday evening. Lenders included Mark Haldaman from First Northern Bank and Trust Company in Palmerton; Leigh Magnotta from MetroAction in Scranton; Paul Macknosky of the Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance in Pittston; and Deb Price from Mauch Chunk Trust in Jim Thorpe.Rebecca Moll, owner of Space Elf, a professional organizing company, pitched her idea for her business, which she has been setting up for the past several months. She was requesting a $4,000 loan to help with startup fees.Moll, of the Jim Thorpe area, explained that she came up with the idea to become a professional organizer after helping friends and area residents organize their lives, their homes and their businesses.She told the lenders that what makes her business unique is that she doesn't just go into a person's home or business space and organize, but she first connects with the person to learn what may be the underlying reason for the clutter, what their short-term and long-term goals are and what they feel is the best way to achieve those goals.The lenders listened intently, following up with questions about why they should lend her the money, what her projected targeted clients would be and how many hours she plans to dedicate to the business.Following the presentation, the lenders provided Moll with tips on what she could do to help achieve her goals and secure future funding options.They will now review her business plan and see what, if any, options are available to her and will contact Moll if interested.For more information on Space Elf, Moll can be contacted via email at

YourSpaceElf@gmail.com.