An expo focusing on ways to finance a small business and reduce the cost of business operation is set for Friday, March 23, at Lanier College Career Academy, 2719 Tumbling Creek Road.

The free event, set for 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., “will be enormously helpful to those who are just starting a business or trying to find ways to increase their volume and profit,” states a press release from the Northeast Georgia SCORE chapter, the event’s sponsor. SCORE is a group of mostly retired business executives.

“In the past few years, new methods to save money and lower operating cost have been developed worldwide,” the release states. “... If your business is one person or 100 employees, this opportunity will be huge to the financing and profitability of your company.”

Ashley Bell, a Gainesville native recently appointed regional director for the Small Business Administration in the Southeast, is scheduled to speak.

A free lunch will be provided for those registering for the event, and there’ll be drawings for prizes throughout the day.