A Terry College instructor offered an opportunity for individuals at the University to get involved in a burgeoning trade relationship between Turkey and the state of Georgia.

Christopher Hanks, a management lecturer, began talks in summer 2008 with a representative from the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce to head a seminar about trade between the areas.

Hanks’ participation in the seminar will allow the University to take part in the program and “expose students to new opportunities in entrepreneurship,” he said.

The ongoing seminar was organized to inform small business owners of the ins and outs of Turkey’s trading economy, as well as what relations with Turkey will entail. Because Hanks has a successful entrepreneurial career preceding him, the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce personally sought him out to participate in the seminar.

Hanks’ section of the seminar deals with future business plans, but he said he frowns on using such mundane terms as “business plans.”

“It is more like the road map to making whatever goals or dreams you have come true,” he said.

“Mapping out your road to success helps to diminish your liability of making mistakes.”

The goals and future projects of the trade plan are still in the works, but ideas are constantly being pitched. Hank said it is possible he will fly Georgia business owners to Turkey to give new entrepreneurs a firsthand account of the country and culture.

The instructor has also been asked to make separate sporadic trips to Turkey to lecture for Turkish businesses.

Hanks said he hopes to give University students a chance to play a role in the future of the state’s economy as well.

“There are opportunities to participate in joint projects, to help with business plans,” he said.

Students would be able to become more familiar with various international businesses and witness the efforts of small businesses willing to expand, he said.

On the more visionary side, the newly-founded organization of the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce could be a major helper in the state of Georgia’s quest to turn its economic recession around, he said, because trade relations could provide businesses with more opportunities for exportation and investment.