BATON ROUGE - The Downtown Development District and the Small Business Development Center at LSU aim to strengthen downtown Baton Rouge by offering free Friday consultations to local businesses aiming to grow or start in the area.

Organization leaders say they want to help current businesses while also supporting new entrepreneurs in shaping the future of downtown Baton Rouge.

"We'll offer one-on-one confidential consulting for small businesses and those who want to open up a business about business plans, accessing capital, working with technology, anything that they have that's standing in the way of them growing their business. We're here to help with" Adam McCloskey, the director of the LSU SDBC, said.

"We can help them look at different locations that may suit their needs. We can also give them some information and data about downtown, about why downtown could be a good fit for them." Whitney Hoffman Sayal, the Executive Director of the Downtown Development District, said.

One resident says they are in favor of growth downtown, as long as it comes with a way to keep local youth out of trouble.

"There's a lot of creators, a lot of innovators, a lot of people that is talented and make up, also in sports. And then we can do something for the children, to keep them busy and also to keep them, you know, focused on school, focused on being better people. I feel like the city will be better, and also it will bring in more things before" Hoffman said.

The overall goal is to create a sustainable downtown, which organizers believe can benefit all of Baton Rouge.

"We can help anybody, from a landscaper to somebody with a brand new invention. So anything along there can be successful in Baton Rouge if the person's willing to commit and devote their time and their effort to it," McCloskey said.

You can click here to sign up.