Last year, one of the attendees at the annual
Ohio Growth Summit in Columbus "quit his job the day before the summit, came to the summit and started his business the next day," says Mike Bowers, District Director of the
Ohio Small Business Development Center at Columbus State Community College.
That summit attendee is Timothy Wolf Starr, who founded the Small Business Beanstalk, a "local-first" company that connects small retailers to a base of active consumers in the Columbus area. A Small Business Beanstalk card allows shoppers to obtain discounts at independent retailers. The company is now booming, and Starr says, “I send a lot of my clients to the Summit each year.”
That's why Bowers and Starr encourage all Ohio small business entrepreneurs or hopefuls to attend this year’s summit, which will be held on May 24th at CSCC.
This year’s summit, Bowers says, “is focused on those small business owners who are either starting or growing their businesses. An individual coming to the event can customize their day -- whether it's an owner getting tools and techniques to use immediately, someone having only an idea and not knowing anything about business, or the person who’s been in business for years and is looking to grow."
Summit reakout sessions will address such diverse issues as financing, online social media, marketing and later-stage change. The Ohio Growth Summit is made possible due to a grant from the Small Business Administration.
Source: Mike Bowers
Writer: Catherine Podojil