Small Business Development Center helps clients navigate pandemic

The Small Business Development Center has been the primary resource for small businesses across Southeast Ohio during the coronavirus pandemic, helping businesses navigate COVID-19 grants and other financial resources.

 

That’s the word from Lissa Jollick, director of the SBDC at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. That statement is confirmed by center clients.

 

“We never envisioned being where we are today,” said Rob Phillips of RL Valley Ranch, a client of the SBDC.

 

RL Valley Ranch is a cattle farm, and it supplied meat to local restaurants during the pandemic that provided lunches for children who weren’t able to get those meals at school. 

 

The total number of sandwiches made from the donated meat was more than 40,000. 

 

“I was tickled to death to do it because if you take care of your community, your community takes care of you,” Phillips said. 

 

The SBDC helped RL Valley Ranch and fellow client Nurture Wellness navigate the financial side of businesses. For Nurture Wellness, the center also helped ensure the business survived through the pandemic and kept up to date on COVID-19 precautions. 

 

Nurture Wellness is an equipment-based therapy service that provides therapy for individuals who have stress disorders or experienced trauma. The equipment allows individuals to receive massages, saunas, hydrofusion therapy and more without being touched by unfamiliar hands.

 

Andrea May, owner of Nurture Wellness, said that the coronavirus pandemic changed the way the company had to operate, and the SBDC was extremely helpful in guiding the business through the change process. 

 

“I do recommend that other business owners seek out SBDC services, and I have had a few people come in and ask for guidance and advice. I always point them in the (SBDC’s) direction,” May said.

 

Since January of 2020, the SBDC has expanded to help small businesses in 13 counties in Southeast Ohio. Jollick said that throughout the pandemic, the SBDC has continued to increase its impact by adding staff to expand outreach and provide training focused on business financial health and growth. 

 

“In terms of business recovery and growth-related activity, the SBDC has really been on the front lines since March (2020),” Jollick said. 

 

The SBDC has been a “primary resource” for clients to get help receiving federal and state grants and CARES Act loans created during the pandemic. Jollick said the center has been extremely busy, and while she thought things would slow down this past spring, the state continues to launch grant and loan programs, specifically for women and minority enterprises as well as businesses in the entertainment, restaurant and lodging sectors. 

 

The SBDC has also continued to assist clients with non-COVID related events such as helping people start businesses, develop business plans and financial projections, and secure funding to make their dream a reality. The SBDC itself has also received more financial resources thanks to CARES Act funding. Jollick said she has been working on finding the best ways to use those funds, such as hiring additional business advisers and increasing the diversity of training topics offered to clients. 

 

A lot of clients have had workforce issues because of pandemic-related labor shortages, especially in Southeast Ohio, she said. 

 

“It’s telling when you drive down a main street and almost every single business has a hiring sign out. That’s scary,” Jollick said.

 

However, despite the challenges, Jollick said the pandemic and the ensuing government assistance has created positives for businesses. 

 

“Clients are finding new ways of doing business. They’re finding new niches they can get into that this pandemic has possibly created,” she said. “That’s a positive that’s come out of this.”

The Ohio University Small Business Development Center provides confidential, no-cost training to clients. Business advisers provide one-on-one counseling with clients to target the specific needs of the project or business. If interested in assistance, go to https://sbdc.ohio.edu/ and click on ‘Become a Client.’