Small-business network awards YSU

Staff report

youngstown

Youngstown State University has been named Advocate of the Year by the network of Small Business Development Centers of Ohio.

“YSU has provided tremendous support for our SBDC over the past 24 years,” said Betty Jo Licata, dean of the Williamson College of Business Administration. “The SBDC is a major player in contributing to the economic development of the region and engaging our students, faculty and staff with the business community. We are proud of the SBDC and the important role it plays in the region.”

YSU has been host to the SBDC for the past 24 years. Housed in the WCBA, the YSU SBDC offers comprehensive business-consulting services and business-training programs for existing and new start-up companies in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties.

The YSU SBDC, led by Patricia Veisz, director, is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, YSU and the Ohio Department of Development.

The award was presented at a recent ceremony that recognized the accomplishments of Ohio’s 39 SBDCs. YSU is one of only eight centers/organizations and seven individuals statewide to be recognized.

“The award recipients were recognized and commended for their exemplary performance in exceeding their counseling, training and economic impact goals, and their outstanding work in the areas of advocacy, collaboration, innovation, marketing, mentoring and academic excellence in continuing professional development,” said Karen Shauri, state director of the Small Business Development Centers.

All types of companies and industries have received business assistance through the SBDC at YSU, including manufacturing and technology ventures.

Through its local, state and federal resource network, the center has access to specialists to help service its client base, including those in international trade, government procurement and manufacturing technology.

In addition, the SBDC serves as the administrator for the Third Frontier Internship program.

In a recent study by economists at Ohio University, the Region 12 SBDC at YSU, along with its manufacturing and international trade network partners, had a total employment, payroll and economic impact of more $700 million in 2009 in the three-county region.

Since 2000, the SBDC has assisted its clients in acquiring more than $31 million dollars in loans and capital formation, with nearly 600 new jobs created and more than 2,200 jobs retained. More than 4,500 people participated in 220 entrepreneurship training events sponsored by the center during that period.

The Ohio SBDC at YSU and its resource partners are well-positioned and experienced to provide the business consulting and training to a wide variety of entrepreneurial efforts, including those supported by the Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity in Advanced Materials.

The SBDC is also a key part of the YSU Center of Excellence in International Business.

Among the services offered by the YSU SBDC are business-risk assessment, business-plan development, strategic planning, financial analysis, market research and analysis, strategic market planning, public relations and advertising, engineering needs analysis, product distribution advice, sales management and distribution, business-education seminars and entrepreneurial development.