Thursday, November 06, 2014YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- After 18 meetings since April 22, the Emerging Leaders program graduated its 2014 class Wednesday. The program, administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration at Youngstown State University, graduated 16 small-business people from around the Mahoning Valley.
Students were taught various business methods that covered a spectrum ranging from accounting to social media and marketing to how to handle personnel decisions.
“We learned you have to work on your business, not in your business. You can't be the leader, the manager and the technician all in one and have the business grow. You need to pick one and go with it,” said Bill Hendricks, president of Professional Engine Systems, Canfield. “Giving everybody their expectations and some achievable goals, you'll have happier employees and your business will grow.”
The program was first held in Youngstown four years ago. In the time since, several local companies have reported success as a result. Gil Goldberg, director of the Cleveland office of the SBA, pointed to Hudson Fasteners, where sales have risen some 50% since a team member finished the Emerging Leaders program.
“They're established and have grown to a certain level, but the idea is this will help them leapfrog and get to the next level quickly. It seems to be working,” Goldberg said. “I think they've all had a positive experience and positive growth after the course.”
The impact of Emerging Leaders is not limited to businesses in the Mahoning Valley. It can be seen on the city itself, said T. Sharon Woodberry, director of economic development for the city.
“It gets Youngstown's name out there. We are one of only a handful of cities nationwide who host this. It just draws more attention and positive press to us. There are more companies that are aware of what's going on and the fact that we have this wonderful facility at YSU and the resources that are available to benefit them,” Woodberry said.
Suzanne Barbati, executive director of Oh Wow! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children's Center for Science & Technology, said that as a representative of the lone nonprofit organization going through the program, she noticed some differences in how her Oh Wow! operates compared to others, but still saw some similarities.
“I don't have a widget that I can package and sell and look at costs. For me, it was a little more complicated, but overall most of what for-profit businesses deal with, we are dealing with as well,” Barbati said.
Participants were split into groups based on their location and worked primarily within their group during the 18 sessions. Encouraged to network, the groups were formed to ensure that the business people could discuss problems that arise when the program is over.
“That will act as sort of a board [of directors] for the company when they encounter a problem and the class is gone,” Goldberg said. “They'll still have an informal network of leaders that they've bonded with that has the same experiences.”
Many participants said at the graduation ceremony that they were often excited to take what they had learned and immediately put it to use.
“After the first class, I was excited. We had lots of questions and no answers. After one class, we put in some of the procedures like organizational charts and identifying transparency so things aren't just assumed,” Hendricks said.
Both Hendricks and Barbati said they couldn't recommend the program enough to other business people.
“I had been thinking about an MBA program and this provided me with everything I was looking for. I would recommend it to anyone in a struggling business environment,” Barbati said.
Pictured: Richard Sheridan, an instructor in the SBA's Emerging Leaders Program, congratulates one of its graduates, Bill Hendricks, president of Professional Engine Systems.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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