By Carol Radin<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Joan Powers\u2019 job description ought to be making dreams turn real. As director of the Small Business Development Center, Joan manages an organization that offers small business entrepreneurs practical, hands-on guidance at every stage of development, with individual business consultations, workshops and technical assistance. SBDC\u2019s success is the community\u2019s success: the center served over 1,100 in 2017-18, including 600 new clients, all of whose businesses helped create or save 300 new jobs, with an economic impact of $12 million. Under her management, Joan has led the expansion of workshop offerings, social media presence, and professional development and networking opportunities for staff.<\/p>\n
It has been interesting for Joan on many levels. Assisting others to change and grow enabled her to re-channel her own business skills and to draw on her personal experience with change and growth. In fact, Joan\u2019s own background demonstrates the persistence and hard work it takes to pursue a dream. A lifelong Syracuse resident, Joan completed her bachelor of science degree in accounting at Syracuse University after 13 years of night courses. Meanwhile, she worked 20 years for the largest Burger King franchise in the country, where she managed payroll for 5,000 employees, as well as sales and property taxes. The long years of study and full-time work didn\u2019t stop her \u2014 she went on to get a master of science in accounting.<\/p>\n
In 1996, Joan took a job as business advisor in the SBDC. It would be a change from working in the private sector. However, as Joan puts it, \u201cIt was time for a new challenge. I could still use my accounting degree but do other things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interacting with small business entrepreneurs was as rewarding as she had hoped.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see them get off the ground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She found herself working with clients like Stella Penizotto, the successful co-owner of Shining Stars Daycare Centers, who returned to Joan for consultation each time she was looking to expand and now has three locations.<\/p>\n
Joan herself advanced, moving to the position of assistant director and then director in 2013.\u00a0 Her many roles in the center put her at the vantage point to appreciate every aspect of the SBDC\u2019s services to clients and to the community. Whether managing grants, participating in community events, or connecting with lenders who offer small business loans, \u201cWe\u2019re always trying to be out there,\u201d Joan said.<\/p>\n
Housed in a suite of offices on the campus of Onondaga Community College, the SBDC serves six counties \u2014 Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego and Seneca. In addition to six business advisors and a supervising coordinator, the center provides frequent workshops facilitated by area professionals on all aspects of starting and running a small business \u2014 for instance, \u201cAccess to Capital,\u201d \u201cFood Product Bootcamp,\u201d \u201cGet Your Business On-Line\u201d and even a workshop on succession planning for retiring baby boomers passing on their businesses to the next generation. According to Joan, the new trends in small businesses are microbreweries, medical transportation, online applications, and drone businesses.<\/p>\n
The Small Business Development Center is funded partly by the State University of New York and partly by the U.S. Small Business Administration. While the SBDC\u2019s offices, workshop space, and resource library are located on OCC\u2019s campus, 75 percent of the clients come from outside the OCC student\/staff population. The clients, Joan said, \u201crun the gamut from home-based businesses, someone who\u2019s starting all new, someone quitting and starting all over,\u00a0 and established businesses\u201d where the owners are looking to expand.<\/p>\n
Britty O\u2019Connor is one of those clients. Now co-owner with her husband of the Flour and Salt Bakery and Cafe in Hamilton, Britty started out with \u201ca small satellite bakery at farmers\u2019 markets.\u201d She drafted a business plan with an SBDC advisor who \u201cencouraged me to think about everything more than once.\u201d Four months and 40 pages later, Britty knew where she was headed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were integral in getting us started in a brick-and-mortar store,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For Erica Spencer, a Marine Corps veteran who has her own acupuncture practice, Natural Solutions Acupuncture Services in Waterloo, the SBDC gave her the chance \u201cto be on my own.\u201d A contractor in a chiropractor\u2019s office, Erica found herself outgrowing her space. She arranged to meet with a business advisor who helped walk her through a business plan, a cash-flow plan, ideas for grants, and even real estate possibilities for office space.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey basically launched me into an independent business,\u201d Erica said. Now in her own office, Erica\u2019s clients have doubled in the past year, and she has been recognized by the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce as a \u201cRising Star in Business.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Stella Penizotto, she and her husband are celebrating 25 years in the day care business, which all started with the business plan and financial projections that the SBDC assisted her with way back when.\u00a0 In 2010, Joan nominated Stella for NYS Small Business Person of the Year. It was a thrill for Stella when she was recognized in a White House ceremony with then-President Obama.<\/p>\n
Joan herself loves to share these inspiring stories and to be part of them. After all, behind the center\u2019s services and statistics, these are the dreams that become brick-and-mortar successes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Carol Radin Joan Powers\u2019 job description ought to be making dreams turn real. As director of the Small Business Development Center, Joan manages an organization that offers small business entrepreneurs practical, hands-on guidance at every stage of development, with individual business consultations, workshops and technical assistance. SBDC\u2019s success is the community\u2019s success: the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,101],"tags":[818,819,820],"class_list":["post-2343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-features","tag-joan-powers","tag-onondaga-county-sbdc","tag-small-business-development-center"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Joan-1.jpg?fit=8256%2C5504&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2346,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2346","url_meta":{"origin":2343,"position":0},"title":"FOR A GOOD CAUSE: CNY Works: Lenore Sealy, Executive Director","author":"Sarah Hall","date":"April 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Tell me in your own words about what CNY Works does. CNY Works is a not for profit (501 (c)(3)) corporation and serves as the Onondaga County Workforce Development Board (OCWDB). 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