GARFIELD HEIGHTS — On Friday, the City of Garfield Heights welcomed small business owners and other members of the community to the second Annual Economic Development Business Breakfast.
Janice Tubbs, the city’s assistant director of economic development, spearheaded the initiative to bring together local, county, and state resources to inform business owners about the support available to help grow their operations.
“Information sharing is key, and collaboration is key... collaboration is our superpower here in the city of Garfield Heights,” Tubbs said.
The city recently joined the Cuyahoga East Chamber of Commerce as a municipal sponsor. This partnership gives local businesses the ability to join the Chamber for free and gain access to networking events, training, funding opportunities, and technical support.
Garfield Heights Mayor Matt Burke spoke during the breakfast and emphasized the city’s commitment to strengthening ties with current businesses and attracting new ones.
Vaughn Johnson, deputy director of economic development at the Cuyahoga County Department of Development, attended the breakfast, as did Steve Petti, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga East Chamber of Commerce, and Chief Monica Womack, who leads the Minority Business Division at the Ohio Department of Development.
Womack said that the state is working hard to let historically under-resourced businesses—as it defines them: those owned by people of color, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities—know about available services and programs.
“The State of Ohio has a micro loan for state level certified minority and women owned businesses. We’re able to do up to $45,000 at 0% interest. We can see that as a catalyst for working capital,” Womack said. “We also have a Women Business Enterprise Loan (Program) where we can do up to $500,000 at 3% interest if you're not certified, but if you are certified, it's one and a half percent interest."
Womack said the state has about 100,000 minority-owned businesses and that nearly 1,700 of them are certified at the state level.
“90% of the businesses in the State of Ohio are actually small businesses, meaning they have, by the SBA standard, less than 500 employees, and the majority of those have less than 25 employees,” Womack said. “So how are we able to continue to provide those support services, to help from a community perspective, as well as to help Ohio grow? We are the heart of it all.”
During the breakfast, Burke announced that Padel Square would be transforming space at the Highland Park Business Park into a new sports facility—the first in Ohio—featuring padel, a sport that blends elements of tennis and squash.
