The Greenwood Chamber has helped more than 100 entrepreneurs considering starting a business or expanding one in the last two years thanks to a partnership with the Indy Chamber’s Business Ownership Initiative.
Greenwood was the first city outside Marion County to partner with the Indy Chamber and BOI, a non-profit organization, in 2016. A business coach sets up shop at the Greenwood Chamber one day a week to coach local entrepreneurs on starting a business, expanding, financial management and budgeting and accounting systems, among other aspects.
“It really runs the gamut. We’re kind of a jack of all trades,” said Susan Shepherd, a regional business coach with BOI.
BOI also offers small business loans — ranging from $2,500 to $50,000 — to people who don’t want to get a loan through a bank, or may not be able to. But Shepherd wants to be clear it is not free money, she said. You would have to go through an application process, and if approved, meet with a BOI coach once a month through the entire life of the financing to make sure you’re on track with the business plan.
Coaching is free and available to anyone in the community, not just chamber members.
“It’s such a valuable add to the community. The chamber is here to not only support the existing businesses, but also, how do we create a climate where new businesses can start? Our job is to grow jobs and grow the economy. And so much of that job growth and economic growth comes from those business startups,” said Christian Maslowski, executive director.
“We don’t have that expertise on staff. We can certainly be good advisers as a chamber staff, but we need BOI in order to continue that growth.”
Through the partnership, they’ve been able to help several established businesses and startups, such as brothers who want to open a gym in Greenwood, the small manufacturing company in Bargersville that needed a small loan to finish the prototype for a new product and the local nutrition and fitness studio that is moving to a larger facility with space for a cafe to increase revenue.
BOI granted $110,000 in microloans to Johnson County businesses and startups in the last two years, making up 12 percent of the organization’s loans during that time. BOI serves nine counties in central Indiana, but Greenwood remains the organization’s strongest partner, Shepherd said.
Of the business professionals they’ve helped through the Greenwood Chamber, 59 percent are women, 26 percent are minorities and 3 percent are disabled, according to data provided by the Indy Chamber.
There’s been a shift since the recession about a decade ago, Maslowski said.
Then, people wanted to start businesses because they had lost their jobs and didn’t know what else to do. A lot of the ones that did manage to get a business off the ground failed, he said.
Now, a business hopeful’s approach is more careful and strategic, he said.
“That’s part of the reason why we needed to expand our coaching services — more people are wanting to start businesses,” Maslowski said. “But a lot of those people still work a 9-5 job. They’re pursuing that dream on the side.”
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Here is a look at what the Greenwood Chamber has been able to accomplish in 2017-18 through a partnership with Indy Chamber’s Business Ownership Initiative:
Small business loans in Greenwood
2018;$60,000
2017;$50,000
Coaching clients in Greenwood
2018;45
2017;59
Minority clients in Greenwood;26 percent
Female clients in Greenwood;59 percent
Disabled clients in Greenwood;3 percent
Source: Indy Chamber
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To schedule a coaching session, contact the Greenwood Chamber at 317-888-4856, or BOI coach Susan Shepherd at 317-464-2285 or [email protected].
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