YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Tynisa Roubideaux, founder and owner of Food with Purpose LLC, sells her lavender lemonade at 20 Meijer stores, 25 Giant Eagle stores and 19 Heinen’s locations. It soon will be available at more than 100 Kroger stores.
Sherri Bova, president and owner of MotherTrucker LLC, said her business was started when she and her husband, who owned an excavator business, recognized the need for subcontracting haulers.
Both Roubideaux and Bova recognize that gaining contracts for their businesses is about connecting with people and being in the right places.
Small business owners learned more about procurement and getting contracts Wednesday at The Connector, an event held by YBI and the Minority Business Assistance Center at the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County’s main branch.
“The Connector is where we bring buyers and suppliers together,” said Tanisha Wheeler, regional director of the MBAC. She said attendees included state agencies that often seek suppliers and contracts, giving small business owners the opportunity to “gain information, learn more about contracting and make those face-to-face connections.”
Invited agencies included the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Northeast Ohio Regional Water Sewer District, the Ohio Department of Development, the city of Youngstown, Valley Partners and the Ohio APEX Accelerator at Youngstown State University.
For small business owners, like Roubideaux, events like The Connector are a way to learn and grow. During a panel discussion, she encouraged other business owners to attend accelerator programs and boot camps and build relationships. For her, one store opened the door for the others, because store managers began talking about her product to other store managers.
“It’s a way to expand your clientele and also increase visibility,” Wheeler said of the benefits of The Connector event. “It’s a way to get in front of that organization or that business that you want to do business with and get that face-to-face interaction. We want to increase face-to-face interaction so that they can recognize the face and understand the business.”
Small business owners also received information about resources available to help them register and certify their businesses and secure the working capital needed to carry them through a project until payment is received.
“The federal government pays promptly if you give them what they want,” said Scot Loveland, director of the Ohio APEX Accelerator at YSU, adding that promptly means 14 to 30 days.
However, missing a deadline or making a mistake during the project can result in a delayed payment, Loveland said.
Valerie Williams, deputy chief of business services with the Ohio Department of Development, Minority Business Development Division, said learning the platform to find a request for bids, registering a business and even getting paid are important parts of the process – as is asking questions and getting a debriefing, even if a contract isn’t secured.
“Know your capabilities,” Loveland said, noting even newer and smaller businesses get into contracts by partnering with others. “It helps to have a lot of connections,” Bova said. Her trucking company, which she started in 2017, now gets contracts each year because of the experience and connections she has built. “People call us.”
Pictured at top: Tanisha Wheeler, regional director of the Minority Business Assistance Center.