The Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Lakeland Community College was recently recognized for its outstanding efforts to assist small businesses with securing capital infusion.

The center received an Ohio SBDC Economic Impact Merit Recognition Award for work completed during the 2016 fiscal year that ran from Oct. 1, 2015 through Sept. 30, 2016.

Cathy Walsh, Ohio SBDC director at Lakeland, and Gretchen Skok DiSanto, Ohio SBDC Certified Business Advisor®, attended the statewide conference that was held Nov. 1-2 in Columbus to accept the awards.

The Ohio SBDC at Lakeland received the merit recognition for capital infusion for exceeding their goal by 436 percent. The initial goal was to help clients collectively obtain $9,700,000 in capital to invest in their businesses. That number was far exceeded with Ohio SBDC at Lakeland clients reporting $42,278,198 in capital infusion.

About the Ohio Small Business Development Center
at Lakeland Community College
The Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program provides a variety of management assistance to existing and startup businesses in Lake and Geauga counties. This is mainly accomplished through trainings, seminars and one-on-one counseling sessions. Services are offered at low or no-cost to the client. The Ohio SBDC program is partly funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The program is also funded in part by the Ohio Development Services Agency.

By: Jessica Novak, Mrktg and Commun Specialist