Community Advising Hours
Community based business services and resources for small business and entrepreneurs.
ADVISING HOURS: Advising meetings are offered virtual or in-person on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month from 10:00AM – 6:00PM by appointment.
MEET YOUR ADVISOR:
Bruce Walters, MS, CBA (he, him, his) is a certified business advisor for the Ohio SBDC. Bruce’s experience is predominately in insurance, human resources, entertainment, and non-profit administration. Bruce holds an Associate Degree in Art from City College of San Francisco, a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from the University of California Berkeley, and a Master’s Degree in Marketing and Communications from Franklin University. Bruce provides marketing, operations, and general advising services for new and established businesses.
LOCATION: Stonewall Columbus Community Center
1160 North High Street (Corner of 4th Avenue and High Street)
Parking available behind building accessed from N. Pearl Street alleyway
ABOUT STONEWALL: Stonewall Union [now known as Stonewall Columbus] was founded in 1981 with the goal of “increasing the visibility and acceptance of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community.” Stonewall Columbus aims to serve the full spectrum of our LGBTQ+ rainbow and to be a vital hub for providing access to information and resources that address the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. Stonewall Columbus welcomes over 8,000 visitors to the facility and provides connections to services for nearly 25,000 people (walk-in, phone call, email and website), prioritizing programs for the most vulnerable among us and emphasizing economic empowerment, family creation, identity enrichment, and personal wellness/health.
ADVISING HOURS: Advising meetings are offered virtual by appointment.
MEET YOUR ADVISOR:
Ellen Harvey is a Certified Business Advisor for the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Columbus State Community College (SBDC). Ellen also serves as the Capital Access Manager for Kiva Columbus through the SBDC Kiva Partnership. Ellen is an economic development and lending relations professional with 18 years of experience researching, planning, implementing and evaluating small business and economic development programs for City, State and Federal agencies.
LOCATION: Grove City Business Center
3989 Broadway, Grove City, OH 43123
ABOUT CULTIVATE: Cultivate is a nonprofit entrepreneur support organization that has been advising, training & connecting entrepreneurs from our business incubators since 2016. Cultivate continues to expand to reach aspiring entrepreneurs, small businesses and assist communities throughout Ohio. Cultivate helps entrepreneurs to keep building a better business with training programs, referral connections, tools, resources and business incubator facilities that are suited for each community. These incubators and advising centers are operated in collaboration with community partners, the Cultivate board, strategic members and our staff. Services to each community are supported with local funding that often is from the county, chamber, city, grants and local businesses.
ADVISING HOURS: Advising meetings are offered virtual or in-person on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month from 10:00AM – 2:00PM by appointment.
MEET YOUR ADVISOR:
Tonya Wilson, MS, CPP, PCM, CBA is a Certified Business Advisor for the Ohio SBDC. Tonya’s education background includes an Associate Degree in Multimedia Production, a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management, and a Masters in Marketing and Communication. She also holds a certificate from Columbus State Community College in Training and Development, is a LERN Certified Program Planner and a Professional Certified Marketer of the American Marketing Association. Tonya provides marketing, capital access, operations and general advising services to new and established businesses.
LOCATION: Cultivate Pickerington Business Center
19 N Center St, Pickerington, OH 43147
ABOUT CULTIVATE: Cultivate is a nonprofit entrepreneur support organization that has been advising, training & connecting entrepreneurs from our business incubators since 2016. Cultivate continues to expand to reach aspiring entrepreneurs, small businesses and assist communities throughout Ohio. Cultivate helps entrepreneurs to keep building a better business with training programs, referral connections, tools, resources and business incubator facilities that are suited for each community. These incubators and advising centers are operated in collaboration with community partners, the Cultivate board, strategic members and our staff. Services to each community are supported with local funding that often is from the county, chamber, city, grants and local businesses.
ADVISING HOURS: Advising meetings are offered virtual by appointment.
MEET YOUR ADVISOR:
Michael Bowers is a Certified Business Advisor and District Director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Columbus State Community College. Michael has worked closely with entrepreneurs and business owners assisting them in building their companies for over 25 years, 11 of which were spent with the SBDC network. He has a diverse business skill set with experience in banking, private equity, strategic planning, digital media and marketing.
LOCATION: Dublin Entrepreneurial Center
565 Metro Pl S, Suite 300, Dublin, OH 43017
ABOUT THE DEC: In 10 years, the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center has grown from two tenants to nearly 150, and charted the course for innovation and support of start-up ventures. The award-winning DEC began as a partnership between the City of Dublin and TechColumbus to provide services and promote an environment to increase deal flow for potential entrepreneurial and technology development resulting in more businesses and job creation in Dublin and the surrounding area. In its new, expanded location in Dublin’s renowned Metro Center office campus, the DEC combines an entrepreneurial center and data center – marking another unique first in Central Ohio. DEC tenants have access to the robust DubLink broadband network and, through the adjacent Metro Data Center, data storage in a highly secure environment.
ADVISING HOURS: Advising meetings are offered by appointment, Fridays, 8:30AM-11:30AM on the following dates in 2023:
February 3; April 7; June 2; August 4; October 6 and Thursday, December 7.
MEET YOUR ADVISOR:
Kevin Hammond has been a business management consultant for 13 years, mostly focused on small businesses and start-ups. Kevin has been on the SBDC team for almost ten years as a consultant. Prior to consulting Kevin was in financial services at Chase Manhattan. Kevin has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Ohio Dominican University and an MBA from Capital University.
LOCATION: Innovate New Albany
8000 Walton Parkway Suite 200, New Albany, OH 43054
ABOUT INNOVATE NEW ALBANY: Innovate New Albany is the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses. From venture capital to human capital, Innovate New Albany enables business startups to access and leverage an unmatched level of resources to power growth. It is a one-stop shop where government, area businesses, venture capitalists, and private agencies come together to provide the guidance, expertise, and services that new businesses need to succeed.
ADVISING HOURS: Advising meetings are offered Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays virtually or in-person by appointment.
MEET YOUR ADVISOR:
Roberta Winch is the Director of the Ohio SBDC Export Assistance Network at Columbus State Community College. She is responsible for assisting businesses that are new to exporting or are ready to expand their export markets. Roberta’s experience has been predominantly in the fashion retail sector, with a focus on international merchandising, sales and marketing. In these roles she has gained significant market experience in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as, Central and South America and the Middle East. Roberta holds a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science, Management Information Systems from the University of Pittsburgh, Katz School of Business. She holds a B.A. in International Studies from American University, Washington, D.C.
LOCATION: Innovate New Albany
8000 Walton Parkway Suite 200, New Albany, OH 43054
ABOUT INNOVATE NEW ALBANY: Innovate New Albany is the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses. From venture capital to human capital, Innovate New Albany enables business startups to access and leverage an unmatched level of resources to power growth. It is a one-stop shop where government, area businesses, venture capitalists, and private agencies come together to provide the guidance, expertise, and services that new businesses need to succeed.
Office: 614.287.5294
Email: sbdc@cscc.edu
Physical Address:
356 N. Grant Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Mailing Address:
550 E. Spring Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Disclaimer: The Small Business Development Center of Ohio (SBDC) program is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBDC program is also funded in part by the Ohio Development Services Agency. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the Ohio SBDC at (614) 287-5294 or via email at sbdc@cscc.edu.
©2023 Ohio Small Business Development Center. All rights reserved.
