Council Creates Concierge Position to Support Small Businesses
For Immediate Release
July 29, 2014
For More Information:
John Ivanic, City Council, 645-6798
As reported in today’s
Columbus Dispatch, Columbus City Council has approved funding for a small business concierge who will make city government more open and accessible to new and existing small businesses. The creation of a concierge position was a recommendation of Council’s Small Business Roundtable, a working group of more than thirty small business owners, business organizations, and non-profits convened by Council to help the city provide constructive and proactive support to small businesses.
“As a small business owner myself, I know the hurdles that entrepreneurs face when trying to start their own companies,” said Council President Pro Tem A. Troy Miller, chair of Council’s Small and Minority Business Development Committee. “Council is committed to making Columbus the best place in the country to own a small business, and the concierge position will help us reach that goal by streamlining the process of getting a small business up and running in our city.”
“Small business owners need all the help they can get to succeed, and the concierge will be a valuable resource for current and future small business owners in our community,” said Randy Sokol, a Columbus business owner and member of Council’s Small Business Roundtable. “City Council listened to our input and is investing in programs that will help grow this important sector of our economy.”
Ryan Schick, the city’s new small business concierge, is already hard at work. Small business owners, and prospective small business owners, can reach Mr. Schick at (614) 645-1984 or
[email protected].
“Small businesses are the bedrock of our local economy, and we need to provide them with resources and support to help them grow,” Schick said. “We are going to make it as easy as possible for aspiring small business owners to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true in Columbus.”
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