Over 100 people interested in the future of small and family businesses in the Upper Ohio Valley region turned out on Jan. 19 for the first event offered by West Liberty University’s Small and Family Business Program, an initiative of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Gary E. West College of Business. Nationally-known author and television personality Gene Marks was the featured speaker, using his fast-talking, no-nonsense Philadelphia style to challenge small business owners to get informed and plan ahead.
Marks’ presentation followed a social hour and buffet dinner at the Wheeling Artisan Center, during which owners of small and family businesses took the opportunity to interact and share experiences. Marks told the group he had talked to several attendees who said they were already benefiting from the evening, just from the discussions with their peers.
Marks suggested that small business owners needed to stay informed about political issues and changes in laws, utilize the efficiency of cloud technology, choose reliable economic metrics to follow regularly, and, drawing a chuckle from the crowd, “Have dinner with your accountant.” Changes in tax laws are coming and are significant, he added, and small business owners need to be prepared.
The program was the kick-off membership catalyst for the Small and Family Business Program, which Center for Entrepreneurship Director Carrie White hopes will serve the needs of the small business community, from start-ups to long-established firms. “It is part of the university’s mission to be a major player in helping this region grow and prosper economically. What better place to be involved than in helping small and family businesses, the real backbone of our local economy, as well as the biggest employers in the U.S.?” she said.
Dean Loren Wenzel of the Gary E. West College of Business told attendees that the university can help in many ways, such as offering regular speakers like Marks, workshops and seminars, mentoring and even consultation services.
Les DeFelice, founder and chief executive officer of DeFelice Care, Inc. in Wheeling, is the chairman of the program’s advisory board. He said, “We are asking our friends and neighbors in the small business community to get involved by joining with us to generate ideas and help develop programs that really make a difference to small business bottom lines.”
The small business program is the outgrowth of an overall emphasis on entrepreneurship begun by WLU President Robin C. Capehart. He noted that he has always believed the university had a responsibility to nurture the spark of entrepreneurship in every student, regardless of his or her major. As an illustration, he described how he had met a WLU student who wanted to be an artist but felt that being an art teacher was her only option.
“With an emphasis on entrepreneurship education,” says Capehart, “we can teach her both how to be a good artist and how to turn that passion into profit by starting a new business.”
For more information on the program and how to become a part of the Small and Family Business program, contact White at cwhite@westiberty.edu or DeFelice at lesd@defelicecare.com, or call (304) 336-8053.