Ask an Expert: Minority Business Development

Ask an Expert: Minority Business Development is happening at the Main Library on Monday, October 19, from 1 PM to 3 PM. It's part of the Ask an Expert series run by the Ohio Small Business Development Center (Ohio SBDC), which is a front-line, immediate-response program built to help small businesses grow, create jobs, and get access to capital. The session is hosted in Meeting Room 3B at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 South Grant Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215.

If you're an entrepreneur or a small business owner, this is a chance to get free and confidential advice on the things that usually keep you up at night: business planning, financing, marketing, and legal compliance. The SBDC also provides personalized consulting, workshops, and seminars, so this session is one way into a larger set of resources. This particular one focuses on minority business development, and it's a good place to start if you're looking for services offered through the Ohio Department of Development.

The session takes place inside the library's Business & Nonprofit Resource Center, which is a dedicated workspace that connects small businesses and nonprofits to expert help from specialized librarians and business and nonprofit research databases. There's a co-working area with Windows and Mac computers equipped with Adobe Creative Cloud, and a reservable private meeting room. One-on-one librarian appointments are available, and you can use LivePlan—a subscription planning resource—for four weeks to build and download a business plan. The center also points toward external support like Columbus SCORE and the Columbus Urban League Minority Business Assistance Center.

It's a two-hour window on a Monday afternoon, so you can drop in and get some direct answers without having to commit your whole day. The session runs from 1 PM to 3 PM in Meeting Room 3B at the Main Library.