TIFFIN, Ohio — If you're ready to invest in a business, you should probably know a few things about that business first, right?
Well, in the Tiffin area, local investors have been starting the investment process before even learning what the names of the businesses are.
When the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership started seeing local businesses closing because the owners couldn't find investors or entrepreneurs to sell to, they knew they needed a program.
In response, they developed the Tiffin-Seneca Entrepreneurial Opportunity Clearinghouse, which lists the vital details of the businesses looking to sell online.
"It kind of started because we noticed that businesses were closing down and no one really knew that they were up for sale and could buy them," Adam Gillmor, development coordinator with TSEP, said. "So, we started the clearinghouse as a way to advertise those opportunities and to make sure that aspiring entrepreneurs knew they were there."
But there's one catch: the names of the businesses are omitted.
This leaves investors to initially go off of just the core details of sales, size, and staff, along with general terms of purchase until they get closer to a deal.
"If you know that something is a shoe store, that may be less interesting to you. But when you learn that it is a successful retail business and then you learn it's a shoe store, it becomes something that you're more interested in and more excited to take part in," Gillmor said.
So far, three business agreements have been completed.
The most recent is an investor outside of Tiffin who has purchased the T.J. Willies restaurant.
A few weeks ago, you may remember we told you about Kuebler Shoes, the longest operating retail store in Ohio changing ownership.
That deal was initiated on the clearinghouse as well.
"She probably wouldn't have known that this opportunity existed had she not looked on the site," said Joseph Orbringer, who sold Kuebler Shoes through the clearinghouse.
The newest listing on the entrepreneurial clearinghouse is listed as "Project Watchface," where a Tiffin brewery is looking to partner with a new or established Tiffin-based restaurant.