TOLEDO, Ohio — Have you ever wanted to start your own business but didn't know where to start?
There is a new group of entrepreneurs in Toledo who learned what to do through a special program.
Inside the Kent Branch library in Central Toledo, 10 new entrepreneurs finished an eight-week course called "Getting your Business Started."
Offered through a partnership between Mercy Health, PNC Bank and the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, the program targets individuals from the most disadvantaged areas of the city who want to start their own business.
"We found that during the pandemic that a lot of minority small businesses couldn't participate in the PPP loans and the other incentives that were available," Megan Reichert, Director for Innovation at Mercy Health said. "So, we're trying to fill the gap and make sure that they have the tools to take care of themselves moving forward competitively."
As a gift for completion, these entrepreneurs were all awarded a free laptop.
The lessons learned and the connections made will turn out to be invaluable for these small business owners.
"It would have been extremely difficult, it would have monopolized my outside personal time," program graduate Brittney Shelton said. She is already running her own local business called "Opulence Financer."
"[The program] definitely helped me with the terminology, the language, the culture of being in business. And also a lot of older mentors, so that's been super helpful," program graduate Manuel Mathis said.
These 10 were the first in-person graduates of the program.
The program is set to continue for the next three years, and aims to support more than 100 new entrepreneurs in Toledo.
"Put yourself out there, honestly. Put that fear behind you and just put yourself out there. I know that it seems difficult, but it's possible. Put yourself out there," Mathis said.
This was the first full round of in-person "Getting your Business Started."
And in the fall, they are actually offering three separate courses at three separate Toledo-Lucas County Public Library branches: Kent, Lagrange, and the South branch at varying start times.
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