Minority business help in northwest Ohio

FREMONT, Ohio — The city of Fremont will soon be offering more help for minorities who want to start up their own businesses.

A new satellite office of the University of Toledo’s Minority Business Assistance Center is coming to Sandusky County.

Once a month, minority members, along with women and veterans, will be able to sign up for one-on-one consultations with someone from MBAC.

Shari Mullen, Fremont’s director of diversity and inclusion, said currently about a dozen people in Fremont could use these services to get their new local businesses either off the ground or expanded.

“Help the entrepreneur from the start if they’re at the idea stage of their business. They can meet them in the middle stages if they need support with expanding or marketing. They’ll also be able to offer resources on capital access,” Mullen said.

The MBAC program is a part of the federal Small Business Administration.

The new MBAC office will be located in the Chamber of Commerce Sandusky County at no additional cost.

Along with learning how to get their businesses started, the partnership with the chamber means these new business owners will also be connected with all other chamber members.

“They’ll be able to meet other business owners who have gone through the same struggles that they have and meet people that can help them along the way not just what we provide,” Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rachel Wynkoop said.

Due to COVID-19, all Minority Business Assistance Center meetings are currently being done virtually. However, the plan is to have that satellite office opened up at the Sandusky County Chamber of Commerce by August.