Minority business directory in the works

Minority business directory planned

Minority-owned companies could be easier to find with a new list being compiled by two organizations.

Minority-owned companies could be easier to find with a new list being compiled by two organizations that support Lorain County businesses.

The Lorain County Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center at Lorain County Community College are seeking information about businesses owned by minorities or people historically under-represented in the world of commerce.

That includes businesses whose operators are African American, Hispanic or Latino, veterans, women, disabled, LGBTQ and agricultural or rural.

The information will become part of an online database available to the public.

It will be for consumers and other business owners who want to find and support the minority-owned companies.

“A question that comes up pretty often is, how do

I get a hold of these minority business owners?” said Tony Gallo, president of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce.

“If we can shine a light on that and make it easy for people to visit those local businesses, that’s really the goal,” said Lisa Hutson, director of the Small Business Development Center at LCCC. “We really hope it’s accessible to the public and it becomes an asset that the whole county can use, for sure.

“We’re really excited about it.”

There is no fee to be listed and Chamber membership is not required, although Hutson said she recommends it as another resource for small and local merchants.

To participate, the Chamber is using an online questionnaire in PDF format.

Company owners also can call the Chamber at 440-328-2550 or contact online through loraincountychamber.com.

The Small Business Development Center and the Chamber already work with a number of enterprises that support minorityand under-represented businesses or assist underserved populations.

Examples range from Lorain County Urban League to El Centro de Servicios Sociales Inc. to the LCCC Wellington campus, which serves the southern rural area of Lorain County, to Plexus, the LGBT & Allied Chamber of Commerce in Cleveland.

Across the United States, some large communities have created directories for minority-owned and underrepresented businesses, but there is no such master list for Lorain County.

The novel coronavirus pandemic influenced the timing of the directory, Gallo and Hutson said.

Many business owners have had to adapt to the new public health conditions and economic factors due to COVID-19.

The pandemic also has influenced residents who want to support locally owned companies, which are looking for ways to promote themselves.

“We have unique businesses here, and we want to make sure as many of them keep their doors open as possible,” Gallo said.

With some programs on hold due to restrictions on large gatherings, the Chamber also can assist in promoting and compiling the minority business directory, they said.

The Small Business Development Center will use money from the federal CARES Act to cover cost of the project, Hutson said.

The Lorain County Small Business Development Center has received about $180,000 in the federal economic help, she said.

Much of that funding is being used to add consultants who can provide expertise for free to support new or existing businesses.

In June, the Center announced seven new experts with experience in fields such as manufacturing, financial management, human resources, website development, branding, social media and food service.