 “The best way out is always through.” – Pulitzer Prize Winning American Poet Robert Frost
For Michael Bower, that quote, and those words could not be more descriptive of his entrepreneurial journey. Michael was born in Arkansas on a farm and grew up without many of the civilized things we take for granted. There was no running water or bathroom on the farm. It was where he would develop the work ethic that would help him achieve his goal . . . more to come on that.
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 There will always be firsts as long as there is change, and Shawni Davis of Luminary Electrical Contractor, LLC is proving that by being the first black woman LGBT-owned MWBE Certified Master Licensed electrical contractor in Syracuse, NY. Luminary performs both commercial and industrial electrical work and brings 15 years of electrical experience to the field.
 When Mike Mowins, President of Vetted Tech, recently learned that several local first responders were short of critically needed personal protective equipment (PPE) he sprang into action to make and supply face shields.
Vetted Tech Inc. (Vetted – Veteran Enabled Transition Technology Enabled Design), established in 2019, is an additive manufacturing company specializing in advanced 3D printed parts created in metal or high strength polymer for the medical, automotive, DoD, DoE, and aerospace markets.  As a property manager in Syracuse, NY during the late 1990s, Donna Glassberg noticed a problem that needed a solution. Renters struggled to find housing in an easy, accessible way.
While walking in her Syracuse University neighborhood, Donna would see cars pulled off to the side of the road, writing numbers off the for-rent signs plastered on the sides of the buildings. She thought this was a terribly inefficient way to find housing for students and faculty moving to the area. Since she was immersed in the industry and understood the process well, she knew she could create something that would help both her employers and her renters to connect in a more efficient way.  photo credit: Scrap Paper Social Anyone in the business world will say that partnerships are the toughest form of business organization, but not for Aurora Roe and Caity Pfohl.
These two childhood friends turned their dream of working with one another into a reality by forming Scrap Paper Social, a social media management business based out of Hamilton, New York.  In 2015, Cortland New York became home to the technology development company CNY Point of Sale (Catch Clients LLC).
Jonathan Milton, CEO and chief technical officer, is no stranger to the small business lifestyle. So, it should come as no surprise that he would be familiar with the many needs of small business owners. In fact, he has spent years developing a knowledge base and a passion for small businesses that he now uses to serve his customer base.  I recently sat down with my client Dr. Sarah Taber, author and content creator of the podcast “Farm to Taber.” Her Twitter handle is @SarahTaber_bww. Taber is a food safety auditor, ag-tech nerd, and subject-matter expert on America’s agricultural system.
Taber provides an insider perspective on the industry that isn’t seen often in regular news reporting. Taber is part of a new style of business.  Sometimes start-ups take some time to pull together both technically and mentally, as was the case with Sarah Curtis who is now operating Syracuse Mom’s Blog, LLC as a home-based business.
In Sarah’s own words from the website at https://syracuse.citymomsblog.com/ – “Syracuse Moms Blog is a collaborative blog, parenting resource and community that strives to inform, empower and connect families in Central New York.”  Bill Smith, owner of Universal Step, Inc., has been in business for over 50 years.
As a self-proclaimed "grunt," he says he is more of a builder/inventor than a business man. It is the inventor in him, as well as a need to transition his business to be less labor-intensive, that inspired Bill to create a new modular step product. |
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Email: sbdc@sunyocc.edu
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Phone: 315-498-6070
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Onondaga Small Business Development Center. Partnership Program with the SBA, administered by the State University of New York. Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.
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