Onondaga Community College
Main Location
Onondaga Community College
PLEASE NOTE: We are NOT accepting walk-ins at this time. We are currently offering clients the option to have appointments virtually, by phone, or in person BY APPOINTMENT ONLY (following OCC COVID-19 Safety Plan and Procedures and CDC Guidelines).
sbdc AT Onondaga Community College (occ)
The Onondaga Small Business Development Center (SBDC) works with entrepreneurs and small business owners in Onondaga County out of our Main Offices at Onondaga Community College in John H. Mulroy Hall at 4926 Onondaga Rd, Syracuse, NY 13215.
Center Advisors
NANCY ANSTETH
NYSBDC Certified Business Advisor Offices - Onondaga Community College, Cayuga County & Seneca County Email: anstethn@sunyocc.edu BIO
Education:
Community Involvement:
What is your background in business? I worked in industry, at General Motors and in the brewery industry, which gave me insight into the average workday for an industrial worker. When I left industry, I got into the small business realm by taking SEAP (Self Employment Assistance Program) classes at the Onondaga SBDC. Later, I was hired as an advisor. After leaving for a couple years, I came back on a part-time basis, which eventually turned into a full-time position. What are your areas of expertise? Creating business plans, identifying target markets and helping people establish budgets and cash flows. What drew you to work at SBDC? Being able to present and break down the information presented through the Fast Track and SEAP Programs; assist people in making their decisions. It’s an achievement in itself to help clients determine whether it’s the right time for a particular business or, whether being a business owner is for them. What’s your best advice for someone thinking about starting their own small business? Don’t try to work in a vacuum. You need as much input as you can get. Talk to other people, particularly those who have started their own businesses or attempted to start their own businesses, to identify obstacles that are likely to present a stumbling block for you. What do you enjoy about the work you do? Talking with people and hearing new ideas and new ways of looking at old things. I also enjoy encouraging people not to give up and helping them realize they have to do some research. They have to take ownership for every step of starting the business. What makes you unique? I’m a good listener and I like listening for the passion, too. If it’s there, it comes through. I also think I’m good at helping people see and identify both their own strengths and their less-developed attributes. What are your personal interests? I’ve developed a personal interest in gardening. I’m working toward becoming a master gardener right now. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what sort of business would you found? Along with staying with the SBDC, of course! I would start a couple of foundations — for domestic animals and for children who are in orphanages, who never got a sense of inclusion. The foundations would primarily be to educate people about those issues and eradicate those situations. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? To be true to yourself and not doubt yourself because of somebody else’s criticism or opinion. — Past teacher |
FRANK CETERA
NYSBDC Advanced Certified Business Advisor Office - Onondaga Community College Email: ceteraf@sunyocc.edu BIO
Education:
Community Involvement:
What is your background in business? Prior to working at the SBDC, my primary experience was working as a project manager for nonprofit organizations including the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, and the MaCoskey Center for Sustainable Systems. I’ve been a board member and the Chair at our local CDFI Cooperative Federal Credit Union for most of the last 10 years. My time at the SBDC has also overlapped with the formation and growth of the Alchemical Nursery Project, Syracuse based not-for-profit that I co-founded and operates three food growing sites today. What are your areas of expertise? My expertise is in the cooperative business entity model and the nonprofit community development and sustainability worlds. I am an Advanced Certified Business Advisor with New York State SBDC in “Employee-Ownership.” What drew you to work at SBDC? The first position I held with SBDC was a one-year grant-funded position to assist businesses with energy efficiency development which combined my background in natural resources sustainability and project management. After that first year, I was offered a Full-Time Business Advisor position at a satellite location on North Salina Street in Syracuse. What’s your best advice for someone thinking about starting their own small business? The one thing I encourage people to do is to really understand what their motivations are. It’s important to understand if starting a business is the right thing for you or not. Make sure your business motivations fall in line with your personal motivations, too — your family situation, home situation, personal finances, etc. These are all going to be very intertwined, particularly in the early stages of a business startup. What do you enjoy about the work you do? I like talking to people and listening to people. That’s one of the things we really need to do in this job. In order to be able to advise and coach, we need to be able to listen first, in an active process of listening attentively while someone else speaks, paraphrasing and reflecting back what is said, and withholding judgment and advice. What makes you unique? My passion for the cooperative business model and my interest in social justice, equity and fairness. I’ve grown and developed my interest and passion in this role for myself but also for the full SBDC community. I’m currently the Chair of the national ASBDC Special Interest Section on “Employee Ownership and Business Transition.” We’re starting to bring people together from different SBDC offices across the country to talk, share, learn and bring resources together for other advisors to be able to serve their clients when it comes to the needs for employee ownership advising. What are your personal interests? I love to play tennis, garden, cook, travel and support the social justice, environmental and ecological communities in Syracuse. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what sort of business would you found? Along with staying with the SBDC, of course! What I might do is take that money and use it to grow the ecosystem of the cooperative business development community to support other cooperative developers and businesses. To increase the demand, understanding and development of cooperative enterprises, we need to expand the awareness locally and across the country. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? It all comes down to doing what’s in line with yourself and what you truly believe in. Otherwise, you’re not going to be happy. — Friend recently going through job transition |
MICHAEL ROSANIO
NYSBDC Certified Business Advisor (PT) Office - Onondaga Community College Email: rosaniom@sunyocc.edu BIO
Education:
What is your background in business? I have an MBA and ran my own business for six years. I’ve been involved in economic development since the late ‘80s. I also grew up in a small business family. My father owned a sporting goods store, so I saw that close up. What are your areas of expertise? Market research is a big area for me. I think it’s really important for people to know exactly what business they’re in and who they’re satisfying. To do that, you can’t just fly by the seat of your pants, so I really believe in market research. And finance — a lot of my economic development work was in small business lending, so I have over 20 years of experience doing that in different places. What drew you to work at SBDC? I worked here previously, from 2000 to 2005, right after I was decelerating back into working for somebody else after I sold my business. Then, the past 15 years, I’ve been working in economic development running a small business loan fund. When I retired from there, Joan mentioned a couple part-time positions were open at the SBDC. I thought it would be a nice opportunity, since I had the time now to come back. What’s your best advice for someone thinking about starting their own small business? Know your market inside and out. Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t let personal prejudices guide you. What do you enjoy about the work you do? I like putting people on the right path or at least helping them assess themselves realistically, whether that leads to them going into business or not going into business. I hope I have contributed to them making the right decision. It’s the biggest thing I can do for them. What makes you unique? The fact that I’ve been on both sides of the desk. I’ve been the small business person and I’ve been the person lending to or assisting a small business from an outside perspective. I think that brings a unique perspective. What are your personal interests? Playing piano, bike riding, hiking and traveling. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what sort of business would you found? Along with staying with the SBDC, of course! Cyber security. It’s been important for a while but I really think, in the next few years, you can probably do quite well in that space. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Do your homework. — My parents, constantly |
