Business owners emphasize collaboration at new roundtable discussion series
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WHEELING -- Why the Ohio Valley?
This is the question those in the local business community hoped to answer during a new roundtable discussion series at River City Wednesday night. They say the region has grown immensely in recent times and they want to keep the conversation going on how businesses can work together to harness this growth.
Eric Richards and Jess Richards, who are both involved in the real-estate industry, started the Roundtable Ohio Valley group to give a space to business owners around the region to network, give out valuable information and succeed.
"We moved here about five years ago, but the second that we came to this area, I realized the value here, the small town community -- diamond in the rough for somebody to come in and start building a family, building a business and really grow in this area," Eric Richards said.
For the first event in the series, two speakers were present: Steve Higgins, a business coach at Results Driven and Steve Roberts, West Virginia Small Business Development Center's business coach.
Roberts said he was interested in being on the panel because he wants to help the valley grow, bringing people back to the area and showing why it's worth staying.
"I want to see the valley flourish again, and hopefully we can keep everybody here and bring the valley back to the economic power it once was," Roberts said.
He talked about how his career has taken him around the country, but the goal was always to be where he and his wife grew up. Additionally, Roberts said his kids work in other states and hopes people in the region don't have to look at other states to find work like they did.
Higgins agreed. He said he's also seen plenty of growth in the region and wants to not only help introduce the Ohio Valley to those who might not have ever been aware of its existence, but also those who aren't aware of its turn-around -- something he said worked for him in Columbus.
"We want to bring that to this region and connect businesses and have everybody grow together," Higgins said.
Much of the discussion was focused on exactly this, especially on the topic of how businesses can collaborate to meet the needs of people in the valley, instead of needlessly competing.
"Just because there's another company in here that does the same thing you do, doesn't mean that you can't work together," Eric Richards said.
And starting a small business in the region can be worthwhile because there's lots of support available, Higgins said, which isn't always true elsewhere. He mentioned how West Virginia has a website with various nonprofits, economic development organizations and governmental resources available to take advantage of at wvbusinesslink.com.
Much of this support, plus the energetic attitude of the small business community, is what speakers said is partly why the Ohio Valley is an area worth starting at.
The discussion series is planned to be monthly, Jess Richards said, with more details for December's meet-up to follow.