KSBDC clients earn state honors

  Wednesday, March 30, 2016 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

When Todd Allison, president of Pittsburg’s Progressive Products, was looking for ways to increase the company’s market share in various product lines, he turned to the Kansas Small Business Development Center at Pittsburg State.

Allison worked with KSBDC’s Tom Byler and Darrell Pulliam, and also with a team of Kelce College of Business students, to develop new strategies for growth and advancement. The results were almost immediate, and Progressive Products has since increased its annual sales by nearly 30 percent.

“The KSBDC has helped us succeed by pointing out opportunities,” Allison said. “We participated in the national Economic Gardening Program, which is specifically designed to push businesses our size to the next level.  Additionally, KSBDC has been good at helping us utilize PSU resources. We worked with a business strategy class to get insight into a product were developing. It turned out to be a mutually beneficial experience.”

This month in Topeka, Progressive Products was recognized as the Existing Business of the Year in the Pitt State KSBDC region. The award was announced by the KSBDC statewide network.

Another client of Pitt State’s KSBDC network, Sleep Inn and Suites in Fort Scott, was named the Emerging Business of the Year.

“The KSBDC at PSU was a reliable resource that was instrumental in helping to navigate our start-up business through the initial financing and business plan development stages of our hotel development project,” said Sleep Inn and Suites General Manager Bill Michaud.

In total, 17 Kansas small businesses were recognized at a ceremony in Topeka on March 8. The businesses were selected from more than 2,000 businesses that received Kansas SBDC one-on-one business advising services in 2015.

“Collectively, the KSBDC team believes these 17 small businesses are excellent examples of small business adaptation and success in challenging times,” said Greg Panichello, Kansas SBDC state director.

To learn more about the KSBDC at Pitt State, visit http://cibd.pittstate.edu/sbdc.