SHARON, Pa. – The Greater Sharon community-supported Shenango LaunchBox program launched less than a year ago but has already served more than 100 entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners.

“We try to make it a very safe, welcoming place where anyone in the community can feel free to come and meet us,” said Tom Roberts, a social entrepreneur who splits his time between Shenango LaunchBox and his freelance consulting career. “So I’ve had a 16-year-old kid and people in their 60s who woke up and said, ‘I have an idea.’”

LaunchBox, an initiative at Pennsylvania State University, launched in October 2023, and the response from people seeking help has far exceeded Roberts’ expectations.

Shenango LaunchBox, one of 21 LaunchBoxes in the state, aims to connect entrepreneurs and business starters with resources in the community that help them start, strengthen or grow their businesses.

“And my role at LaunchBox is to help de-risk the venture at the beginning…” Roberts said. “I try to connect passionate entrepreneurs with as many resources as possible to help them fully validate and position their idea and business for success.”

He added that the region has many free tutoring programs, networking opportunities, grant opportunities and other resources that many people may not know exist.

This includes the Small Business Development Center at Gannon University, as well as resources provided by the City of Sharon and Penn State.

“A typical path might be that an entrepreneur comes in and we can refer them to free legal services through what we call the Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic, which is part of Penn State Law’s LaunchBox network in State College,” Roberts said. “That would help the entrepreneur set up an LLC, organizational agreements, maybe sales agreements — some of the basic legal services — at no cost to them.”

Roberts, who works with local governments and other organizations, also helps entrepreneurs connect with officials in the communities where they want to locate their businesses to learn about available spaces. Sometimes, those government agencies and organizations also refer businesses to Shenango LaunchBox.

Lindy Schliep-Phillips and Amy Javens are two Sharon business owners who say they have benefited from working with Shenango LaunchBox.

Schliep-Phillips opened a salon in Hermitage in 1999, but sold that business and wanted to open a space for birthday parties and girls’ events in Sharon. She was born and raised in the city and wanted to be part of the downtown atmosphere. She said it’s a collaborative environment.

Her new business, Magical Moments Girls Birthday Parties & Events, 33 Vine Ave., opened earlier this month. Girls ages 3 to teens can enjoy parties with red carpet arrivals, a 360 photo booth, personalized tiaras, a blacklight dance area and other services for their special days.

But her path began with the Sharon Community Development Corporation, where she looked for available rental space. Then she applied for the Sharon Revitalization & Investment Grant. That led to a group email May 1 from the Sharon city manager. It was an introduction to the city, the Sharon Community Development Corporation and Shenango LaunchBox, and to contacts at those agencies.

A meeting with Roberts and SCDC representatives followed at the Shenango LaunchBox on Anson Way in the HopeCat building.

“I was just filled with excitement,” she said. “I didn’t know all the things this program does for people like me.”

She learned about available services, and Roberts sent her a to-do list that included writing a business plan with revenue and expense projections for the first year. Then she met with the Gannon University Small Business Development Center, which provided her with data to refine her target market.

She followed the instructions and continued to demonstrate her progress. She credits her work with LaunchBox for helping her secure the grant.

Javens, a professional strength and fitness trainer, opened CycleLife Studio, a boutique indoor cycling and fitness studio at 21 Chestnut Ave., in 2021. She bought the assets from her investors a few months ago. She connected with LaunchBox through city and downtown developers.

Roberts referred her to free legal services to help her cope with the changes at the company.

“It was priceless,” Javens said.

She worked with the SBDC in Gannon several years ago and reconnected with those services through LaunchBox.

Both Javens and Schliep-Phillips also worked with a former downtown Sharon developer and with Angie Urban, executive director of the Sharon Community Development Corporation, and Jeff Feola, the corporation’s director of community and economic development, to develop their business.

Javens meets with Roberts monthly to finalize details and determine next steps.

“Whenever I have questions and need to take a break or change the subject, he’s a good person to talk to. He’s also kind of the person I go to to help me connect with someone else who can help me in a specific area,” she said.

Roberts also informs her about grant opportunities that could help her grow her business.

Both Javens and Schliep-Phillips credit Roberts, LaunchBox, and the people, organizations, and resources they’ve connected with through it for helping them get where they are in their companies.

“If I hadn’t found out about Shenango LaunchBox, I would be somewhere else working for someone else,” Schliep-Phillips said.

Javens said Roberts helped her break down the things she needed to do for her business into chunks, rather than a long to-do list. That worked for her because it’s similar to how she approached training and events when she was a professional triathlete.

“They were like my home base,” she said of the organization. “That’s a good description of LaunchBox — like a home base for a small business. And you build trust with them, and they build trust with you. So when I show accountability for getting things done, I build trust with them. They build trust with me, and then it’s just like a journey that you go through.”

Pictured above: Tom Roberts, project coordinator at Shenango LaunchBox.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.