Cost-Effective Access to Markets Drives Success for Entrepreneurs in Ohio's Enterprise Appalachia

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The cost-effective access to markets provided by Ohio's Enterprise Appalachia helps entrepreneurs and small business owners evolve from business startup to success, according to a recent Inc. magazine white paper.

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The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that about 97 percent of new businesses remain stuck in survival mode, earning marginal returns on invested time and capital. But entrepreneurs can increase these odds by choosing an ideal business location – Enterprise Appalachia.

"Expanding Your Market Reach" is the fourth in a series of Inc. white papers discussing ideal selection criteria for business startup – access to supply chain and markets, access to business capital and support services, access to knowledge and labor and access to a balanced life. It offers a prescription for moving through three stages of business formation -- existence, survival and success -- by exploring strategies to achieve cost-effective access to markets.

"Startup businesses have unique needs for selecting a business location -- and cost-effective access to markets helps them move from survival to success," said Ed Burghard, executive director of the Ohio Business Development Coalition. "Entrepreneurs are finding lasting success in Enterprise Appalachia as a result of the region's unbeatable access to markets in the Midwest, Canada and Mid-Atlantic states as well as its incredible network of business support services, which help them expand their market reach."

Butech Bliss, a Salem, Ohio firm that designs and manufactures processing equipment for the world's metal processors, is one business that has thrived as a result of its Appalachian Ohio location. Under the leadership of father-and-son founders John and Jock Buta, the company has moved from survival to success over two tumultuous decades in the global steel economy.

The Butas attribute much of the company's success to key advantages provided by Appalachian Ohio, including access to markets as well as access to knowledge and labor.

The company's Columbiana County location is geographically centered in the middle of five of the six largest population markets in the U.S. The region's world-class transportation system provides cost-effective access to domestic and international markets, creating the potential to achieve profitability more quickly.

Butech's location in Enterprise Appalachia also provides access to knowledge and labor through the region's 25 institutions of higher learning and skilled work force. Butech has turned to local universities for research and development as well as to recruit talent.

"Superior designs enable us to compete with the big guys. This is exactly why we need skilled engineers," said Jock Buta. "Thankfully, being located in Appalachia Ohio has enabled us to tap some of the best engineering talent in the country – just by looking in our backyard."

Since 1999, Butech Bliss has grown from just a few employees to more than 220. With sales approaching $50 million, the company serves major domestic and international manufacturers such as U.S. Steel, Alcoa, Nucor Steel, Mittal, and AK Steel across the U.S. as well as in 50 countries around the globe.

Visit www.ohiomeansbusiness.com/enterprise_appalachia to learn how Ohio's Enterprise Appalachia delivers the ideal location criteria for business startup.

About the Ohio Business Development Coalition

The Ohio Business Development Coalition is a nonprofit organization that provides marketing strategy and implementation to support Ohio's economic development efforts. For more information, visit www.ohiomeansbusiness.com. PW-OBDC-EA-07142010

SOURCE Ohio Business Development Coalition