Help for small business: New ASBA leader

CORRECTION RAN JANUARY 9, 2004 A2

Jan Knight of Bancroft Information Services was misidentified ina story on Page D1 Tuesday. Knight is an independent business andmarket research specialist.

Networking to help O'Dowd spread the word in S. Arizona

The Arizona Small Business Association of Southern Arizona hasstarted the New Year with new leadership.

Charlie O'Dowd is now the association's Southern Arizonadirector.

Through his strong networking, O'Dowd hopes to get the word outabout ASBA just as he does for his own business, Paper Paper Paper,3130 E. Fort Lowell Road.

"My wife, Paula, likes to work one-on-one with people," he said."So I took it upon myself to introduce our business to Tucson" inthat way.

Now he's turned his efforts to doing the same with ASBA. "A lotof people don't know we're out there," O'Dowd said.

He brings to the position his enthusiasm and deep-seated passionto help people, said Tom Fraker, executive director of ASBA.

"ASBA is a statewide organization, and Charlie has a lot of ideasand experience that he brings to the table," said Fraker. "But thereare specific needs that fit the Tucson market, and Charlie canidentify what they are and can help the businesses in Tucson."

Jan Knight, owner of Bancroft Information Services, said she isimpressed with O'Dowd's versatility and hopes he'll continue theexcellent workshops and presentations she has come to expect.

"I have been impressed by his ability to hold a crowd. He isprofessional and approachable at the same time," said Knight, anASBA member of two years.

Knight would also like to see more midsize companies join ASBA soit's not made up just of independents like herself. She would liketo reach a larger variety of business sizes to promote her business.

"Like a lot of members there, I am trying to make people aware ofmy services," said Knight, who specializes in advanced Internetsearching.

Another challenge for O'Dowd will be telling the community aboutthe wide array of benefits that ASBA offers, Fraker said.

O'Dowd has been an ASBA member since the association opened inTucson 31/2 years ago.

The benefits he has to tell people about are the reasons hejoined the association in the first place - networking, educationalopportunities and camaraderie.

"We have a strong group of people here that are in it for thegroup," he said. "And it shows when we get together."

But having fun is just the icing on the cake for O'Dowd, who isaddressing the serious challenges small businesses face.

"The two biggest concerns for small businesses around the countryare health care and access to capital," O'Dowd said. He hopes tohelp small Tucson businesses confront both of these issues.

Through a program called AZHealthCARE, ASBA is providing smallbusinesses with the opportunity to learn about a lot of differenthealth care options in one place.

"It enables small businesses to streamline research for availablehealth care," he said. This program matches businesses with privateand group health insurance available to them.

The same sort of matching idea is used to help small-businessowners find financial backing. Through a program called CapitalResource Center,O'Dowd hopes to offer a lender/borrower matchingprogram before the end of this year's first quarter.

"We're the honest broker of information," O'Dowd said. "We don'thave a vested interest in the outcome except for the success of thesmall business."

Essential to helping small businesses meet challenges isproviding them with resources for whatever they are facing.

Through an initiative called Ask ASBA, O'Dowd is arming memberswith business cards designed to introduce people to the benefits ofASBA membership and to emphasize what's happening already, he said."We have the opportunity to make it easier for people at variouslevels of business to start conversation."

In addition to providing alliances for businesses, O'Dowd isaligning ASBA with other small-business groups.

"Since they are the state organization and we are the federalorganization, we are a natural fit," said Marcia Pixley, outreachspecialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration. "We workclosely together, and Charlie is a key player in everything we dohere in Southern Arizona."

Profile

Name: Charlie O'Dowd

Age: 56

Title: Southern Arizona director for the Arizona Small BusinessAssociation

Experience:

Owner of Paper Paper Paper, 3130 E. Fort Lowell Road

Real estate broker for 29 years

Consultant for Charity Blends Coffee & Tea Inc.

ASBA information

Contact the Arizona Small Business Association at 4444 E. GrantRoad, Suite 119, call (520) 327-0222 or visit the Web site atwww.asba.com.

Contact reporter Karen Mracek at 573-4179 orkmracek@azstarnet.com.