Youngstown Daily Legal News

Daughter of entrepreneur now helps other small business owners

ANNIE YAMSON
Special to the Legal News
Published: December 18, 2014

Inna Kinney, founder and CEO of ECDI, the Economic and Community Development Institute, is no stranger to small business.

Growing up, she learned the basics of building a business from her father.

“Oh my goodness, he’s had so many business over the years,” said Kinney. “He had a roofing company, a little grocery store in Dayton, he’s been in construction and development, so many businesses that he’s in. He’s very entrepreneurial and has a lot of people working for him, but it’s taken many years to develop those types of skills.”

Kinney’s family traveled to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union when she was barely a teenager.

She graduated from Bexley High School and The Ohio State University with a degree in economics.

As a child, she watched her father take on new ventures and was always around entrepreneurs who “had the spirit to start a business, but unfortunately lacked the business acumen to do so.”

“So the whole reason for starting ECDI was, how do we give individuals a head start in getting there?” she said.

Kinney founded the Economic and Community Development Institute in 2004.

On the surface, the organization is a small business lender, but the ECDI provides more resources than a bank could ever offer.

“Many people go to college, get degrees in business or even MBAs, but the practical business experience is something that has to be learned, in essence, on the street,” said Kinney. “So ECDI assists aspiring entrepreneurs and also existing businesses in honing those entrepreneurial skills.”

Traditionally, and especially since the recession, banks hesitate to loan money to small business startups, especially, according to Kinney, those that are in “day-to-day industries” like restaurants and daycares.

“It costs (banks) a lot of money to underwrite a loan and they want to make sure that their shareholders get the best bang for their buck and, oftentimes, loans under a hundred thousand dollars are not within their forte,” said Kinney. “So as far as ECDI goes, that’s the niche that we fill.”

Kinney calls ECDI a one-stop shop, where a new or expanding business can go to get a loan, but before that ever happens, the business receives essential services that will allow them to successfully run their business.

A business owner can enroll in classes, get technical assistance or small business mentoring, many times, specific to their industry.

ECDI then looks at the traditional stuff that banks look at — credit, projections, market stability — but they also look at the character of the business and how they did during training.

“We try to help them as much as possible by providing these types of services and, based on that, we are able to make a more cohesive decision whether that business is able to grow and get financing,” said Kinney.

In 10 years, ECDI has provided $21 million worth of loans and created 6,000 jobs at 4,000 new businesses.

The organization provides hundreds of hours in training and technical assistance, owns and manages 44 loan funds and has a headquarters in Columbus with satellite offices in Cleveland, Akron and Toledo.

“Absolutely we are the answer to the needs of the entrepreneurial market in Ohio,” said Kinney, who noted that ECDI services all 88 counties.

As an immigrant and a female, Kinney understands the struggles of minority local business owners.

She developed the institute so it could serve as a resource throughout the life of a small business based on what she learned from her father and from her own experience as a business owner.

“There are always challenges in starting a business,” she said. “When you start a business and you have a couple people and then in 10 years you have over 60, certainly the growing pains are something to consider and you have to be very strategic.”

Kinney helps other businesses make decisions based upon where they are now and where they aim to be.

“You know, the type of people we needed 10 years ago are different that what we need right now, so we are also challenged to be able to provide training and resources to our staff so that they can grow along with the business.”

Her biggest achievement is developing a valuable business resource and she said she is especially proud of the work that ECDI does for female business owners.

“I’m proud of the work that we do on behalf of women entrepreneurs because women entrepreneurs have a lot of needs,” she said.

ECDI has the only federally funded women’s business center in the state. It provides female entrepreneurs with a resource library, Internet access, business coaching and counseling, training and workshop programs.

Resources like the women’s business center, Kinney said, are essential to the success of women in business.

She said her advice to females is to have a clear vision and utilize every available resource.

“There are a lot of people out there who are willing to help and there are a lot of resources out there, take advantage of those resources,” said Kinney, adding that she looks forward to the next 10 years and the impact that she can make on the business climate in Ohio.

“My vision is in line with the vision of all of the entrepreneurs out there - to create more businesses, create more jobs and create local economies where individuals shop local, invest local and build our state as one of the premier entrepreneurial states in the country,” said Kinney.

“I think Ohio has a lot of great resources that we could offer to individuals, whether they’re graduating from college or moving form other parts of the country, a business is not easy to have, but our whole country was founded on capitalism and it is our job to promote the opportunities we have.”

Kinney lives in Bexley and has three children. Her two daughters work in digital marketing and neuroscience. Her son is also a business owner and an architect.

[Back]