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Boasting Buffalo: John Redman, chair of SCORE Buffalo Niagara
A few years ago, John Redman was thinking about starting a business. So in 2013 he attended Straight Talk, the annual one-day education and networking event for small-business owners and entrepreneurs in Western New York.
That was his first exposure to SCORE Buffalo Niagara, a volunteer-based group that helps launch small businesses. Though he didn’t pursue his own business, Redman, 46, now chairs the chapter, which has 82 certified mentors across the eight-county region.
“Basically I got encouraged and asked by some of the existing SCORE leadership,” Redman said of the role, which he assumed Oct. 1. “I thought it would be a good chance to further my skills.”
In 2018 the group served 795 people through one-on-one mentoring, workshops, events and digital mentoring. The chapter is one of 300 nationwide. Last fall it was recognized as a “diamond” chapter based on the number of clients served, number of services offered, the quality of those services and ongoing growth in chapter membership.
Redman, who lives in Cheektowaga, is senior manager of professional and training services operations at Ingram Micro in Amherst. For eight years, he has been part of a 140-person team that delivers training and services to Ingram Micro clients.
Anything special that you’re focused on during your first year as chair? Two things: maintaining the current process of operations related to the number of workshops and bringing in more clients. We’re using our own marketing means to communicate with our list of past and present clients, plus we’re building strong partnerships with corporations and nonprofit organizations to keep SCORE in the forefront. We’re working with Google and Facebook and 43North and WEDI (Westminster Economic Development Initiative). We’re also co-sponsoring and co-hosting workshops with our partners, so our mentors are out there delivering those workshops.
There’s a lot of entrepreneurial activity in Buffalo these days. What do you think is driving the uptick? There is a lot, and it’s like a perfect storm brewing these days in Buffalo. There is lots of investment at the federal, state and local levels to attract new enterprises. Additionally, this is an affordable place to be.
What ideas are people bringing to the table? One of the more unique (ideas) centered around logging and getting firewood available for retail. There’s also some really neat technology and some of that is happening at local college campuses, spawning an entrepreneurial spirit for researchers there. And we have a lot of traditional stuff – baking, restaurants, services. It runs the gamut.
You lived downtown before it was cool to live downtown. What was the draw? I had five years living in the city – 1999 to 2004 – on the 700 block of Main Street. It was great. At the time I was working at ClientLogic around the corner in the Trico building. I could walk to work or walk to ECC to work out. ... I had a lot of friends move away during the brain drain, but fortunately I had lots of opportunities in Buffalo and got some city living without having to leave the area.
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