CLEVELAND — The Prosperity Club in Tremont hosted Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb Monday morning as he met with Northeast Ohio small business owners.
The roundtable discussion was brought together so Mayor Bibb and local small business owners could talk directly about the challenges and opportunities coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Prosperity Club is a member of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses voices community, an initiative designed to help small businesses advocate for policy changes that will help their businesses, employees and communities.
The list of owners and their businesses that attended were:
- Will Hollingsworth, Founder and CEO, Buildings and Food Hospitality Group
- Melissa Khoury, Owner and Operator, Saucisson
- Nick White, Owner, Tremont Athletic Club
- Alex Robertson, Executive Director, Recess Cleveland
- Rhoni Thompson, President and CEO, R.L. Cole Enterprise, Inc
The initiative and attention has been brought to the forefront of importance due to the consequences small businesses are still feeling coming out of the pandemic.
88% of small business owners say that hiring challenges have gotten worse or stayed the same since January 2022. 88% say small businesses are struggling relative to bigger businesses in their area.
42% report they have lost employees to larger businesses that are paying more and 70% worry about employees leaving their businesses because larger businesses can offer higher pay and more generous benefits.
Editor's Note: The video above is from an unrelated story posted on May 20, 2022.
