About
Has your business been impacted by COVID-19? Is your business underperforming due to COVID? If so, you are not alone and we are here to assist you with a new series of virtual roundtables called Business Resiliency in a Time of Uncertainty. This roundtable series is designed to help you, as the business owner, gain clarity on key issues and learn how to create a path to recovery and optimization. Spend an hour with us to gain key insights on a variety of topics including managing cash flow, pivoting your business model, and keeping up with changes in human resource policies and procedures. Each roundtable will provide tactical information you can use in your business, provide an outlet for you to interact with other business owners, and give you the opportunity to ask a panel of local business experts questions on each related topic. This series is funded through the Howell County CARES Act and offered in partnership between the Ozarks Small Business Incubator and the Missouri Small Business Development Center at Missouri State University. Panelists will include: Heather Fisher, OzSBI Executive Director As the Executive Director, Heather W. Fisher oversees all OzSBI’s programs, recruits new clients, and mentors businesses. She is a certified Business Advisor with GrowthWheel and LaunchU. Heather moved to the West Plains in 1998 and with her husband Chrys and has two sons. She holds a Masters in Social and Economic Development from Washington University. Previously, Heather served in the Peace Corps, was the Economic Developer of Thayer and Oregon County, and owned a grant writing business. Lance Coffman, SBDC Regional Consultant Lance Coffman is a serial entrepreneur and business owner. He guides business owners through planning and growth as Regional Business Consultant for the Missouri Small Business Development Center at MSU. Through various positions, Lance has over 15 years of marketing and management experience with small businesses nationally. He holds an MBA with a certificate in management and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing with a minor in economics, both from Missouri State University. Lance spends most of his free time on the family farm with his wife and two boys. Sandra Smart, SBDC Technology & Commercialization Specialist Sandra Smart is a technology & commercialization specialist for the Missouri Small Business Development Center at Missouri State University. She has over 21 years of business experience as a small business owner working with small businesses and large corporations. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Production/Operations Management from Southeast Missouri State University and an MBA with an emphasis in management from Missouri State University. Darrell Hampsten, SBDC West Plains Coordinator & Moderator Darrell has spent his professional career assisting small business owners. In the 1990s he worked in the tax accounting field as an IRS Enrolled Agent, able to represent clients on tax audits and appeals, and earned an associate's degree in Accounting. In 2000 he completed his bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship before starting several businesses of his own. In 2011 he "retired" from business ownership and became coordinator of the SBDC in West Plains. Since then, he has worked as SBDC Director in Missouri and Florida in addition to working as Director of Economic Development for a small Midwestern city. Darrell has earned certifications as a business coach, instructor in multiple curricula, and is certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) by the National Development Council. He returned to West Plains in May 2018 and is completing his Master's degree in Business Administration. With a decade of experience with SBDC and another decade of accounting experience, Darrell is uniquely qualified to help rural small businesses reach their greatest potential!