Takin' Care of Small Business

In Kentucky alone, small businesses employ almost 700,000 workers – more than 40 percent of the workforce.1 Amanda Kelly, ’01, recognizes small business’ significance, adding history’s testimony to the statistics.

“Look what happened because of the collapse of the coal industry. The entire economy of the eastern half of Kentucky completely relied on coal. When that industry went away, it crushed us,” she said. “Small businesses give us the diversification we need to avoid that in the future. It is my hope that the industrial void will gradually be filled by small businesses.”

Amanda is the small business training director of Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED) and was named Kentucky’s Small Business Advocate of the Year for 2020 by the Kentucky District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. She is highly appreciative of the award.

“Kentucky has many great individuals who work with small businesses, so this is a huge honor,” she said.

Amanda oversees technical assistance for small business owners in 45 Kentucky counties. Anyone in those regions can reach out to her for help starting or growing their business, and, since Amanda works for SKED and not the small business owners, the entrepreneurs can receive her help completely free of charge. She is the director of SKED’s Entrepreneurial SMARTS training program and created Be Boss Online, an online program for business owners who want to understand and utilize the internet to reach their customers. In 2020, she collaborated with EKCEP and The Fletcher Group to provide entrepreneurship training to 39 individuals going through recovery and rehabilitation.

She goes from phone calls to Zoom meetings to text messages to visiting businesses around Kentucky in order to help her clients succeed.

“90 percent of what I do is talk to people and listen,” Amanda said. “It’s not like I’ve got some kind of magic crystal ball that reveals the right answers. Almost always, it’s the business owner who comes up with the right answer. I’m just there to help them process.”

Clients of hers say Amanda is straightforward, real, honest, and smart. A straight shooter. Although she stays focused on the bottom line and how to keep a business rolling, Amanda’s downto-earth and personable nature quickly moves her from business advisor to friend for many of the entrepreneurs she works with.

Spoiler alert: there is no secret to running a business. According to Amanda, it just takes lots of hard work, a willingness to ask for and accept help, and more hard work.

Some of the work is physical labor like climbing atop your building’s roof to fix a leak. Sometimes it means sacrificing time with your family because an employee called in sick and nobody else could cover their shift. In 2020, it meant pivoting business plans and infrastructure in huge ways.

“I’ve been so impressed with all the businesses I work with in their ability to figure out alternatives. The ability to think outside the box is probably the most important skill a business owner can have,” Amanda said.

Amanda’s life never has a dull moment, but she likes staying busy. After a year like 2020, she is especially grateful for the opportunity to make a difference, help business owners realize their dreams, and help make people’s lives better, one day at a time.

1. https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/2018Small-Business-Profiles-KY.pdf

To find out more about SKED, visit skedcorp.com