Name: Maria Meyers Title: Director Organization: KCSourceLink Contact Information: 4747 Troost Ave. Kansas City, MO 64110 (816) 235-6112 www.kcsourcelink.com Target businesses and services: Aspiring/Start-ups and Established/Expanding
KCSourceLink is a new resource network linking approximately 140 service provider partners to small businesses in the greater Kansas City metro area. A referral service, KCSourceLink connects the area’s service providers to each other, and to entrepreneurs.
Designed to serve not only as a centralized resource for entrepreneurs but also as a model for similar mentor-based networks nationwide, KCSourceLink is the first of its kind in the U.S.
As the director of KCSourceLink, Maria Meyers likened her role to that of a start-up business owner.
“We’re busy establishing our identity and putting together the pieces of our infrastructure,” she said. “Of course, we’re getting a lot of assistance from our founding partners: UMKC, the Kauffman Foundation and the SBA.”
Meyers described the organization as a metro-wide virtual network.
“For a small business person, time is of the essence,” she said. “Our job is to refer and link them to the services they need in as timely a manner as possible.
“Speeding up the process will enable both the small businesses and the service providers to be more efficient and productive. The KCSourceLink network is a win-win for everyone involved. And, by helping small businesses—whether they’re start-ups or existing business expansions—to grow and prosper, KCSourceLink can have a real economic impact in our community.”
After becoming the network’s director on June 18, Meyers says she has been busy establishing goals and objectives for the organization. Her current goals are to raise awareness of the entrepreneurial resources available to business owners as well as to increase utilization of these resources. Meyers also plans to further develop the organization’s Web site, and find ways to link entrepreneurs with for-profit businesses in addition to the 140 not-for-profit resource organizations already identified.
As director of KCSourceLink, Meyers oversees a staff that includes a director of communications and resource coordinators who serve as case managers assisting individual business owners.
Meyers, who is employed by UMKC, also works with an executive committee comprised of representatives from the founding partners and from service provider organizations.
Prior to joining KCSourceLink, Meyers served as chief operating officer for Nature Technology Corp., a biotech start-up company based in Lincoln, Neb.. She was responsible for strategic business and marketing planning, as well as operations and business development. Meyers also worked as director of information technology program management for Birch Telecom in Kansas City, and as vice president and chief operating officer for Science City at Union Station.
She has lived in Kansas City the past 11 years.
“I lived in Kansas City and commuted to Nebraska,” Meyers said. “A 90-day job turned into a 17-month position and I commuted the entire time. Although I thoroughly enjoyed what I was doing, it’s great to be back working in Kansas City.”
Meyers said Kansas City’s wealth of entrepreneurial resources made it a logical choice for KCSourceLink.
“We’re going to build on that wealth and make Kansas City an even better place for small business,” she said.
Name: Patrick McCartney Title: Vice President, Marketing Organization: The Kansas City Kansas Area Chamber of Commerce Contact Information: 727 Minnesota Kansas City, KS 66117 (913) 371-3070 www.kckchamber.com
Aspiring/Start-ups and Established/Expanding
After six years of working in the sports industry, Patrick McCartney knows a lot about being a team player.
That knowledge has helped him in his role as vice president of marketing for the Kansas City Kansas Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Our goal is to create a quality community in which to work, live and conduct business,” McCartney said. “My job is to coordinate the events that help make that possible.”
It takes a team comprised of McCartney, chamber staff and volunteers to pull together events such as the chamber’s recent golf tournament at Falcon Lakes Golf Course.
McCartney began leading the chamber’s marketing efforts in January 2002. He is a journalism graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia and has a master’s in sports administration. He has worked for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the Big Eight Conference, Colorado State University’s athletic department, Gear for Sports and the Kansas City Missouri Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The KCKChamber is a member-based organization overseen by a 40-member board of directors and executive committee. It currently has about 700 individual and business members.
Both new and established businesses join the chamber to take advantage of opportunities to network and generate new business, McCartney said.
McCartney’s job is to coordinate and market the chamber’s many events, including monthly luncheons, business after hours, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, a golf tournament and educational seminars. McCartney said these and other events enable business owners to meet each other and network.
McCartney also provides marketing services for the Kansas City Kansas Convention & Visitors Bureau and Wyandotte Development Inc., the economic development arm of the chamber.
“We market Kansas City, Kan. and all it has to offer in terms of economic opportunities and entertainment,” McCartney said.
He said the area has seen tremendous growth, particularly in western Kansas City, Kan. with the addition of Village West, the Kansas Speedway, the Kansas City T-Bones, Cabela’s, Nebraska Furniture Mart and the Great Wolf Lodge.
“The Legends at Village West is now under development, which will be a shopping center featuring a variety of retail establishments, including big box retailers,” McCartney said.
McCartney plans to continue concentrating on long-range and strategic planning for the chamber, in addition to planning and marketing chamber events.
“We’re looking ahead to ensure the area continues to enjoy the types of development that will make Kansas City, Kan., a great place,” he said.
