Benefits
OK benefits its members, along with the community at large, in a variety of ways. An itemization of those benefits includes:
Benefits to Our Members
Problem Solving Assistance: Monthly Problem Solving Team meetings offer OK member businesses a tool by which to substitute another team member's logic and experience for their own trial-and-error.
Focus and Support Groups: While the primary purpose of OK's Problem Solving Teams is to solve business-related problems, members will, from time to time, utilize their team both as a focus group (to provide feedback on new products, services or ideas) and/or as a support group (to overcome the loneliness inherent in owning a business.)
Information Gathering, Training and Education: Monthly Problem Solving Team meetings offer member businesses the opportunity to gather new and appropriate business-related information from their peers. Intermittent Best Practices Seminars offer attending business owners and managers an opportunity to educate themselves on proven business practices. Ongoing Baldrige Training classes offer member businesses a diagnostic approach to evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of their business.
Business-to-Business Opportunities: The close relationships that develop within the respective OK Problem Solving Teams provides member business owners, presidents and managers the opportunity to initiate and conclude a variety of business transactions with their peers, including customer/vendor relationships, mergers/acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures and cross-marketing opportunities.
Mentoring Opportunities: Past experience has proven that mentoring relationships often develop between Facilitators and members of the Problem Solving Teams.
Benefits to the Community
Job Creation: OK develops successful businesses and successful businesses create jobs.
Business Retention and Expansion: OK focuses on problem-solving and on opportunity-seeking and thus enhances its member's chances of surviving and growing.
Sustainability: The strengthening of a community's small business sector is a necessary component of increasing the economoic sustainability of that community.
Assistance for Newly Relocated Businesses: OK membership provides a ready-made environment for the newly relocated business owner, manager or president to meet with peers and exchange information, thereby hastening the newcomer's community-learning curve.
