COLUMBIA, Mo. – When Gina Overshiner turned her passion for vegan cooking into a food truck business, she turned to University of Missouri Extension’s Missouri Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for advice.
To celebrate Small Business Month, the latest episode of “Show-Me MO Success,” MU Extension’s Business and Communities podcast, tells the story of one startup owner’s journey and the assistance she received from SBDC along the way.
Guest host Mike Quinata, assistant director for MU Extension Business and Communities, interviews Overshiner, owner Gina's Vegan a Go Go food truck, and Paul Zacharias, business counselor with Missouri’s SBDC. Overshiner and Zacharias discuss the specific support Missouri’s SBDC provides to small-business owners.
When Overshiner and husband Tim started Gina’s Vegan a Go Go in 2021, they opened the truck a couple times a month. Last year, they started operating the truck Saturdays at the Columbia Farmers Market. When Gina and Tim decided to run the food truck full time, they knew they could use some help.
“I realized to do this full time, I would have to be a lot more consistent and be getting out there a lot more, and I didn’t know anything about running a business,” Overshiner says. “A mutual friend of ours put me in contact with Paul (Zacharias) at the SBDC, and I started going there to get guidance on the business side of things.”
The SBDC is a nationwide nonprofit network designed to help entrepreneurs realize their vision of starting a small business, Zacharias says. “One-to-one counseling is the most important thing. In the day-to-day operations of running a business, a lot of times business owners don’t have somebody to talk through different ideas with.”
MU Extension has programs to benefit Missourians throughout the state. This podcast features stories of success from businesses and communities across the state that have connected with MU Extension programs. Podcast listeners will hear how to reach out to MU Extension to access resources and gain insights and inspiration for their own business or community.
“Show-Me MO Success” is available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. Scan the QR code below or go to linktr.ee/BusinessAndCommunity to learn ways you can improve your business and community with the help of MU Extension.
Contact:
Sarah Rielley, Senior Coordinator
University of Missouri Extension–Business and Community
573-882-0380, edwardssar@missouri.edu