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Strategic Market Research

Jay Ballenberger

Jay Ballenberger is a Market Research Specialist at Bandana Research LLC, specializing in training, consulting and coaching small business owners in conducting strategic market research. With over a dozen years teaching people how to research better he has developed a deep understanding in collaborative research education. A graduate of Emporia State University School of Library and Information Management, he holds a Masters degree in Library and Information Science and has since trained hundreds of Colorado small businesses to conduct market research.

Known for dynamic and engaging workshop sessions and one-on-one consulting, he has facilitated programs on industry research, customer research, competitor research, and conducting customer discovery interviews. He most recently coordinated a team of market researchers through the Colorado Accelerated Growth Program for Market Research which guided over 80 growth-oriented small businesses through a 6-week intensive market research program dedicated to developing robust and actionable market strategies.

Coming to market research work from the world of libraries, Jay takes a service-oriented and collaborative approach to his teaching and consulting. As a small business owner himself, he understands how imperative it is to have a well thought out strategy for bringing a business idea to fruition. He has worked for years to help researchers find the answers they need to make important decisions and he especially enjoys working with bootstrapped small business owners in strategizing their best path forward. In addition to his professional pursuits, Jay loves dusty Western Slope mountain bike trails, glacial lakes above timberline, shows at Red Rocks, y le encanta aprender español.

Schedule a Consultation with Jay

Lead Advisor/ Veteran’s Specialist

Ron O’Herron

As a seasoned strategic management-operations business development consultant with more than 30 years of successful corporate management and consulting experience, Ron has extensive knowledge and expertise in both domestic and international business operations. His focus and methodology are structured and directed at helping businesses operations and people, research, plan and implement both short and long-term goals for both personal and business successful growth. He has worked with companies ranging in size from $250 thousand to $500 million in annual revenues.  His industry exposure includes Aerospace, Luxury Boat Manufacturing, Banking, Forensic Structural Engineering, Government Contracting, Metal Fabrication, Oil & Gas, Plastics Manufacturing and Telecommunications.  Ron was honored as the Colorado SBDC Consultant of the Year for 2015.

Ron grew up and graduated from college in Iowa, which he attended on a football scholarship and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business. He later enhanced his education with Management MBA’s in Business Law from Cornell and Strategic Business Development from Michigan. After college he served as a platoon leader in Vietnam with the 1st Armored Cavalry. Prior to going into the consulting arena, he spent 10 years as the president of an International Electronic Capital Equipment Manufacturing company with 15 domestic offices, 1 in Canada and 5 in Europe.  He and his wife, Sheri, are avid outdoor people with four children and eight grandchildren.

Ron’s areas of expertise are:

  • Business Development
  • Manufacturing
  • Strategic Management
  • Operations
  • Veterans

 

Child Care Advisor

Dora Esparza

Dora has worked in Early Childhood Education Administration for over 20 years. Dora has a long history of CCAP work and has chaired the Denver CCAP Collaborative (formerly known as the Child Care Task Force) in the Denver community for more than nine years. Dora is currently the Director of Business Services at the Denver Early Childhood Council and has provided ECE business coaching to providers for the last eight years.

Dora utilizes a relationship-based approach to build effective bonds with child care providers to help them grow their businesses. She helps providers develop strong business practices that work for them and values meeting everyone where they are and has a deep understanding of braided funding streams. Dora has a passion for ECE advocacy and helping ECE programs understand their cost of care and how to advocate for systematic changes. She has a master’s degree in Business Administration, as well as graduate degrees in Psychology, Project Management, Human Resources, Organizational Leadership, and Nonprofit Management.

Dora’s passions include reading, exploring new places in Denver, and meeting new people.

Human Resources

Courtney Berg

Business humorist Courtney Berg turns typical HR and management issues into fun learning experiences. She draws from her years of human resources and operations management experience to bring boring employment concepts to life. Courtney has built HR departments from the ground up and has experience from front line supervision to vice president in both HR and operations in a variety of industries. Her goal is to bring her knowledge and experience to business owners, making management easier for them.Courtney is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). In December 2008, Courtney was featured in a “How To Conduct Annual Employee Reviews” in Inc. Magazine. Courtney is also a 2009 Denver Business Journal “Outstanding Women In Business” nominee. She received the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce “Chamber Champion” award in 2011. Courtney has a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management from the University of Northern Colorado.

Courtney’s areas of expertise are:

  • HR issues
  • Hiring
  • Firing
  • Employee Relations
  • Unemployment claims
  • Background checks
  • Company culture
  • Time management
  • New hire paperwork

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