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Brett Richard of Terrace Park will oversee a new operations management division at SkillSource Business Builders. The company has operations in Mason and Blue Ash. Photo provided

SkillSource Business Builders, a business consultancy with locations in Mason and Blue Ash, has added an operations management division.

Brett Richart of Terrace Park will launch and lead the new division.

SkillSource specializes in helping companies create and implement strategic growth plans. The company has served more than 450 clients in its 16 years of operation.

In his new role, Richart, who has more than 20 years operations experience, will maximize operational efficiencies and communication process and create streamlined operating systems for manufacturing and service organizations.

“We brought Brett on board because he has experience in various industries, including services, manufacturing and government contracts,” said Chuck Proudfit, SkillSource president and founder.

“Brett is a great communicator and is able to work with people at every level within an organization to investigate and improve efficiencies like inventory control systems, communication within an organization and determine best practices and process flow.”

The new division comes on the heels of a new Marketing Matters division added earlier this year to assist clients with affordable marketing campaigns. Proudfit says the new additions will help the company appeal to a wider swath of clientele.

SkillSource was a 2009 finalist for the Cincinnati Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics; a 2010 Cincy Magazine Tristate Success Awards winner; and a 2011 Perfect 10 Certified Corporate Culture award.

For more information, go to www.skillsource.com.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: brett richart, business, chuck proudfit, consultancy, marketing, marketing matters, mason, operations management, skillsource, skillsource business builders

BrandGarden, LLC. has opened in downtown Mason at 104 Reading Road.

Steadfast Studios, LLC. and Intelligent Interactive Solutions, Inc. merged to create the design and interactive marketing company.

Partners Mike Stretch and Doug Landers said they combined their two companies to better leverage Steadfast’s expertise in print design with Landers’ experience in IT and web products.  Both companies were located in Mason.

The new business offers full-service design, interactive marketing services and large-format printing.  The merger allows BrandGarden to serve more than 50 clients, and its partners hope to add more.

“We’ve both been small business owners for years, so Mike and I and have had firsthand experience with the ups and downs of trying to grow our own companies,” said Landers, who founded Intelligent Interactive Solutions.

“We saw a great opportunity to come together and create harmony with the mutual benefits that arise from blending our two companies,” added Stretch, of Steadfast Studios.

The partners drew inspiration for their new company name from the window boxes on the side of the 170-year-old building where the office is now located.

“A gardener doesn’t generally have much luck if he or she doesn’t think about what they’re doing in advance,” said Stretch.  “In fact, if a gardener expects a good yield or an attractive result, there’s usually a great deal of thought that goes into the ground with those seeds.”

Stretch, of Mason, is a 1981 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture and Art (DAAP) and has worked as an art director and in management.  He sits on the board of Festivals of Mason and is active in historic preservation.

Landers, a Deerfield Township resident, earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Bowling Green University and a master’s degree in computer science from Xavier University.

For more information, go to www.brandgarden.com.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: brandgarden llc, business, company, deerfield township, doug landers, downtown, intelligent interactive solutions, marketing, mason, merge, merger, mike stretch, printing, steadfast studios, web