FULTON, Mo. – After Paige Speers suffered a brain injury when blood clots cut oxygen to her brain, her recovery experience made her want to help others. Learning to live a healthier lifestyle and to find doctors who support those decisions led Speers to create Choose Greater Health, a community for brain injury survivors and caregivers and a directory of medical professionals.

“I can be the whole person resource concierge for brain injury recovery,” Speers says. Brain injury survivors and caregivers can find information about Choose Greater Health on LinkedIn, Facebook and Alignable.

Speers created a business to provide needed support for brain injury survivors and for caregivers. That support includes speaking to groups about her experience and connecting those with brain injuries to a network of medical professionals. When Speers wanted to grow her business, Brianna Kliethermes, a business counselor with Missouri Small Business Development Center, provided help.

“We have resources for all different stages of her business career,” Kliethermes said. “That is from when we first start out to have a business idea and ‘I don’t even know where to begin’ to putting it into a business plan all the way to ‘I’ve been running a successful business for years and now what does it look like?’”

In a recent episode of the “Show-Me MO Success” podcast, Speers tells host Luke Dietterle, field specialist with MU Extension, the story of how she is growing her business with help from the Missouri SBDC. “We started with a business plan and that put things into perspective,” Speers said. “I could put it into a pitch deck for a local Show Me Innovation Pitch Contest back in November.” On the podcast, Dietterle interviews Speers and Kliethermes about ways the Missouri SBDC can help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

The Missouri SBDC is here to help business owners and entrepreneurs get the information needed to make confident decisions and help Missouri businesses succeed. The business experts of the Missouri SBDC are your neighbors, dedicated to helping businesses grow. Learn more and find a center near you at missourisbdc.org

The Missouri SBDC is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and is a partner of the University of Missouri Extension Business Development Program.

MU Extension has programs to benefit Missourians throughout the state. This podcast features faculty members and their clients discussing the impact of these programs on communities and businesses in Missouri. Podcast listeners will hear how to reach out to MU Extension to access resources.

“Show-Me MO Success” is available on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music. Go to linktr.ee/BusinessAndCommunity to listen to ways you can improve your business and community with the help of MU Extension.