CINCINNATI — A local entrepreneur is using Small Business Saturday as a way to introduce a new name for her business, celebrate the grand opening of a collaborative work space and raise awareness about a nonprofit she runs to teach minority youths how to build their own computers.
Technology Tailor Made, formerly known as CDM Computers, will host a free event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 30 at its 115 W. Kemper Road location. The event is designed to celebrate the company's name change and show off its new collaborative work space called TTM Collaborative.
Proceeds from TTM Collaborative will be used to support a "Build Your Own Computer" Youth Camp. The camp is held on Saturdays and during the summer and serves young people ages nine to 17.
"I am thrilled about the grand opening of the 3,500-square-foot TTM Collaborative, which through memberships and drop-ins, distance workers, students, home business owners and others can use the latest technology, including 3-D printers," Technology Tailor Made owner Robin Walker said in a news release. "It is also a great opportunity to expand the BYOC camp, which has grown from nine youth in 2014 to 87 students now."
The Small Business Saturday event will include vendor pop-up shop sales, and Technology Tailor Made sales of laptops, computers, computer accessories and discounts on computer services.
There also will be displays of the work done by BYOC Youth Camp participants, raffles for door prizes and a silent auction to benefit the BYOC camp. And Walker will host a mini-session on computer security at noon.
Before opening her business, Walker spent 24 years as an IT manager at Procter & Gamble Co. She was one of a small number of black senior managers during her time at P&G, she said, and founded the BYOC Youth Camp as a way to open up math and science careers to more minorities.
Technology Tailor Made's Small Business Saturday event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (513) 377-1679.
