The SBDC at YSU developed INQUISIT for forward-thinking companies to audit their business in the nine key areas essential for business growth and success including:
1. Company Direction and Leadership
2. Human Resources
3. Planning Process
4. Process Optimization
5.Management by Data
6. Sales and Marketing
7. Customer Focus
8. Financial Analysis
9. Business Growth

“The SBDC really helped me understand what my cost of goods were and broke it down so I knew my cost per unit. My thanks to the SBDC for putting on the BOOST! Program for the businesses that were involved, and the ability to network and focus on the 9 key elements (INQUISIT) that help your business thrive versus survive.”

- Linda Barton

- Gauges the company’s performance against universal business principles
- Creates clarity to make informed and strategic business decisions
- Highlights the strengths and challenges of the business, and helps assess risk
- Stay ahead of the competition by ensuring your business is operating efficiently and effectively
- Receive customized learning resources and on-going professional support
- Helps determine if your core business is ready to: start exporting, expand, launch a new product, sell to the government

The INQUISIT assessment has shown the most success with companies that have been in business more than 3 years, and with a minimum of 5 or more employees.

The tool is supported by the Ohio Department of Development, and there is no fee to take the INQUISIT Business Assessment.

“The Inquisit process really nailed the areas of our business we needed to improve. The self-assessment process didn't take much time, and the results our SBDC consultant gave us were a nice road map of the things we needed to prioritize to take our business to the next level."

- Jessica Borza

The INQUISIT Learning Center is a bank of business resources and tools that are mapped to individual questions on the assessment, and relevant to the needs of your specific company.

INQUISIT provides valuable insights into potential risks and actionable recommendations from experienced consultants, and are tailored to your goals. An SBDC consultant will utilize their expertise and knowledge to analyze your assessment, and help identify potential solutions and opportunities for your business.

“After going through the INQUISIT business assessment, I went through the BOOST! Program, which was huge. Some of it was game changer stuff on things to look at, things to track, different ways to look at different things. Moving forward with the SBDC, I know for sure that if we called them with a problem, it would be an almost instantaneous answer. They’re always there to help us.”

- Rick Kamperman