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| navigate: home: magazine: winter 1999: article | |
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Small Business Development Center helps entrepreneurs help themselves By Kristine Lalley | ||||||
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In today’s highly competitive global economy, the small business entrepreneur faces the challenging task of determining how to develop the financial, management and planning skills necessary to grow a new company. For the small firm, the lack of sufficient start-up capital and the absence of a well-written business plan are often major barriers to a successful business launch. The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) are one solution for small business owners who need to learn how to implement optimum strategies for the long-term success of their company. The centers, with 17 college and university-based locations throughout the Commonwealth, offer comprehensive services to all types of small businesses in various stages of development. SBDC is part of a national network of more than 950 centers, providing such services as business management consulting, information and educational programs that help build small firms’ capacity to compete in both domestic and international markets. In October 1997, Penn State established the Small Business Development Center to meet the growing needs of small business entrepreneurs in Centre and Mifflin counties. The center provides its services free to local small firms and people interested in starting up their own enterprises. Penn State faculty and staff serve as counselors to a variety of business concerns, while external consultants are hired when unique problems arise. The center is financed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Penn State and public funding sources. According to Donna A. Holmes, director of the Penn State Small Business Development Center at University Park, interest in the center’s services began to grow as residents of Centre and Mifflin counties learned of the program offerings and other services. “After advertising at the end of 1997, we saw a large influx of individuals interested in our programs,” she said. “People just started coming into our office.” With this influx of small business entrepreneurs, many programs emerged that address issues of concern to Centre and Mifflin county small businesses. Holmes said that “Nuts and Bolts of Starting a Business” has been a particularly successful seminar that consistently generates high turnout. During another program, “Starting a Business with a Plan and Financing Alternatives,” offered in Centre County, 25 individuals made reservations to participate, while 33 participants actually attended, according to Holmes. Another successful program held at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel titled “Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks” provided a forum for discussion of the procedures for obtaining intellectual property rights for certain products. The speaker, John J. Elnitski Jr., has his own law practice specializing in intellectual property and business law in Centre County. Participants were encouraged to ask questions about how intellectual property laws affect their small businesses. “The program ‘Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks’ was successful in allowing the participants to ask questions pertaining to their specific patent, copyright and trademark issues,” Holmes said. “The presentation consisted of real-life situations that the attorney had to face when attempting to patent a product or obtain a trademark. The highlight of this program? It was very interactive,” she added. How does the center determine what programs to offer? “After a seminar, we have an evaluation completed by the attendee that asks what other seminars or training they would like to see the SBDC offer. From this information, we attempt to develop our training plan and seminar topics,” Holmes said. The Small Business Development Center also offers forms, booklets and other information to aid the small business entrepreneur in developing a sound business plan. Details on loan programs, IRS forms and national research networks also are provided to assist individuals in navigating the complex web of information currently available to new small business owners. The biggest challenge for the new business entrepreneur is often knowing where to find the best information to get their business off the ground, according to Holmes. “We offer lots of tools to get people started,” she added. Richard Brennan, president of Safety Strategies Inc., a manufacturer of liquid fire suppressant agents, located in State College, is one entrepreneur who has benefited from the expertise and guidance offered by the Small Business Development Center. “We were great inventors, but when it came time to do business, we needed some help,” he said. “We felt we had a unique product, but not enough funds for full-scale production. We were stuck.” When Brennan faced challenges in obtaining funding from banks due to the lack of an adequate business plan, he decided to do something about it. He contacted Holmes after learning about the Small Business Development Center through an advertisement in a local newspaper. Together they determined the appropriate course of action to assist Brennan in getting the funds to grow his business. With the help of the Small Business Development Center, he was able to create a detailed business plan. Within 24 hours of submitting the plan to its bank, Safety Strategies Inc. had obtained the full financial backing needed to expand its operations. In the last quarter of 1998, the company was projected to exceed $250,000 in revenue. The Penn State Small Business Development Center is a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Small Business Development Centers Inc., a nonprofit corporation which uses Pennsylvania colleges and universities to enhance the success of the small business community throughout the Commonwealth. During the first nine months in operation, the Penn State Small Business Development Center has served more than 120 clients with one-on-one consulting, has had more than 82 attendees at its seminars and has helped secure more than $594,000 in funding for clients. For more information on programs and services offered to small business owners and individuals planning to start a new business, contact Donna Holmes at the Penn State Small Business Development Center, phone (814) 863-4293: E-mail: dah17@psu.edu. | |||||
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