According to the SBA website:
“Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are partnerships between the government and colleges/universities administered by the Small Business Administration and aims at giving educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.”
If you are a business owner and you have not worked with the SBDC in the past, then 2012 is your year. There are 5 key reasons that you need to develop a relationship with your local SBDC.
- It’s Free - When it comes to the service that SBDCs provide you just can’t beat their price. It is free to work with SBDC counselors because your tax dollars have already paid the cost. Usually the saying, “You get what you pay for” has a lot of truth to it, but when it comes to the SBDC the saying just doesn’t hold true. Most of the SBDC staff that I have met in the past are experienced business owners who exited their business, and now want to give back by helping other small business owners succeed.
- Bankers Love SBDC - If you are looking to secure a loan, or may need a loan in the future, working with your local SBDC is going to score you some major brownie points with the bank. Bankers like to take referrals from the SBDC because they know if the business owner is smart enough to work with an SBDC counselor, they are probably committed to the success of their business, and to the full repayment of a loan. The SBDC has a number of resources, and the know-how to help you put together a strong loan application that will impress your banker.
- Market Research - SBDC has access to some very powerful market research tools. For example the Indiana SBDC states on their website, ”The ISBDC has access to many nationally recognized market research databases. ISBDC Business Advisors can help you use these tools to locate accurate and relevant industry information. Find the information you need to know about your industry; including market trends, best practices, current conditions, industry leaders, and future industry-specific technology.”
- Accountability - When you develop a plan to grow your business who keeps you accountable? When you are the owner, sometimes it is easy to let goals and deadlines that you set for yourself slip by. One of the largest benefits of working with SBDC is a partner in your business who will keep you accountable. Your SBDC counselor is going to help you do things like get your books in order, keep you focused on your customer, and help you develop a board of directors. These are the tough things that you need to focus on now for the long term health of your business.
- No Ulterior Motives - When you work with private small business advisors and consultants, you never know if they have ulterior motives when providing advice. Are they really on your team, doing what is best for you? Or are they mostly concerned with growing their own consulting business? SBDC counselors are not paid more or less if you are successful, so there is little room for them to have ill motives when providing advice.
Look, if you are serious about growing your business in 2012, then check out the team and the resources at your local Small Business Development Center. The relationships, advice, and networking opportunities that you will have when working with a SBDC counselor may be exactly what you need to take your business to the next level this year.
About the Author: Adam Hoeksema is the Founder of ExecutivePlan which helps entrepreneurs write powerful business plan executive summaries in order to raise capital. Adam is also the author of the ebook – How to Write a Powerful Executive Summary which is now available on Amazon.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for writing this article in support of the Small Business Development Centers around the United States. Our SBDC at Florida Gulf Coast University would like to post your article on our website and possibly newsletter and would like to request your permission.
Sincerely,
Trish Leonard
Marketing Director
239.745.3706
tleonard@fgcu.edu
Absolutely! Please do share the article as you see fit. Thanks!
Is it possible to send along to local newspapers? This is a great article to share with our communities. Thank you for supporting the SBDC.
Brooke James
Business Advisor
SUNY Canton SBDC, NY
Absolutely! Please do send along the article to your local newspapers. Thanks!
Thanks for this article …. and we have definitely shared it today! You are correct in saying that there are no ulterior motives at SBDC centers. We do what we do strictly for love of the small business concept and the innovative entrepreneurs who walk through our doors looking for help. As in most things in life, no one can do it all. While an entrepreneur may have a fantastic idea for a business (or a business expansion), and know exactly how they wish to implement those ideas, generally speaking they don’t know where to start to create a business plan, financial plan, or marketing plan. And that’s where we come in to help. Our reward is seeing them succeed, and knowing that we helped get them on that road to success.
Carol Daly, Consultant
Winthrop Region SBDC
Rock Hill, SC
Thanks for sharing Carol! I work at a business incubator, so I can really understand what you mean when you say that your reward is seeing your clients succeed.
Adam – As someone who’s been with the New York State SBDC since 1993, just wanted to say thanks. I especially echo your comments in #3 above. There are programs in the U.S. that have their own dedicated research departments to serve their clients. Ours is one of them. Feedback from our clients over the years cite that having access to research librarians saves them time, money (from having to buy the resources themselves), and provides insights into their markets that they hadn’t considered.
Darrin,
No problem. I was glad to write the article because it was all true. Thanks for serving since 1993!
When Small Business Development Centers stop using an acronym it will be a sign that they want to reach the external market.
Interesting thought. Small Business Development Center is a mouthful. Any better ideas for a name?
How about just: Business Development Center, since 98 percent of businesses are small
Thanks for posting the article on our FB page Adam!
Jessica Summers
Marketing Specialist
Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of South Florida
Jessica,
Business Development Center sounds good to me. Thanks for commenting and re-sharing the post too!
I wish the SBDC was more proactive. When I go to the library, I don’t have to book an appointment. I get the help I need at the moment. You can’t walk off the street & get help from the SBDC even if you’re a member. You’ve to book an appointment to speak to your consultant. If it’s your 1st time it’s even worse. You’ve to wait to be assigned to a consultant. It can take more than a week to discuss your needs with anyone even if your a member. In addition, there’s no follow up from the staff after they work with a business to see if they could assist them further or to find out if there were any glitches or hindrances in implementing the suggestions provided.
I’m a member of my local SBDC, I’m not aware that they have market research materials easily available to the public.
They may not have any ulterior motives and I wonder if they have enough motivation to help startups. I mention startups because it is easier to help a “small” successful businesses with loans etc than to work hard with someone who has interest but little knowledge or skills to run a business. There are contests to help successful businesses and high profile businesses instead of businesses that just need help. To win some of their contests, you’ve to win the popular vote. That puts a hard working mundane startup business with little contacts & no employees at a major disadvantage.
Finally, SBDC is a bit like a secret club. They don’t publicize their services. You don’t even see a big sign in front of their office to show where they’re a located. Many Americans are swindled by others who target business startups. This would be minimized if SBDC was more proactive in promoting their services & offering drop in services to the public. They can promote their services at career link, universities websites & career services links, job fairs etc to name a few. When they provide useful information to a business, I’m sure that business won’t mind having a signage at their office and on their website that says “I’m a proud member of SBDC” with a short phrase to further explain what SBDC is all about.
At the end of the day, accolades don’t matter as much as the level of impact on Americans. I wish SBDC growth and all the best in the coming years.
Janet thanks for your thoughts and comments on the article!
Very good discussion. Personally I’ve found the resources available via that route to be geared for people with little to no prior business experience. But I’m quite sure it varies greatly depending on the actual people you meet with and even the particular market. I didn’t find it unhelpful, just pretty 101. Maybe I wasn’t asking the right questions?
I think that can be true. It really depends on what consultant you get. Sometimes you can hit the jackpot with a very knowledgeable consultant. But you are right sometimes you might get only the basics.
Great article Adam. The University of Georgia SBDC in Savannah would like to share it on our Blog with your permission.
Absolutely! Please do!
May I share this on our website?
Great article!!
Mary Beth,
Absolutely! Please share as much as you would like.