Business Management Veteran Offers Suggestions for Survival in Stormy Economy

Small business and technology advisor Barry White (not the singer), who wrote the following article, brought nearly three decades of business management experience to his current post as director of the SBTDC at Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla. He spent 25 years in retail management with the Army-Air Force Exchange Service at military bases from Minot, N.D. to the Philippines.

Here, White offers a bit of advice to small business owners and operators to help them weather the current storms buffeting the local, national and world economies.

Click here to read more...

Online Request for SBDC Counseling

Sign up for our AWC SBDC Email Newsletter






For Email Marketing you can trust

How to Raise Money to Grow in Current Climate

Q: I own a heating and air-conditioning company that has grown to a roughly $6 million-a-year business in just a few years. I feel there is a real opportunity in today's slow economy to purchase a direct competitor. I would like to raise money through equity or debt to do this. But I understand that most of the private-equity or venture firms are looking mostly to invest in tech or biotech. How can a business like mine raise money? -- C.S., Vero Beach, Fla.

A: You're right that there are opportunities now to scoop up businesses at attractive prices. But you don't want to compromise your current successful operation by overleveraging yourself. We don't know whether today's economic downturn will last one year, three years or even longer, but you should prepare for the worst.

Click here to read more...

Online Request for SBDC Counseling

Sign up for our AWC SBDC Email Newsletter






For Email Marketing you can trust

In a Down Economy, Trading Is Up

Small Business Export Numbers Offer a Bright Spot in Troubled Times

PHILADELPHIA – A favorable market for US exports proved to be a highlight of an otherwise tumultuous year for small businesses. The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) report client overseas sales increased over 100 percent in 2008, representing a $52 million boost.

With the domestic sales falling and the dollar dropping in value against other currencies, business owners sought to diversify their customer base and plumb markets abroad. Many, however, had no experience with international trade.

The US Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy notes small firms have “room for growth” when it comes to exporting. In the 2008 edition of The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President, Chief Economist Chad Moutray writes, “Small businesses have often ignored the international marketplace because they could. In a globalized economy, more and more small firms will need to consider export opportunities as an important key to survival and growth.”

Click here to read more...

Online Request for SBDC Counseling

Sign up for our AWC SBDC Email Newsletter







For Email Marketing you can trust

Report Shows SBDC Clients Create Jobs, Start Businesses and Grow the Economy

America's Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) helped in-depth* clients create an estimated 73,377 new jobs; save 93,449 jobs; start 12,763 businesses; obtain $3.3 billion in financing; and increase sales by $7.2 billion in 2007. These are some of the findings of a report on the economic impact of the nationwide SBDC network.  The report also finds that:    - Small businesses that benefited from in-depth SBDC assistance experienced more than 17 times the job growth of average businesses (14% compared to 0.8% for U.S. busineses in general) between 2006 and 2007. - More than 54% of all pre-venture SBDC in-depth clients started a business after receiving SBDC business consulting services between 2006 and 2007.     - Every $1 spent on the SBDC network enabled small busineses to access $16.77 in new capital.     - Small businesses that benefitted from in-depth SBDC assistance experienced sales growth of 20.2% between 2006 and 2007 -- compared to 5.2% for U.S. businesses in general.      - SBDC in-depth clients generated an estimated $2.86 in Federal and state tax revenues, as a result of economic growth, for each $1 spent on the SBDC program. In other words, the SBDC program generates more revenue from economic growth than it costs to run the SBDC program.    The SBDCs are a partnership that includes Congress, SBA, the private sector, and the colleges, universities and state governments that manage SBDCs across the nation.     America's SBDCs provide management and technical assistance to more than 1.2 million small business owners and aspring entrepreneurs each year. Small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs can go their local SBDCs for free, face-to-face business consulting and at-cost training on writing business plans, accessing capital, marketing, regulatory compliance, international trade and more.    About the Report: The report on the economic impact of the nationwide SBDC network is based on a survey of 55,464 SBDC clients who received five hours or more of SBDC consulting services in 2006. The report measures the results of those services during the following year. The report, commissioned by the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC), is written by Professor James J. Chrisman of Mississppi State University. To read the complete report, click here.  _____________ * In-depth clients are those who receive five hours or more of SBDC business consulting services in a year. Source: SBDC Update, published by the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) in February 2009.