November 15, 2005
By Christine Gillette
Staff writer

SBDC gives away advice to entrepreneurs

Massachusetts' Small Business Development Center Network, like its counterparts across the country, provides free advice and training to new and seasoned entrepreneurs.

Through workshops and one-on-one counseling, SBDC counselors teach small-business owners how to write or improve business plans, go after financing, market their products and services, and understand their finances. All of the confidential advice is free.

 "We are part of a nationwide program," said Georgianna Parkin, state director for the Massachusetts SBDC. Parkin's office is technically located at the University of Massachusetts' Amherst campus, but more often than not, she's crisscrossing the state to visit regional offices, including the Salem center, which serves 35 Essex County communities from Amesbury and Andover to Gloucester and Peabody.

The Salem office is one of several satellite centers around Massachusetts. Including sites in major cities like Worcester and Boston, the centers are located so that entrepreneurs don't need to drive more than 30 minutes to reach one, according to Parkin.

 In addition to working with entrepreneurs on general business skills and issues, the SBDC also provides help to small businesses that want to expand into exporting products and services, through the Massachusetts Export Assistance Center in Boston, and providing them to the federal government at the Procurement Technical Assistance Center in Amherst.

Like all states, Massachusetts' SBDC receives $500,000 through the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide services. But based on population, Massachusetts receives additional funding, including state matching funds, for a total of about $1.76 million, the most of any New England state, said Parkin, who has headed the statewide SBDC for six years. For every $1 that Massachusetts invests in the SBDC, $9.20 is generated in tax revenue.

All of the centers, like that at Salem State, are located at colleges and universities.

"The reason this program was set up with the educational institutions goes back to the SBDC philosophy," said Parkin. "We're not consultants; we're educators and mentors.

"About 1,500 businesses statewide enlisted the help of the SBDC last year. Fifty-eight percent had sales of less than $250,000, and while the state definition of "small business" is 100 employees or less, 76 percent of the ventures that sought out the SBDC had 20 or fewer employees, and 27 percent of those were operated by a single person. "That means there are a lot of businesses out there that are sole proprietors," said Parkin.

She attributes that to people being more willing to take the plunge into starting their own businesses, and that technology like the Internet is making that easier. Also, she said, people are pursuing their talents, including creative pursuits like art, writing and photography. That means business training needs to address the changing climate.

"In the past, the tendency (of economic development) has always been to go after the big companies," she said.

The SBDC works with partners like the Enterprise Center at Salem State to assist small businesses.

"No one entity can ever do anything (completely). You have to rely on the experience of partners to get something done," Parkin said. "That's how we're going to help small businesses succeed."