NIC
Idaho Small
Business Development
Center: Helping your
business succeed
By LUCY DUKES
NIB writer
COEUR d’ALENE – Cedar Mountain Tilemakers owner Jared Lyda’s
interaction with the North Idaho College Small Business Development Center
helped him grow his Hayden-based business into Montana and central and southern
Idaho, as well as land regional distribution doubling the number of showrooms
representing him.
Lyda said the expertise he tapped through entrepreneurial
classes and free business coaching was “priceless.”
“Literally, they don’t charge and it’s priceless,” he said.
Cedar Mountain Tilemakers is one of about 230 businesses
per year that the North
Idaho College
Small Business
Development Center
assisted over past year.
In 2007, the SBDC helped create 163 new jobs and save 53 of
them, said center director and entrepreneur’s coach Bill Jhung. About 75
percent of the work is with existing businesses and 25 percent with new
businesses. The businesses that receive the assistance grow 700 percent to 1,000
percent faster than average.
The center, one of six in Idaho,
is an investment in the community by North
Idaho College,
the state of Idaho
and the U.S. Small Business Administration, funded with $148,000 from these
organizations. The SBDC has been a part of North Idaho
for 17 years, and in the stat for 21 years.
“Our mission is to help businesses thrive and grow,” Jhung
said.
Small businesses are vital to the economy. Corporate
American has lost 1 million jobs over the last 10 years, but the economy added
1.3 million. These jobs came from small businesses.
Yet success does not come easy. Eighty percent of businesses
fail within the first five years.
“If we can get these businesses from failing to succeeding,
they’re the economic engine of our community,” Jhung said.
Most people open businesses because they’re passionate about
something. But they run into other challenges – such as marketing, sales,
managing and hiring people.
The center uses three strategies to help business succeed:
Coaching, workshops and resources.
For coaching the eight SBDC coaches “come along-side”
business owners to help them in areas in which they might not have expertise.
The coaches offer extensive expertise in manufacturing, service, retail and
distribution industries.
“The criteria is that they really have had responsibility
growing a business and have all had experience in small business,” Jhung said.
Workshops are another strategy. The SBDC offers 65 of them
throughout the year on topics such as customer service, management and cash
flow. The approach is “learn today, use it tomorrow,” Jhun said.
“Our approach is very practical because entrepreneurs are
very busy,” he said.
A new offering is a nine-month leadership program with
teaching and coaching sessions. It will be offered January to June and then
September to November. The program is on a three-year track, with the first
year concentrating on fundamental skills sets, and then more advanced skills in
coming years.
The third strategy is providing resources. As a part of
national and statewide organizations, the SBDC serves as a hub for information
and knowledge.
“If you don’t know who to ask, we’ll be happy to answer
questions,” Jhung said.
And if the center doesn’t have immediate answers, t will
track down the resources to provide information.
The North Idaho program is very highly regarded, said Rodney
Grzadzieleski, lead business development specialist with the Idaho Small
Business Development
Center.
Small business owners have to solve their own problems, but
the free coaching helps them look at their option and steer them on the right
path. Those experiencing challenges should call in immediately, he said.
“Do not wait, Do not hesitate. Now is the time to fix any
problem that they may be experiencing,” Grzadzieleski said.
Bullet Tools is one business that did not wait. The Hayden
manufacturer makes devices used in flooring installation and construction. The
business began with Dalen Gunn’s invention of the Skimmer, a tool designed to
repair defective tongue or groove on wood or laminate flooring panels. It grew
to include other revolutionary inventions. Now the company is worth $2 million
per year and is anticipated two years from now to reach $5 million. Half the
products it manufactures – using mostly locally-produced components – are
shipped overseas. This year, Bullet tools was nominated for Idaho Small
Business of the Year.
Bullet owners Mary, Dalen and Brian Gunn and Ben Toews
initially connected with the SBDC to write the company’s business plan in 2001,
and then again in 2006, when after a period of phenomenal growth the company
ran into trouble.
The principals tool entrepreneurial training and other
classes, and worked with coaches.
As a result they expanded distribution, changed the
management style into cross-functional teams, learned to appreciate what each
other brought to business, and retooled in other ways.
“There was just so many good things that we learned during
that time,” Mary Gunn said.