Workforce Innovations: CONNECT! Partner Ð Silicon Valley SBDC

CONNECT! Partner

Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Helping Small Business Grow and Prosper

See article on local SBDC client

It's not a loud boom or a history-making bubble, but there's an upswing in small business activity in Silicon Valley. As residents were sifting through the rubble of the dot-com bust, businesses with fewer than 20 employees grew from 39,653 in 2000 to 43,154 in 2003. In contrast, the number of firms employing more than 500 employees fell by nearly a third in this same three-year span.

Starting a new business is risky, though, and in these cautious times, venture capital is not readily available. That's where the Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC) stands ready to help. By supporting the growth of small business, the center supports the economy of the valley, ensures more jobs for local residents, and most importantly, puts companies on solid footing for sustained growth and success.

Located on the first floor of the modern, multi-story Entrepreneur Center at Market and West Santa Clara in San Jose, the SBDC has learned that time constraints keep many small-business owners from coming downtown to attend training. To remedy this, the SBDC has implemented an outreach program to provide seminars in local libraries and at Employment Development Department offices throughout the region, as well as at SBDC headquarters in downtown San Jose.

These low-cost, comprehensive training sessions focus on all aspects of business development, from formulating a business plan and finding interim financing to creating a marketing strategy. The SBDC also provides free one-on-one counseling, information resources, networking opportunities, and workshops in Spanish and Vietnamese. A new class is planned for this summer focusing on how to do business on e-Bay.

When a small business owner first approaches the SBDC for assistance, a SBDC counselor will review the respective business as a whole and identify the owner's current needs – development of a business plan or marketing strategy, or perhaps assistance with accounting or human resources issues. It is the rare entrepreneur who has sufficient expertise in these diverse fields to succeed at all levels. Following the initial assessment, the SBDC will assign counselors with knowledge in the identified need areas to work with the business owner in moving the company forward. According to Silicon Valley SBDC Director Bill Singh, "My message to small business owners is this: Stick to your core competency, whether it be as a Web designer, baker, or retailer. If you try to do your own financial planning or marketing strategy, then somewhere you're leaving money on the table."

With the help of the SBDC a company can move ahead farther and faster unimpeded by the high cost of consultants. Rani Ranjan, CEO of Construction Navigator, says her SBDC counselor helped her company become profitable sooner than she thought possible; now in her fourth year of business, she expects to be in the black more than a year ahead of schedule. (See story.)

The Silicon Valley SBDC works with small-business owners throughout Santa Clara County and Southern San Mateo County, and in 2004, more than 500 businesses received assistance from the organization. "We emphasize quality in all aspects of our service," says Singh. "We consistently score over 4.5 [of a possible 5] on our exit surveys for our one-on-one counseling and seminars."

The Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center is sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the California Community College Economic & Workforce Development Initiative, and the West Valley–Mission Community College District. The SBDC is a partner, along with NOVA, in Connect!, a collaboration of organizations offering workforce development services to businesses and job seekers in Silicon Valley.

For more information about SBDC, visit their Web site at www.siliconvalley-sbdc.org or e-mail Director Bill Singh at bsingh@siliconvalley-sbdc.org. The Center is located at 84 West Santa Clara Street, Suite 100, in San Jose.

CONNECT! Partner

Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Helping Small Business Grow and Prosper

See article on local SBDC client

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