San Diego's Best Business Resource

SAN DIEGO’S

BEST BUSINESS RESOURCE

In 2018 the San Diego and Imperial Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network Helped Local BusinessOwners Increase Sales by almost $44 Million

Being an entrepreneur or a business owner can be daunting. “How do I start my business?” “Why do I need a business plan?” “Should I incorporate or not?”” How do I raise working capital?” “Is my business profitable?” “How do I get more customers?” “Will I make payroll? “How can I get a government contract?” “Do I need to hire employees?” “How do I expand and export?” “Should I franchise?” “How do I sell online?” “Is my marketing working?” These are just a few of the questions that keep business owners up at night.

They find answers to these and many more questions concerning how to start, manage and grow a business at the Small Business Development Centers. That’s where I went to start my marketing company over ten years ago and I am still there. The SBDCs were created over 40 years ago as a partnership between the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the education community to provide business owners with training and counseling/mentorship that would create a positive economic impact including creating jobs, increased revenue and capital infusion. SBDC’s provide one-onone business advising and most training workshops at no cost to small business owners.

The SBDC’s are San Diego’s “Best Business Resource”, The SBDC’s trainings and customized one-on-one business advising and mentorship are very beneficial for anyone starting or expanding a small business as I learned on the road to business ownership. There are over 1,000 SBDCs nationally and internationally and four local SBDC’s within the San Diego and Imperial Network.

“We couldn’t have made our 24-7 Postal Service happen without the entire SBDC team working on our behalf. They changed our life,” according to local entrepreneurs

Omin & Adriana Zarafe. They utilized the SBDC’s services to obtain capital, start their business and create two new jobs.

“The SBDC Entrepreneurship Academy provides guidance on starting a new business properly. It is a day and a half long “boot camp” on what it takes to start and run a business. Graduates then have the opportunity to work with an SBDC business advisor to develop a business plan, set up the organization and start the business,” explains Sudershan Shaunak, an experienced entrepreneur and Director of the North San Diego, SBDC hosted by MiraCosta College at the Carlsbad campus.

“Our goal at the SBDC is to provide assistance, information and resources to help businesses grow profitably. We work with businesses in many different industries and stages of their business,” continues Shaunak.

“The SBDC helped us obtain a significant contract with Camp Pendleton. They put our company on an

entirely different path. Their advisors were extremelyknowledgeable and they along with the workshops weattended helped us increase our sales $3.85M, obtain$108,000 in contracts and $10,000 in capital,” says,Decarlos Daniel, CEO, MD Commercial Cleaning basedin Fallbrook California.

Being a client of the SBDC provides access to a team of needed experts and resources with no cost to you. As a business owner it gives me a peace of mind knowing the SBDC is in my corner and only an e-mail away.

In 2018, the San Diego and Imperial Network helped over 2,800 small business owners create 144 new businesses and 706 new jobs; obtain $38 Million in capital infusion and $100 Million in contracts as well as increasing revenues almost $44M. The North San Diego SBDC is only a click or phone call away- visit us at www. sandiegosmallbiz.com to register for workshops; or call 760 795-8740 to schedule a one-on-one meeting with a business advisor.

Lynn Pittman is a small business owner and the marketing and outreach specialist for the San Diego and Imperial SBDC Network.