SBDC Goes Above and Beyond to Help

Competition in any kind of business is a given, the driving force of capitalism. But competition among developers of businesses, namely the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), can be just as keen – especially when it gets down to comparing records of success.

Luis Urbina, director of the SBDC offices at Rio Grande College, which operates as a kind of nurturing and guidance center for entrepreneurs, spares no bones when he proudly compares his statistics with other SBDCs around Texas.

Half way through this year, Urbina and his staff of four business counselors had helped a higher percentage of new businesses get started or enlarged than nearly all of the other nine SBDC’s in their region, a territory stretching from El Paso to Houston and the Lower Rio Grande Valley.  Moreover, the estimated economic impact of these businesses and jobs – the infusion of cash into communities – was over $4 million, more than double the goal set by Urbina and his staff.

“They say the dollar invested gets turned over seven times,” quotes Urbina. “So that $4 million multiplies to an overall economic impact of about $28 million.”

Serving a population of only about 176,000 in nine counties, Rio Grande College’s SBDC is the second smallest in its half of the state. Yet the number of jobs created and retained as a result of its services ranks just below the numbers set SBDCs attached to universities in areas with a population base of at least one million, including the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Small Business Development Centers, funded by the federal Small Business Administration, the individual states and usually are hosted by institutions of higher learning. This relationship is based on the concept that colleges and universities have responsibilities to extend educational opportunities to the community as well as to enrolled students.

Each SBDC provides special educational services. For instance, the SBDC at Texas A&M puts on workshops for publically-elected officials, trains firefighters and police, and coordinates a variety of programs for farmers and ranchers.  At Rio Grande College, the SBDC also stages annual government workshops, but it is more solidly focused on helping businesses start, expand and succeed.  Seminars in business tax procedures, federal government contracting opportunities, self-employment, business finance management, food handling, computer accounting programs, and a host of web site courses are offered during the year by SBDC at the three Rio Grande College campuses.

According to estimates by the Texas State Comptroller, every dollar put into an SBDC budget for training or for our hands-on help with business enterprises grows to be worth about $13.86 in economic benefits to the community.

When an aspiring business owner walks into a local SBDC office, the cadence becomes a methodical step-by-step process that can go from applying for operational permits to the ground-breaking ceremony and beyond.  It’s that first step —the permitting and licensing phase, that  clients often underestimate, says Urbina.

“Why, a single convenience story may be required to get as many as 40 different documents from local, state and federal agencies,”  he claims.  “You sell fish, you need a license. You sell hot dogs, beer or tobacco, get permits.”

After documents are in order, the fun begins. Urbina’s crew (Cynthia Gutierrez, Maria Martinez, Lisa McCann and Elizabeth Peña) assists in writing business plans and pointing the way to sources of capital.  For startup and existing business owners, the SBDC staff also helps design accounting procedures. They cover cost management, how to restructure debt and plan for taxes. If there are marketing goals or ambitions for international trade connections, the SBDC team is there to help dreams become reality. Need opinions about business locations? Bring the street maps and discuss the options.  Want better ways to handle inventories or keep financial records. Expert advice is close at hand.

“And it’s all absolutely free,” says Urbina, a seasoned local businessman, accountant and onetime chief financial officer for the City of Eagle Pass.  He now is as satisfied to count his successes with SBDC clients as he once was to chalk up the results of his personal business ventures.

“We now grade SBDCs by the quality of time we spend with clients – not the quantity of clients that we serve,” he emphasizes.

Translated, that’s what SBDC calls the “extended engagement client” --consultation services of from five to more than 20 hours that have pushed Urbina’s ratings to the top.

By the end of April, the Center had provided counseling and training to more than 520 clients, amounting to some 3,650 hours of service – professional (and personal) attention that put Urbina’s little district among the top –performing SBDC’s in the southern half of Texas.

Dozens of business work shops are held at Rio Grande College campuses by SBDC.