Business Advocate of the Year: Missouri State University Small Business and Technology Development Center

Since its establishment in 1982, the Missouri State University Small Business and Technology Development Center has provided resources, advocacy and guidance to thousands of small-business owners.

Serving a 16-county region in southwest Missouri, the center recently expanded its role by continuing growth of the entrepreneurial support system as part of The eFactory at IDEA Commons, a business incubation program which launched this year in the Robert W. Plaster Center for Free Enterprise and Business Development as a joint venture between MSU, the SBTDC and Springfield Innovation Inc.

Director Rayanna Anderson says it’s SBTDC’s job to be the voice of small businesses.

“We are only as successful as our clients,” she says, noting SBTDC clients have racked up some large successes over the years.

For fiscal 2008 through fiscal 2012, the center assisted area businesses in retaining nearly 3,370 jobs and creating more than 1,870 jobs. Working closely with the U.S. Small Business Administration and local commercial lenders to assist business owners in obtaining financing, the center facilitated more than $65 million in approved loans and equity.

Anderson says the SBTDC has a focus on loans and equity investments, business education and job creation, noting small businesses play a key role in Missouri’s overall economic health.

A recent study conducted by the Kauffman Foundation found, on average, for all but seven years between 1977 and 2005, existing firms were net job destroyers, losing 1 million jobs combined per year. In contrast, in their first year, new firms add an average of 3 million jobs nationally.

“The SBTDC advocates for jobs programs, partners with state and local organizations such as Missouri  Career Center and helps business owners develop business processes and execute employment growth plans,” Anderson says.

Currently servicing about 200 clients, Anderson says the center has offered more than 420 educational training seminars with a total of nearly 3,400 business attendees since 2008. In addition, the center has provided one-on-one instruction to more than 650 business owners and managers.

“Small-business owners are wonderful people, very interesting people, and they always know their product, but they don’t always know business,” she says. “That’s where our programs come in. We can coach them in the financial market and other areas they need help.”

Anderson says the center offers low-cost financial analysis tools and economic marketing assessments in addition to other educational training programs, mentorship and coaching.

The SBTDC’s role as an advocate doesn’t stop at the front door. The center maintains strong relationships with area legislators, helping educate them on the importance of small businesses to the health of the local and state economies.

“The reality is that small businesses are not as small as you might think,” Anderson says, noting a small business is defined as having 1 to 200 employees. “In fact, 95 percent of southwest Missouri businesses could be called small. That’s a lot of people and a lot of livelihoods our area legislators should be aware of.”

The SBTDC also celebrates the success of its clients, nominating them for area, regional and national business awards.

“Last year, JMark Business Solutions Inc. was named the SBA’s statewide business of the year,” she says. “We help them succeed and we help them celebrate. People are often reluctant to pat themselves on the back, but we’re here to help them with that too.”[[In-content Ad]]