Center offering business basics to return
By Dave Dreeszen Journal business editor | Posted: Sunday, May 27, 2007
State and local officials are moving quickly to reestablish an Iowa Small Business Development Center in Sioux City.
The SBDC, an arm of Iowa State University's College of Business, is in the process of finalizing an agreement to base the center at Western Iowa Tech Community College, Lars Peterson, acting director of the SBDC, said.
"After we have everything finalized, we plan to start a search for a director this summer,'' Peterson said in an interview last week. "It's on the fast track. We're making this a priority.''
Sioux City's previous Small Business Development Center at Western Iowa Tech was among several full-time centers that closed four years after the SDBC budget was cut by about 50 percent. The Sioux City center was put on that list after its director left.
The state Legislature this year approved an additional $250,000 in funding for the SBDC, and directed the agency to use a portion to reopen centers in the order that they had closed.
Sioux City's metro area currently is the largest in Iowa without a SBDC. Of the 13 other offices, the next closest are in Council Bluffs and Spencer, Iowa. The latter serves a large territory in Northwest Iowa.
Sen. Steve Warnstad, D-Sioux City, was a key supporter of the added SBDC funding, contained in a budget bill awaiting Gov. Chet Culver's signature. Warnstad said a reopened center should help Sioux City develop more start-up businesses as it competes for jobs with neighboring South Dakota and Nebraska.
"We have a greater justification for help in establishing small businesses than anywhere else in the state, given our competitive climate,'' Warnstad said.
Warnstad said he regularly hears from constituents who aren't exactly sure what they need to do to start a business.
"There are lots of people who have great ideas, but don't know how to turn those ideas into reality,'' Warnstad said.
Small Business Development Centers, he said, can guide entrepreneurs through each step of the process, from developing a business plan to marketing their product or service.
The SBDC, the only nationally accredited entrepreneurial development program in Iowa, conducts training, research and counseling and provides access to experts in a variety of fields. The U.S. Small Business Administration provides assistance to the SBDC centers through cooperative agreements.
The centers also collaborate with local and regional entities, like Western Iowa Tech Community College.
"We're looking forward to having the SBDC office back here in Sioux City,'' said Martin Reimer, dean of Western Iowa Tech's Corporate College. "It's very important for our economic growth that we focus on small businesses.''
Though details are not finalized, Reimer said the SBDC office will be located in the campus' main building next to its Edecen, a new college initiative that seeks to boost Siouxland's economic development through an innovative blend of information technology.
The SBDC, an arm of Iowa State University's College of Business, is in the process of finalizing an agreement to base the center at Western Iowa Tech Community College, Lars Peterson, acting director of the SBDC, said.
"After we have everything finalized, we plan to start a search for a director this summer,'' Peterson said in an interview last week. "It's on the fast track. We're making this a priority.''
Sioux City's previous Small Business Development Center at Western Iowa Tech was among several full-time centers that closed four years after the SDBC budget was cut by about 50 percent. The Sioux City center was put on that list after its director left.
The state Legislature this year approved an additional $250,000 in funding for the SBDC, and directed the agency to use a portion to reopen centers in the order that they had closed.
Sioux City's metro area currently is the largest in Iowa without a SBDC. Of the 13 other offices, the next closest are in Council Bluffs and Spencer, Iowa. The latter serves a large territory in Northwest Iowa.
Sen. Steve Warnstad, D-Sioux City, was a key supporter of the added SBDC funding, contained in a budget bill awaiting Gov. Chet Culver's signature. Warnstad said a reopened center should help Sioux City develop more start-up businesses as it competes for jobs with neighboring South Dakota and Nebraska.
"We have a greater justification for help in establishing small businesses than anywhere else in the state, given our competitive climate,'' Warnstad said.
Warnstad said he regularly hears from constituents who aren't exactly sure what they need to do to start a business.
"There are lots of people who have great ideas, but don't know how to turn those ideas into reality,'' Warnstad said.
Small Business Development Centers, he said, can guide entrepreneurs through each step of the process, from developing a business plan to marketing their product or service.
The SBDC, the only nationally accredited entrepreneurial development program in Iowa, conducts training, research and counseling and provides access to experts in a variety of fields. The U.S. Small Business Administration provides assistance to the SBDC centers through cooperative agreements.
The centers also collaborate with local and regional entities, like Western Iowa Tech Community College.
"We're looking forward to having the SBDC office back here in Sioux City,'' said Martin Reimer, dean of Western Iowa Tech's Corporate College. "It's very important for our economic growth that we focus on small businesses.''
Though details are not finalized, Reimer said the SBDC office will be located in the campus' main building next to its Edecen, a new college initiative that seeks to boost Siouxland's economic development through an innovative blend of information technology.
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