Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) help thousands of business owners grow their business – all for free.
The SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide free consulting services to small business owners. With the funds received from the SBA and other partners, SBDC hires consultants who in turn meet with small business owners and advise them in a variety of areas including the following: Sales, Marketing, Social Media, Operations, Strategic Planning, Website Building, Loan Application Assistance, Venture Capital Funding, International Trade, Human resources, etc.
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The Results of SBDC:
SBDC helps clients start new businesses and grow their existing businesses. The California SBDC program helps tens of thousands of small business owners per year. Here are some results they were able to achieve in 2009:
- Over 57,000 small business owners trained and consulted in 2009
- Over 3,900 business training workshops conducted
- 1 in every 14 clients helped to create a new business
- 1 in every 3 clients helped to create a new job
- Over $125 million in loans and equity facilitated by SBDC Business Advisors for clients in 2009. That’s an additional $14,321 per hour generated for our economy.
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SBDC now needs help securing the funding they need to sustain and grow their program and help small businesses succeed in this economy.
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The Funding Issue:
The SBDC is a national program that in other states receives millions of dollars in state funding.
However, the SBDC program in California receives ZERO DOLLARS from our state. ZERO. The SBA only allows the SBDC program to spend the federal dollars allocated to SBDC, IF SBDC is able to raise dollar-for-dollar matching funds. In other words, if they want to spend $1,they need to raise $1 first.
As you can imagine, this has been incredibly challenging in these economic times. Last year, California had to return millions of dollars to the federal government because CA SBDC could not raise the matching funds. Small businesses in California, and therefore, our state economy, suffered greatly because of this.
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The Opportunity:
Assistance to Small Businesses is not a Democrat or Republican issue and has an unbelievable impact on our economy.
The Speaker of the Assembly, John Perez, has been working very hard to determine ways to help spur the economy. Small businesses are known to be a catalyst of any economic development plan. The SBDC program is the leader in helping small businesses grow, so the Speaker through various committees and task forces has helped to craft a $300 million small business job creation package.
The SBDC program stands to gain $6 million of this funding, which would prevent SBDC from having to send any federal dollars back to Washington, and keep them in California, which essentially would double the investment of California into the SBDC program.
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The Investment Payback:
WITH A $6 MILLION INVESTMENT IN THE CA SBDC . . . THE STATE GETS AN ADDITIONAL $12 MILLION IN LEVERAGE
(1) COST TO THE STATE TO CREATE/RETAIN 1 JOB: $ 806.54
(2) COST TO THE STATE TO CREATE 1 NEW BUSINESS: $3,680.17
(3) EVERY $1.00 in STATE FUNDING + LEVERAGE GENERATES $ 26.21 IN NEW TAXABLE REVENUE
(4) EVERY $1.00 in STATE FUNDING + LEVERAGE GENERATES $ 27.78 IN NEW CAPITAL INFUSION
(Loans & Equity Capital)
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To Obtain Funds that have a Multiplier effect & Significant Positive Impact on our Southern California Economy, YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!
- The CA SBDC is hoping to get 1,000 letters faxed to legislative members of the California State Senate and Assembly IMMEDIATELY.
- I am asking you to help me by submitting at least one letter. In turn, you will be helping nearly 60,000 small business owners per year.
- They can be sent to both Democrats and Republicans, but the focus is to send to Republicans since SBDC seems to have existing support from the Democratic side.
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Here is what I am asking you to do:
- Email James Alva, Associate Regional Director (jalva@lbcc.edu) and his assistant Richard Coronado (rcoronado@Lbcc.edu ) to confirm your willingness to fax a letter.
- Let them know if you would like to send to specific state Senators or Assembly Members. If not, they will help select ones for you based on where you live/work.
- Sample letters are attached for you. Please email James A. & Richard C. a copy of a letter that you send in as they need to track them. If you need to find out whom your state legislators are, please visit this website: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
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Optional Action Items:
- If you have specific personal contacts with either senate or assembly, and would like to contact them on SBDC’s behalf, please let them know but please do so.
- Let them know if James Alva & Richard Coronado can add your name/organization to their list of CA SBDC supporters.
- Existing supporters include the following: California Chamber of Commerce, California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, etc.
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ATTACHMENTS:
CLICK HERE FOR: “CA SBDC State Historical Impact 2010”
CLICK HERE FOR: ” CA Speaker of Assembly, John Perez – Jobs Press Release”
CLICK HERE FOR: “SBDC Sample Letter – INDIVIDUAL”
CLICK HERE FOR: “SBDC Sample Letter – PARTNERS”
CLICK HERE FOR: “SBDC Sample Letter – GENERAL ORGANIZATIONS”
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Thank you so much for your support of Small Business – the Jobs Creation Engine of CA and the US!!!
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posted by Francisco “Paco” Barragan
Business Leader / Community Volunteer
barraganfj@gmail.com
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