SBDC bringing business boot camps to Southeast Missouri sites

A new collaboration aims to bring a series of Early Stage Business Boot-Camps to Southeast Missouri, providing resources to new business owners and those thinking about starting one of their own.

Jakob Pallesen, director of Missouri Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Southeast Missouri State University, said the workshops are designed to help entrepreneurs launch their businesses and develop viable business models. He said they offer practical, hands-on approaches to new and prospective business owners, necessitating the length of the program.

“There’s a lot that’s covered. We dive into best practices, real life examples, we bring in guest speakers from different areas … to provide that expert advice along with the developed curriculum,” he said.

Pallesen will be one of the SBDC personnel teaching the classes. He said he knows it can be daunting to search for prospective business owners to find resources to help them, which is why the workshops help them make connections.

“We know that there’s a lot of value when you bring individuals together who are all in a similar boat,” he said.

James Stapleton, cofounder of Codefi, led the way to finance the endeavor. More than a year ago, Stapleton’s startup philanthropy group Innovate SOMO received a $2 million grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development with two primary components: supporting technological entrepreneurship programs directly and providing more resources for small businesses aided by SBDCs across Southern Missouri.

The workshop curriculum was developed by the Missouri SBDC at Missouri State University and was financed by Innovate SOMO, led by Codefi and efactory at Missouri State.

Each workshop features a different lesson. The topic areas covered include finding and communicating with customers, building business credit, mitigating risk and tax planning.

The Cape Girardeau sessions will last eight Tuesdays, from Aug. 27 to Oct. 15, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, 220 N. Fountain St. The Sikeston workshops will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on two Fridays, Aug, 30 and Sept. 6, at Center Street Station, 104 E. Center St.

Stapleton said other business boot camp events, both in person and online, will take place across the lower 47 counties in the state, including in cities such as Farmington, Poplar Bluff and West Plains.

“Hundreds and hundreds of people will be participating in that program across Southern Missouri over the three-year time of that project,” he said.

Stapleton’s goal was to bring resources to people in locations where they might otherwise be uncommon or unavailable. Pallesen, for example, is the only SBDC consultant in a 15-county area.

“I’m sure you’re thinking that doesn’t sound very doable, and it’s not. It's a problem that several organizations in the area are trying to help solve, really to get more resources available who can serve more small-business owners or aspiring small-business owners,” Stapleton said.

There is no cost to join the workshops, though each session will take only around 25 people. Pallesen said those interested in attending them may email him at jpallesen@semo.edu or visit www.sbdc.missouri.edu/training.

Four other sessions in the Cape Girardeau area are being planned for the next two years.

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