UNIVERSITY OFFICE SPECIALIZES IN HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES

When Mike Cochran of Cape Girardeau started looking at how to improve his business, he turned to the Small Business Development Center for advice.

Cochran said the center at Southeast Missouri State University helped him plan for the future of his business. The company, Personnel Support, provides temporary employees for businesses.

Cochran said he started out in 1971 with a design drafting service, and later expanded his business to include temporary employment services.

Three years ago, Cochran said, he dropped the drafting service to devote full time to the temporary services operation. But he retained the name, Ram-Post Personnel Services.

On the advice of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) last fall, Cochran said, the name was changed to Personnel Support.

"Basically I was told that the name should say what you do," said Cochran.

He said many businessmen are probably unaware of the services provided by the development center. "The SBDC is the most underrated asset for the general business public," he maintained.

Businesses benefit from the Small Business Development Center, said Buz Sutherland, director of the center.

"In my opinion," he said, "every small business in our region could benefit at one time or another from the services offered by the Small Business Development Center."

Sutherland explained, "We work with both existing businesses and persons wanting to go into business."

Housed in a former bank building at 222 N. Pacific in Cape Girardeau, the center serves a nine-county area in Southeast Missouri, from Perry County south to the Arkansas line. The center serves Cape Girardeau, Perry, Bollinger, Scott, Stoddard, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot and Dunklin counties.

The center operates on an annual budget of about $110,000, with about half of the funding coming from the federal Small Business Administration, and the remainder coming from the university and banks, cities and utility companies in the region.

The center here opened March 1, 1986 in the Federal Building and was relocated to the Pacific Street address in October 1986.

Because of budgetary constraints at the university, the center closed in July 1989, but reopened in February 1990 with financial assistance from the private sector.

Although the center has been around for six years, Sutherland said many businessmen may not be aware of the center's services.

"I think that in the past the Small Business Development Center has been unfortunately one of the best kept secrets around," said Sutherland.

But he said the funding partnership in recent years with area banks, cities and utility companies has helped spread the word about the center's services.

"We are unique to the state of Missouri as far as our method of funding is concerned," Sutherland said.

But in these times of tight budgets, he said he expects more centers may seek help from the private sector as the Southeast center has done.

Nationwide, there are 700 SBDC centers. In Missouri, there are 18 centers, including the state office in Columbia.

"Many of the 700 and all of the 18 in Missouri are under the auspices of a community college or university," explained Sutherland.

With such an arrangement, the centers can make use of the expertise of university and college faculty, he said.

The centers provide confidential consulting work free of charge. Clients, however, are billed for computer time, such as that involved with patent and technical literature searches, and other additional costs, such as printing and mailing expenses.

"We do a number of patent searches and technical literature ~searches," said Sutherland, explaining that the patent searches are done through the center at the University of Missouri-Rolla with the Cape Girardeau center and the client footing the bill.

"The average patent search runs around $50," he said. That's far less than in the private sector. "In the private sector, it's not unusual for consultants to run $125 an hour."

Sutherland and a secretary comprise the Southeast center's full-time staff. The center also has two circuit counselors, who work part time and hold counseling sessions in the region. The sessions are generally held at Chamber of Commerce offices in the region.

The center also makes use of about 20 university faculty and outside business experts on a contractual basis at various times during the year.

Although the center primarily provides confidential counseling, it also sponsors about 14 business seminars annually.

The center also sponsors a trade expo, bringing together suppliers and buyers in the region. This year's trade conference will be held May 5 at the Show Me Center.

The Small Business center houses a resource library and a computer that businessmen can use. Printed materials and video tapes in the resource library can be checked out, said Sutherland.

He said the center assists a variety of businesses, many of them quite large. "What the Small Business Administration calls small can be a pretty substantial concern. It's based on sales and employment," he said. There are different standards for different industries.

Manufacturing plants with 500 employees, for example, can qualify as small businesses under the government's definition. "Most local businesses probably qualify," he said.

The center handled 515 inquiries in the nine-county region in the 1991 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. It also held 361 counseling sessions with businesses ranging from retail to manufacturing, with the majority of them being in the retail and service area.

"We don't slam the door on anybody," said Sutherland.

Eighty percent of new businesses nationwide fail within their first five years. "Oftentimes, poor planning is the reason for business failures," he said.

The business center can help put businesses on a better footing, explained Sutherland. "We help them work through their business plan."

In addition, the center's advice leads some people not to start a particular business.

"Sometimes a success story is helping someone see that maybe now is not the right time for that particular business they had in mind," said Sutherland.

Whether it's helping existing businesses or people thinking of starting new ones, Sutherland said he believes the center performs a valuable service.

Said Sutherland, "I think we are gaining a reputation in the small business community as a real resource."