PUHI — An inconspicuous operation called the Small Business Development Center, located on the Kaua‘i Community College campus, offers the kind of assistance that could come in handy for many businesses on the island. The kicker? It’s free. SBDC’s services
PUHI — An inconspicuous operation called the Small Business Development Center, located on the Kaua‘i Community College campus, offers the kind of assistance that could come in handy for many businesses on the island. The kicker? It’s free.
SBDC’s services can help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground and give individuals a chance to regain their footing or create a new approach to an already established business on Kaua‘i.
John Latkiewicz, SBDC Kaua‘i Center Director said that he primarily offers one-on-one consulting.
“Literally what we do is try to get some preliminary information and we see people with fairly well developed ideas and people who are very exploratory,” he said. “We send materials to them in advance, including a template for putting together a business plan and tell them to think through questions before we meet so that they’ve already had a chance to wrap their mind around it.”
He said the business plan is really a series of questions and requires people to consider many key aspects, such as marketing and cash flow analysis, that would be addressed during a new business’ loan application or an established business’ restructuring process.
“It’s a chance to think through what you’re planning on doing and think through the ramifications, test the idea and research it. Taking the preliminary step so that when you do launch your venture, you have a better chance of succeeding,” he said, adding that they also work with individuals wanting to expand a business and “address issues in need of strengthening.”
Darlene Kaui, administrative assistant for the SBDC Kaua‘i Center, agrees the resource can be beneficial to many individuals.
“People who want to start a business, as well as existing businesses, we guide them and give them the necessary material and information to start their business or enhance their business,” she said.
She said many individuals often plunge into a new business without doing enough research, but SBDC can help get them started and keep them afloat.
“They just kind take the bull by the horn and run,” she said.
She also said that seminars and workshops are frequently offered and that SBDC has a close partnership with the Small Business Association.
Jeni Kaohelaulii, owner of Work it Out, Kaua‘i’s Active Lifestyle Store in Kapa‘a, is among those who have taken advantage of SBDC’s services and found the center helpful in starting her own business.
“It helped me to get my financing and prepared me through all the steps. It provided good resources and networking,” she said.
Kaohelaulii said her father, who owns a store at Coconut MarketPlace, attended SBDC’s workshops and encouraged her to sign up for a two-month course — which did charge fees — that helped her develop a business plan. She had nothing but positive things to say about it.
“There were guest speakers from all different industries sharing their experience and there was a lot of good feedback,” she said. “It was really supportive.”
Latkiewicz said he is always willing to provide assistance to people free of charge.
“The whole process of developing a business plan is a give and take. We just keep drafting and drafting until they’re ready to go and then even beyond that, we’ll bounce ideas off after they’ve acquired a loan.”
He adds that individuals will also gain complete access to the entire SBDC network.
“In addition to resources, consulting and training, we have a business research library that is available through the network,” he said. “For instance, we can find the total sales of a particular product over last three years and the number of exporters of the product. We can query the library to come up with an answer.”
Stepping into the position about one month ago, Latkiewicz is looking forward to the new possibilities.
“I’m really very excited about being here. My roots are from relatively smaller communities, and it’s nice to return,” he said.
Kaui said clients are beginning to trickle in again after an interim without an SBDC Kaua‘i director, and she is hopeful that with Latkiewicz, things will pick up where they left off.
“We do encourage a lot of the businesses out there to take advantage of the service, but in my almost three years I’ve been here there are a lot of people who don’t know who we are or where we’re located.”
As far as seeing particular trends in new businesses, Latkiewicz said the number of different ideas he hears are “quite remarkable.”
“Certainly the economy has spurred people on to ideas they’ve had in the back of their minds and now have motivation to make viable,” he said. “One of the more exciting things about this job, I don’t know what I’m going to be hearing about each day.”
SBDC is open 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is closed on all major holidays.
For more information call 241-3148 or visit www.hawaii-sbdc.org
• Coco Zickos, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com
