■ Small Business Development Center chief speaks in Benicia

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Chuck Rieger, interim director of Solano Community College’s Small Business Development Center, gave an annual update last week to the Economic Development Board.

Board members were also appointed to the Tourism and Business Retention, Expansion and Attraction committees.

The local SBDC is one of more than 1,000 nationwide, set up through the Association of Small Business Development Centers, that assist small business owners and managers in efforts to start, buy, assess, manage, improve, expand, grow or sell their company, Rieger said.

“We work directly with three constituents. We work with business owners, we work with folks that would like to be business owners … or (are) hopeful, and we work with a fair amount of students at both the high school and middle school levels,” he said.

Rieger gave a quick description of the life cycle of a business, starting with the “aspirational” stage, adding that it is there that most of the SBDC’s work occurs. “What we’re trying to move toward is more activity around those small businesses that really have growth potential,” he said.

The SBDC conducts workshops across the county, in different areas of specialty and on such topics as handling taxes year round.

The SBDC also has events throughout the year. “One I’d like to do here, and we haven’t done it yet, but it’s been very successful in Vallejo, we actually do a lenders panel,” Rieger said. “We have a panel of five or six people of various capabilities come together.”

The SBDC also offer sthe NxLevel program, an 11-week program that takes business owners through the process of legal structures, financing and insurance — “the whole gamut of developing a very solid business plan,” Rieger said.

Besides classes and workshops, the SBDC offers one-on-one consulting with expert business advisers from different fields , he told EDB members.

It also has been getting more involved with financing with SBA and through local banks such as Travis Credit Union and Wells Fargo. And there are micro loan programs, such as KIVA, Oakland Business Development Corporation, Opportunity Fund, Save Bidco, Superior Financial and Working Solutions, Rieger said.

A class on retail profitability will be offered in Benicia on May 6. It is a one-day session for retailers within the community, where a consultant in the retail industry will share what is working and not working with retailers.

The website for the Solano College SBDC is http://solanosbdc.org.

In other business, EDB Chair Ron Myska made appointments to the Tourism Committee and the Business Retention and Expansion Committee.

Duane Oliveira, Chad Coester and Anne Lindsay were appointed to the BRE Committee.

Tourism Committee appointments were preceded by some discussion of the future and purpsoe of the panel itself.

Last year, “The committee really only had three meetings in a year where they had a quorum,” Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani told the EDB.

He said that they could only call the meeting to order three times because of quorum challenges and absences of members, as well as vacancies in some of the categories.

The committee discussed redefining its membership by reducing its number from 21 to 11 or 13, with one member from the following organizations: Arts Benicia, Benicia Historical Museum, Benicia Main Street, Benicia State Parks Association, Benicia Old Town Theatre Group and the Downtown Benicia Alliance.

In the past, the Benicia Chamber of Commerce had also been a part of the roster, but it was recommended that they be dropped because of a failure to attend meetings.

One application for a citizen member was up for appointment. Dena Stults’s application was approved, and she was appointed.

Members of the EDB appointed to the Tourism Committee were John Johnsen and Claire McFadden.

The next EDB meeting will be Feb. 14.