From ASME San Francisco Section Nov/Dec 1997 Newsletter:
Small Business Report: Nov/Dec 1997
by Eric E. Worrell, P.E., Small Business Committee Chair, ASME Region IX and San Francisco Section
This column, past editions, upcoming small business events, The Small Business and Consultants Referral List and more are on the web at http://www.ccnet.com/~eew/asmesfsb/.
As you strike out in the unfamiliar territory of small business, you don't have to go it alone. Book stores, libraries and the World Wide Web are loaded with advice on running a business. Small business consultants or internet discussion groups may provide more tailored advice. And, you can find free or low cost seminars and volunteer consultants at your local Small Business Development Center. If you have a solid product idea ready to develop, you may find all the back-up you need at a business incubator.
I found the Contra Costa Small Business Development Center, newly formed in 1995, just a mile and a half from me in Concord. This SBDC, one of nine in the US Small Business Administration's San Francisco District, is a partnership of the SBA, the Contra Costa Private Industry Council, and the California Department of Trade and Commerce.
With SCORE (The Service Corps of Retired Executives), the Contra Costa SBDC offers a "Starting Your Own Business" seminar every month or two (the next is December 5). This $35, full day workshop covers Risk Management and Insurance, Legal Aspects of Starting a Small Business, Financing a Business with the SBA, Hiring, ADA & Harassment, Business Plan and Market Research, and Accounting Records and Taxes. Places to go and things to do to meet the legal requirements of setting up a business are covered in a handout, "Doing Business in Contra Costa County".
Other seminars are offered on a periodic or one time basis. Free handouts include two Northern California specific SBA publications. "Small Business Start-Up Information" addresses issues to consider and resources available for starting a small business. "How to Start and Manage a Small Business" is the course manual for an SBA/SCORE course offered monthly in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Santa Rosa.
If your product idea and resources pass the test, a business incubator may help you launch your business successfully. Public/private partnerships, universities and venture capital firms are among the organizations that have set up incubators.
For an example, look at CALSTART's Project Hatchery facilities in Burbank and in Alameda Naval Air Station's Hanger 20. In addition to sharing basic office necessities, participants have access to up-to-date facilities and assistance for design and prototyping. Flexible leases provide office and shop space at competitive rates. Proximity to other entrepreneurs provides cross-fertilization of ideas while CALSTART staff provide access to technical and business expertise and other resources from a broad range of public and private partners.
Criteria for Project Hatchery candidates follow CALSTART's goal of making California the leader in advanced transportation technologies,. Candidates must have an advanced transportation product or service with a projected three-year commercialization potential. They must also have a viable business plan, the potential to produce California jobs, and the ability to pay all participation costs. Typically, they will be expected to move out of the Hatchery in about two years.
For more information on business incubators and links to many other business resources, explore the National Business Incubator Association web page I found links to several member organizations in California, including Project Hatchery.
While you're surfing the Web, stop by <http://www.asme.org/surveys/smallbiz.html> and let ASME know what you need as a small business member. Wondering what trends may effect your business in the future? Check out Science and Engineering Indicators - 1996 from the National Science Board. Sites with many business links include Tsunami, The Idea Cafe , and San Francisco Public Library Small Business Resources. For articles on product development, prototyping and a variety of other topics, check out Robert Q. Riley's home page.
As always, if you have comments or input for small business activities, this column or the small business web site, please contact me at: Eric E. Worrell, P.E., The Ergonomic Energy Works, PO Box 271923, Concord, CA 94527-1923, Phone/Fax (510) 689-4579, eew@eew.com.
[ Back to Archives ]