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Monday, Oct. 05, 2009

Stanislaus County crisis response team offers help for small businesses

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Last Christmas, Diana Beccard had to lay off all but two of her employees.

They were the first layoffs in her 30-year-old tent manufacturing company's history. Like so many small businesses, her Ceres-based A&L Products Inc. had been hit hard by the recession.

"We were worried about surviving," she said. "We'd been in business for a long time and been through rough times. But this was different. That was one of the hardest things; we kept thinking, 'What have we done wrong here?' "

But instead of just blaming herself, Beccard looked for help. And what she found was the new Small Business Crisis Response Team.

Run through the Stanislaus County Alliance Worknet and Small Business Development Center, the fledgling team of retired and active consultants offer their services for free to small business who are at risk of layoffs or failure.

The center assigned a consultant to Beccard and they began working together in February. Together they looked at different business strategies, including accounting, purchasing, spending and pricing.

The company manufactures on-demand tents for fairs, festivals and other events, as well as some rentals.

By working with the consultant, Beccard was able to rehire all of her 20-some employees.

"It was so important that we were able to retain our employees," she said. "I have employees who have been with us for over 25 years."

Which is exactly why the crisis response team was created, said Alliance Worknet Director Jeff Rowe.

"It all started with a thought that maybe instead of spending a lot of money and effort trying to retrain and re-employ people that have been laid off because the business they work for closes down, maybe if we were able to spend a little bit of money upfront, that could help the business stay open instead," he said.

"We could avert a lot of personal turmoil related to the employees losing their jobs and businesses closing down."

The crisis response team launched in February and has worked with about a half-dozen Stanislaus County businesses.

Now in its second phase

On Oct. 1 the team entered its second phase with a larger group of six consultants and a yearlong goal to help turnaround more than a dozen small businesses in the county.

"The goal is if we're saving businesses we're saving jobs and hopefully down the road they'll be able to maybe hire more employees," said Kurt Clark, director of the Small Business Development Center who is helping to oversee the team.

All the services are provided free to small businesses. Any small business with five to 50 employees can request the team's help. The SBDC will do an assessment of each request, determine the need and what services can be provided.

To qualify, businesses need to be negatively impacted by the economy and at risk of work-force reductions and/or closure.

The consultants -- a mix of current and retired business consultants and owners -- will focus on financial management and stabilization.

They each will give 20 to 30 hours a month of time to the team, paid for by the SBDC through $300,000 in Workforce Investment Board federal funding aimed at business and job retention.

More consultants wanted

Businesses normally would have to pay $80 to $125 per hour for similar private consultants. Rowe said the team is looking for more consultants in all fields from throughout the county.

Like Beccard, Best Friend Pet Resort owner Augusta Farley was looking for help after her business began to struggle when she moved to a new, upgraded facility in May.

The Patterson pet care service offers boarding, grooming, training and more. After taking some classes offered by the SBDC, Farley heard about the crisis response team.

Together they helped her put together a business plan and better understand her marketing and organize her finances.

"I had hundreds of dollars in free services, which I would have never been able to pay for on my own," she said. "Instead of just providing a service, I became a businesswoman. They helped me make a huge leap into understanding marketing, financing and customer service."

Clark said he wants the businesses to create long-term relationships with the consultants. Beccard said she intends to keep working with her consultant, former Modesto Tractor owner Dennis Murphy, even after her free sessions through the crisis response team are over.

"One of the things that really helps small-business people is to know that we're not alone," Beccard said. "It also just reaffirmed that it wasn't necessarily our fault and there is help."

Bee staff writer Marijke Rowland can be reached at mrowland@modbee.com or 578-2284.