Saipan Tribune

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Friday, November 16, 2012

Retire smart, start a business through SBDC

The CNMI Small Business Development Center, under the Department of Commerce, is encouraging defined benefit members who are withdrawing retirement contributions to invest their funds and plan for their retirement.

Starting a small business may be an investment option and the SBDC office, with all its available networks, is available for all business startup consultation needs.

According to SBDC director Perry Inos, the agency has been working through outreach and business-to-business networking to create economic impact for the benefit of the CNMI.

“Through our local office services (consultancies, trainings, and networks), SBDC has four businesses that started, three that expanded, over 12 jobs were created, over eight jobs were retained, $75,000 in business loans were obtained, and $120,000 of owner's capital invested in business ventures,” Inos said.

SBDC is funded by the partnership of Guam Pacific Islands Small Business Development Network, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Commonwealth Development Authority, and Commerce. That means resources are available at no cost.

“Our network is pre-paid for the public and we highly encourage everyone to please make use of our services and contact us for all your business needs,” said Casey Jeszenka, director of the Guam - PISBDCN, and responsible in maintaining the SBDC accreditation in the entire Pacific region west of Hawaii.

Commerce deputy secretary Ivan Blanco echoes Inos: “Visiting our office is a win-win situation as we will provide you with proper resources to develop a clear and thoughtfully written business plan to assist you on your investment decision, as it will provide you (at a minimum) an optional guided path to success.”

Some consultation services include, How to Write a Business Plan, How to Market Your Product, How to Write a Financial Statement as well as startup assistance, business planning, financing and capital, business expansion, and buying and selling a business.

To request for counseling, register online at pisbdcn.ecenterdirect.com or contact SBDC at 664-3018 and set an appointment through Linda Cabrera at linda@pacificsbdc.com. The SBDC office hours are from Monday to Friday, 7:30am-4:30pm.