Colleges’ small-biz centers aid entrepreneurs

Without the Small Business Development Centers dotted around the state, it’s unlikely that some of Oregon’s pluckiest entrepreneurs would be enjoying as much success as they are.

Kevin Kiker and Carrie Wong enthusiastically attest to the value of the help they got from Chemeketa Community College’s Small Business Development Center.

Kiker’s company, Western Tool Supply, is now 23 years old, and one of Oregon’s fastest-growing businesses. The 430-employee Salem company is on track for $115 million in sales this year.

Wong’s 3-year-old dessert company is much smaller, but also growing nicely. Practical Gourmet LLC of Aurora has grown 800 percent since it started in January 2002, and now employs six people, four of them full time.

Kiker and Wong’s success stories underscore the effectiveness of Oregon’s SBDC network, and the data proves that the network is cost-effective, too.

"For every Oregon general fund dollar invested [in the SBDCs], $3.50 is returned to the general fund in the form of income taxes paid by people who get the new jobs" generated by businesses that the SBDC serves, said William Carter, director of the SBDC network.

Aliza Earnshaw

Full Story: http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2005/06/13/focus3.html?from_rss=1