University of Missouri Extension

Pettis County

Business & Industry

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY PROGRAMS

(B&I position currently open. See Employment Opportunities)

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Small Business Development Centers

Business Training Need Assessment Survey

COUNSELING

Business Start-Up

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Small Business Development Centers

As a part of the resources for the business community, I thought it important to work with the SBDC office in Warrensburg and become acquainted with the staff there. They cover some of the counties that I have responsibility for and I needed to see how we could cooperatively work with some of the businesses in those areas. It was a worthwhile visit to get to know their staff and cooperatively work with various clients in Warsaw, Smithton and Marshall.

Furthermore, the same reasoning has me working with the Columbia SBDC office. We have cooperatively worked with clients in Sweet Springs, Marshall, Warsaw and Green Ridge.

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Business Training Need Assessment Survey

In the B&I programming area, existing businesses are a key customer group. However, there was no information or data on which to make fact-based decisions concerning the high priority programming needs for this customer segment. A region-wide survey was selected as the means of soliciting customer input. Nine counties in the region, including Pettis, were chosen. Businesses were identified from city and county business license lists. In eight counties, all identified businesses were sent a survey. The number of businesses receiving a survey in these eight counties ranged from a low of 116 to a high of 2425. Approximately 1/3, or 4288, of the businesses in the ninth county received a survey. Across all nine counties, the return rate was 3.3%. Individual county response rates ranged from a low of 2.2% to a high of 4%.

Based on the customers’ stated requirements, the top five programming opportunities across the central region, shown in order are:

Responding to Customers and Markets

Process and Systematic Issues

Human Resource Issues

Financial Management and Analysis

Advertising

Across the central region, the “average” business responding to the survey:

Has been in business for less than 10 years

Has 1 or 2 employees

Is a service business

Annual sales are less the $100,000

The results of the survey are being used to select and develop future programs.

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COUNSELING

Business Start-Up

The majority of people seeking counseling are actually seeking information on how to start their own businesses. These range from three to nine or ten per month. Almost all have no start-up money. They either want grants or loans. Rarely do they have any assets to back a loan. Those that want to purchase an existing business are encouraged to get financials from present owners for a two or three year period. None have returned with financials to analyze.

All are encouraged to write a business plan and do some market research. Rarely do they return for a critique of their business plan. Only one has done so.

Perhaps the biggest factor Extension does is not to discourage the entrepreneur but to make them aware of the facts, hard work and risk of starting their own business. If this discourages them and keeps them from doing their homework, then they will have been saved from possibly going into debt for years or having to file for bankruptcy. For those determined individuals with a dream and the initiative to do the work and planning to realize their dream, Extension can be a wonderful and rewarding asset to them.

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		University of Missouri Extension Pettis County pettisco@missouri.edu Site maintained by Eva Kabler, kablere@missouri.edu Updated 05/24/04