Susquehanna Business Life

SBDC Facts

Did You Know...

• A new business is opened every four hours and four minutes with SBDC assistance?
• Eighty percent of businesses started with SBDC assistance are still in business eight years later?
• Services are provided by experienced, professional staff?
• The SBDCs are an integrated network of 18 centers and more than 100 outreach locations?
• A new job is created every one hour and 14 minutes because of SBDC assistance?
• More manufacturers are assisted by the SBDC program than any other economic development program?
• More women entrepreneurs are assisted by the SBDCs than other economic development program?
• SBDCs can draw upon the resources of its national network of more than 1,100 centers?
• Congress mandates the program must be accredited to receive funding?
• The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has contracted its small-business compliance assistance program to the SBDC?
• SBDCs help create new jobs at a cost of only $1,400/job?
• The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers provided more than 3,243 hours of business consulting to more than 363 technology companies in 2007 and assisted them in obtaining more than $9.38 million in financing and grants?
• Each year more than 1,000 veteran entrepreneurs are assisted by the SBDC?
• SBDC clients increased export sales of Pennsylvania products and services by $23,556,240 in 2007?
• The SBDC's are prohibited from charging fees for consulting?
• The SBDCs helped clients raise $220,017,961 in start-up and expansion capital? Every $1 invested in the SBDC enabled small businesses to access $20 in new capital.
• The program is funded as a partnership between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the host universities?
• The SBDCs provide a return on investment of $7.21 in new tax revenue for every $1 invested?
• More entrepreneurs are helped by the SBDCs than all other state-funded economic development programs?

Source: Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers

Small Business Development Centers in our 23-county circulation area

Bucknell University SBDC
126 Dana Engineering Building
Lewisburg, PA 17837
tel: (570) 577-1249 | fax: (570) 577-1768
www.bucknell.edu/sbdc

Clarion University SBDC
102 Dana Still Building
Clarion, PA 16214-1232
tel: (814) 393-2060 | fax: (814) 393-2636
www.clarion.edu/sbdc

Kutztown University SBDC
P.O. Box 730
DeFrancesco Building, Room 2
Kutztown, PA 19530 tel: (610) 683-4725 | fax: (610) 683-4644
www.kutztownsbdc.org

Lehigh University SBDC
Rauch Business Center #37
621 Taylor Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015
tel: (610) 758-3980 | fax: (610) 758-5205
www.lehigh.edu/sbdc

Lock Haven University SBDC
301 West Church Street
Lock Haven, PA 17745
tel: (570) 484-2589 | fax: (570) 484-2588
www.lhup.edu/sbdc

Penn State SBDC
117 Technology Center
University Park, PA 16802
tel: (814) 863-4293 | fax: (814) 865-5909
www.sbdc.psu.edu

Shippensburg University SBDC
405 Grove Hall
Shippensburg University
1871 Old Main Drive
Shippensburg, PA 17257
tel: (717) 477-1935
www.shipsbdc.org

University of Scranton SBDC
800 Linden Street
Estate Building, 2nd Floor
Scranton, PA 18510
tel: (800)829-7232 | fax: (570) 941-4053
www.scrantonsbdc.com

Wilkes University SBDC
Hollenback Hall
192 South Franklin Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766
tel: (570) 408-4340 | fax: (570) 824-2245
www.sbdc.wilkes.edu

Just two of the many innovative programs spearheaded by PA SBDCs:

SBDC Program Helps Bedford Business Reap Benefits

Energy Efficiency Help for Central PA Settlement, LLC Leads to Recognition as one of Just Eight Nationwide Winners of 2007 ENERGY STAR Small Business Award

Tom and Linda Bullington are already reaping the benefits of their aggressive efforts to reduce energy consumption at their small business, Central PA Settlement, LLC. The Bullington's efforts have reduced their annual gas bill by over two-thirds, or $6,200, and they are preventing the release of over 19 tons of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere each year.

As winners of a the US Environmental Protection Agency 2007 ENERGY STAR award, the Bullingtons join a growing list of Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers clients recognized for financial and environmental stewardship. In just the past two years, clients of the Pennsylvania SBDC Environmental Management Assistance Program have been awarded seven national ENERGY STAR Small Business Awards and two state Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence.

"With the help of EMAP's statewide network of environmental consultants, small businesses in Pennsylvania are demonstrating that smart environmental strategies are not only beneficial to the environment, but also to their bottom line," said Gregory L. Higgins, Jr., state director of the Pennsylvania SBDC.

The Bullingtons' efforts began in 2003 when they purchased an old building in Bedford, PA, and started operating three real estate-related businesses on the first floor and leasing six apartments on the second floor. Once settled in, they quickly realized they needed to improve the building's energy efficiency and a comprehensive plan was set into motion.

They replaced all 70 windows with Low-E energy efficient models and increased insulation in the attic to R38. The main energy drain on their energy bills, however, was an old boiler that was only 50-55 percent efficient. Confronted with a confusing array of estimates and recommendations, the Bullingtons turned to EMAP at the Small Business Development Center at Saint Francis University for help.

The consultant, Heather Fennessey, worked with the Bullingtons to recommend upgrading to an ENERGY STAR-rated boiler with an efficiency rating of 87 percent. EMAP also helped the Bullingtons obtain a 50 percent cost share on the new boiler through the Small Business Advantage Grant program administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. With the state cost-share, the Bullingtons were able to realize an 8 month simple payback on their investment in the new boiler and they can now keep the air conditioning turned off in the winter.

"More and more Americans are realizing that getting the most out of their energy dollars just makes sense," said US EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson, who announced the 2007 ENERGY STAR Small Business Award to Central PA Settlement, LLC in recognition of their accomplishments.

Johnson also recognized the Pennsylvania SBDC Environmental Management Assistance Program as one of just three nationwide winners of a 2007 ENERGY STAR Small Business Network Special Award.

More about the Pennsylvania SBDC and EMAP:

The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers' Environmental Management Assistance Program offers in-depth assistance with environmental regulatory requirements, identifying and implementing energy efficiency and waste minimization opportunities, developing new environmental technology and finding sources of funding for environmental upgrades. Visit www.askemap.org for more information on how businesses can start saving and contribute to a cleaner environment.

Since its inception in 1980, the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) has evolved into a network of 18 university-based centers and more than 90 outreach locations, operating under the guidance of the State Director located at the University of Pennsylvania. The SBDCs play a unique and vital role in the Commonwealth's economic development initiatives as the only organization that, in utilizing the expertise and resources of some of the best colleges and universities in the state, assists entrepreneurs in all stages of business and all industry sectors. Funding support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the SBDC host institutions enables consulting services to be provided at no charge to the client. For more information on the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers' services and impact, visit www.pasbdc.org.

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy designed to save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

Addressing Pennsylvania's Manure Crisis: Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers Find Markets for Manure

SBDC Launches New Online Resource to Recycle Farm Waste

What can you do with 4.4 million tons of manure? Plenty, according to the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers. Responding to recent concerns prompted by new regulations for manure, the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission tapped the SBDC for a solution to repurpose the tons of animal waste produced annually.

Pennsylvania Act 38 and resulting regulations dictate that excess manure can no longer be used where it is produced, creating a serious problem affecting many of the 55,000 farms in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission. With only 24 percent of the state's eligible cropland currently utilized for manure application, the commission needed to facilitate distribution of manure to the remaining available cropland and to find alternative uses for the additional tons of manure produced annually.

A committee tasked with furthering these alternatives discovered a model solution in the SBDC's Pennsylvania Material Trader, a website promoting the exchange of waste materials. The Commission worked with the Pennsylvania SBDC, partnering with its Environmental Management Assistance Program, to replicate the functionality of the Material Trader site. The result: Pennsylvania Manure Trader. Like the Material Trader website, Manure Trader is designed to turn one individual's trash into another's treasure. Despite its classification as "waste" manure actually has a number of uses. Manure Trader creates opportunities for traditional farmer-to-farmer exchanges for crop fertilization as well as opportunities to encourage innovative manure uses as varied as soil reclamation, algae production and even building materials. Manure listings may also serve to further alternative energy research: manure-to-methanol, anaerobic digestion, and co-firing are a few of the processes currently being considered.

A screenshot of the Pennsylvania Manure Trader website. The site allows registered users to access directories of brokers and haulers as well as post under available and wanted listings.Visitors to the site can browse available and wanted listings or log in to create a confidential listing. Manure Trader allows users to sort listings by type, price, quantity, and date listed. Registered users can sign up to be alerted when new listings in a desired category are posted. The site also includes broker and hauler directories. "The Commission is devoted to assisting the Pennsylvania agricultural community in finding alternatives to on-site land application of manure," said Karl Brown, executive secretary of the State Conservation Commission. "The Manure Trader website will give our farmers quick access to needed manure and will help facilitate the movement of manure throughout the state."

Pennsylvania SBDC state director Gregory L. Higgins, Jr. praised the collaborative effort with the commission saying, "This is another example of the SBDCs reaching out to the small business community to provide the help and services they need to maintain their successful businesses. We are pleased to be able to assist Pennsylvania's farmers and believe that Manure Trader will provide new opportunities, particularly through the expanding alternative energy market, that will ultimately help farmers be protective of the environment while turning their waste manure into a potential revenue stream."

The Pennsylvania Manure Trader is a free service designed to help farmers comply with manure disposal regulations and assist others in exploring manure's many uses. For more information, visit www.ManureTrader.org.