BusinessTN

This spring, Karen O'Neal, owner of All Seasons Collectibles and Gifts, knew her business needed serious help. The owners of the Kingsport shopping mall where her store was located were raising her rent and demanding a higher percentage of the store's revenue, in effect squeezing her from all sides. Caught between a rock and a hard place, O'Neal didn't know where to turn.

Fortunately, that's when she met Ronald Wade, a business counselor for the Business Enterprise Resource Office, or BERO. "I was scared to move because the business had so much success at the mall, and I knew I wasn't at the point where I could stand alone yet," O'Neal says. "But one of the things Ron taught me is that there is life after the mall." Together with Wade, she developed a business plan that included moving to a location in a newly built development anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter. In her new location, O'Neal's overhead is lower and her sales figures are better than before the move.

BERO, an entity within the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, is one of several state agencies providing free small business services for companies like All Seasons. With counselors across the state, BERO provides small businesses with financial and technical assistance ranging from developing a business plan to applying for a loan or navigating complicated licensing protocol. "We are the one-stop shop for help, whether you are starting a business or need help with an existing business," says BERO director Michelle Proctor. "Our regional specialists have all run businesses of their own and provide direct, one-on-one assistance to small business owners."

After her move, O'Neal discovered she needed money to pay for a new sign for the front of the store. Assessing the company's cash flow, Wade recommended a loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration and helped O'Neal through the process of obtaining it. Most of the loan assistance BERO provides comes in the form of SBA loan products, although the office does provide directly some smaller loans.

With every loan facilitated by BERO comes a suite of services to ensure its success. Partnering with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, BERO guides its clients through every step in the borrowing process. "When someone is interested in applying for a loan, they will go to the [TSBDC] and get training on how to put together financial projections and a good marketing plan," Proctor says. "And if their loan is approved, we will work with them on an ongoing basis. So, for example, if they get three months into their loan and need some additional bookkeeping help, then we'll try to identify bookkeeping training available through the TSBDC."

Another state resource, Tennessee Business Matchmaking, is designed to help small businesses find buyers for their product or service among government agencies and large corporations with procurement needs. Since 2006, the Tennessee ECD has hosted six Matchmaking events across the state, providing thousands of one-on-one business appointments between small businesses and procurement officials. "It's like speed dating for businesses," Proctor says. To receive notices about upcoming events, small businesses can sign up for the Tennessee Business Matchmaking e-mail list on the ECD Web site (www.state.tn.us/ecd).

The range of business services offered by the state is vast. While there is no set formula for determining if your business could benefit, if you have a need currently not being met, chances are an office exists that can help.

In her new location in Kingsport, Karen O'Neal says she definitely will work with BERO again. She's now looking into expanding into a second store and someday possibly franchising All Seasons. To do so, she knows she'll need all the help she can get. But she's not worried — now she knows where to find it.