Electronic Media Project RSSW 291 | Spring 2015

Evan Schuldenfrei NY Small Business Development Center

Email | evanschuldenfrei@gmail.com Mobile | 516. 524. 8904

Student ID | #001066750 Thursday, April 23, 2015

Organization Overview

University at Albany Small Business Development Center (Albany SBDC)

•  Serves Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, & Washington Counties

•  Helps clients:

•  Understand the importance of a business plan •  Discover sources of funding •  Prepare for e-commerce •  Identify avenues for exporting goods and services •  Develop marketing plans •  Assess an invention’s viability •  Comply with licensing and regulations

Importance of Organization

•  Since 1984, the Albany SBDC has worked directly with over 22,000 businesses •  Helped them to invest $362 million in

local economy •  Has created or saved 11,200 jobs

•  SBDC offers special programs, such as

their SEED Program which offers micro-loans to entrepreneur-applicants, based solely on the content of their character •  Typical barriers to entry for obtaining a

loan are removed, including low/no credit

Services Provided •  As an Intern for the Small Business Development Center, I rendered the following services:

•  Composition of 10-15 page business plans for nine SEED clients: •  Barber Shop •  Hair & Nails Salon •  Specialty Health Drink •  Fitness Center/Gym •  Pet Training •  Specialty Party Supply Store •  Local Thrift Shop •  High-End Sneaker Consignment Shop •  Contracted Delivery Service/Courier

•  Organized and edited client presentations •  Revised and improved SBDC Semi-Annual Report

•  These business plans were drafted both from nearly scratch, and from existing documents that applicants filled out as part of their entrepreneurship training

•  I was able to share my knowledge of marketing, specifically, digital marketing and social media, with these clients

Learning Objectives ü  Learn how to properly construct and analyze client financial

statements (using Excel)

ü  Result: A business advisor who has been in Finance for over 35 years taught me how to construct a brief Statement of Cash Flows, which is a valuable part of the business plan

ü  Develop a deep understanding of the SBDC’s main programs

ü  Result: After sitting in on several SEED client meetings, I was able to understand how the SBDC goes about screening applicants and the key traits they look for

ü  Receive feedback on client business plans in order to strengthen writing capabilities

ü  Result: With previous experience in writing business plans, my efforts were commended by the advisors whom which I assisted

Career Applicability •  My time with the SBDC allowed me to work with many

different clients’ plans, which I enjoyed, since I’m looking to open my own marketing consultancy after graduation

•  Writing business plans that span many industries allowed me to become comfortable with creating a cohesive plan that can be effectively implemented, no matter the topic or scope of business

•  In the future, I would like to include providing free consulting to a few clients, in addition to my paid clients, to give back to the community