Approximately 1 out of 5 pre-venture ISBDC clients started a business after receiving business counseling from 2007 to 2012

The $69,918,946.10 in capital raised by ISBDC clients indicates that each dollar expended on the ISBDC program was leveraged by approximately $18.28 in new capital raised from external sources in 2012.

ISBDCs Help Grow the Economy—24/7

• A new business is opened by an ISBDC client every….. 36 hours
• 35 new jobs are created or retained by an ISBDC client every…. day
• $3,497.40 in new sales are generated by ISBDC clients every…..hour
• $191,558.76 in financing is obtained by ISBDC clients every…..day

]]> http://www.isbdc.org/impact2011/feed/ 1 http://www.isbdc.org/an-exercise-in-eliminating-assumptions-the-real-impact-of-the-isbdc/ http://www.isbdc.org/an-exercise-in-eliminating-assumptions-the-real-impact-of-the-isbdc/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:38:00 +0000 ISBDC http://www.isbdc.org/?p=7295 by Jacob Schpok – State Director

Every day we help entrepreneurs explain their business strategies to potential investors by helping them eliminate assumptions in their business plans. We owe it to them and our own investors to practice what we preach. Below is proof the ISBDC not only helps businesses in Indiana but does so with a positive return on investment. Entrepreneurs, give us a piece of your mind. Comment below and tell us if this is defendable data.

Can the ISBDC prove the impact they report?

White papers and complex statistical analysis is not needed to defend our results. The ISBDC has a two step process in collecting the data we report. First, we ask our client for change in sales, capital, jobs, and business status (if they launched, purchased, or sold a business) 30 and 90 days after we start working with them and again at the end of the year. Second, clients reporting changes are asked if the ISBDC helped in creating the change. Before we count the impact, we require a hard or digital signature from clients confirming the ISBDC helped in creating the change. In other words, behind every impact number we report there are business owners validating our contribution.

How much does it cost to run the ISBDC and is it worth the money?

In 2011, the ISBDC operated on a $3.3 million budget. If all we measured was how much capital we helped clients raise, every dollar spent on the ISBDC would count towards $16 of new investments. In reality, we stretch our $3.3 million further. Take a look at how else we directly impacted Indiana businesses.

 The ISBDC Impact in 2011

Are we doing all we can to provide stakeholders with straight forward, factual, and impactful numbers? Tell us what you think. We look forward to reading your thoughts.

Want to meet some of our clients? Over 100 business owners are ready to share their experience with you on our client stories page.  To become a client of the ISBDC complete our intake survey. To learn how your organization or business can help support the ISBDC and grow our efforts, click here to email Jacob Schpok, ISBDC State Director.

Thursday, May 17

Marion Ivy Tech Conference Center, 261 S. Commerce Drive, Marion, IN 46953

Image via http://disneyinstitute.com/

In three years, the ISBDC network has seen the state matching contribution that comes to it through the Indiana Economic Development Corporation reduced by 70%, from $1,000,000 annually to $300,000 annually. These reductions are more or less on par with other reductions hitting SBDC budgets in other states, so please realize this is not a complaint about an appropriately frugal state budget.

At the same time the Federal core funding for the ISBDC network has increased from $1.8 million to $2.1 million. While that increase reduced the impact of the state funding reductions, it also raised the total amount of matching contributions from our regional partners across Indiana necessary for Indiana to draw down all of the Federal funds available to it. Federal funds not drawn down do not return to the U.S. Treasury, but are instead made available to SBDC programs in other states.

While experiencing these funding challenges, the ISBDC has also seen an increase in performance across all areas. Annual business starts by ISBDC clients are up over 49% form 2007 through 2010, to 249. Job creation reported by clients is up over 188%, from 908 to 2,623 over the same period. Total capital infusion from 2007 through 2010 has grown 64.33%, from $37 million to $61 million. Finally, the number of clients the ISBDC works with over the course of multiple years has grown 69%, from 693 in 2007 to 1,173 in 2010.

So with less money, the ISBDC has been generating better results, with a greater positive economic impact. How?

We have first and foremost focused on our core function, a la Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great. Our primary focus is to have trained business advisors with access to state of the art resources focused on helping businesses thrive and grow.

Because those business advisors have limited time and time is a precious commodity, we seek to have our clients first go through an online assessment at www.isbdc.org. This helps us know what the client knows, where they are, and what they might need before anyone sits down with an advisor. A better prepared client and a better prepared business advisor are the result.

Third, we have reduced our overhead through the consolidation of two regional headquarters while still maintaining full-time business advisor staff in Kokomo and Bloomington. This reduced administrative and overhead costs to the ISBDC network while maintaining the capability to serve entrepreneurs in these communities.

Finally, we have entered into two unique co-hosting arrangements for our regional ISBDCs in Southeast and Northwest Indiana, where IU, Ivy Tech, and Purdue have joined together to ease the burden of providing the minimum amount of matching funds while at the same time vastly expanding the physical and intangible resources available to the ISBDC network in those regions and beyond. It is our hope and expectation that other regions might follow suit to continue the expansion of the ISBDC network as an entrepreneurial resource to Hoosier businesses without increasing the cost to Indiana taxpayers.

Jeff Heinzmann is the State Director for the Indiana Small Business Development Center, an organization with the mission of having a positive and measurable impact on the formation, growth, and sustainability of small businesses in Indiana, and to develop a strong entrepreneurial community. Jeff can be reach at jheinzmann@isbdc.org.