As a small business owner and academic, I initially found it difficult to see myself as an entrepreneur. I began this journey about 10 years ago. It was difficult to define what I did so I looked online for a community of academics who did what I wanted to do. I enrolled in some workshops to help me learn basic business strategies. It still wasn’t coming together for me as I wanted it to.

After asking others online how they went about it, I talked to a friend and here is our conversation:

Me: Hey friend! Do you know where I can go to get some help with my business?

Friend: Have you heard of the SBDC?

Me: No… what is SBDC?

Friend: The Small Business Development Center! Have you ever heard of them?

Me: No! What is it?

Friend: It’s an entity out of the Small Business Administration. They have a branch in SoCal close to you. Here’s their website:

Me: Okay! Thanks!

It didn’t go exactly like that… but you get the gist. This conversation started me on the path towards getting clarity on my business. It has helped me as my ideas have evolved and so has my focus. The mentors are volunteers, and the help they provide is free. All their workshops are free. I hope you are getting the message here. FREE help is available whenever you are ready to make that leap into entrepreneurship.

As academics, we think we can figure things out on our own. We’ve come to believe ourselves to be experts in just about anything. We forget that we are only experts on one thing, in one field. We need to check our arrogance sometimes. We must realize that we don’t know everything. We must trust in others to help us. The folks in the SBDC can be trusted to help us. That is their mission and reason for existing: to help entrepreneurs. The mentors are successful entrepreneurs themselves. The folks leading workshops are experts in the topics they teach – from developing a business plan to buying a building.

As an academic who is transitioning her business from assisting in large-scale projects to consulting on small-scale ones, I needed help with that process. My mentor Alice is helping me rethink who I am and what my business to be now. We are working on incremental changes in both my thinking and the structure of my business.

She suggests doing reconnaissance where I go out and talk to folks about what they need the most help with. She suggests I volunteer as a guest speaker or session presenter at local conferences focusing on my area of expertise. She suggests, and I agree, that I should reimage what Colégas Consulting is and work to bring that reality to life in the new year.

The SBDC can help you as you become an entrepreneur from concept to execution. They can help you reimage your business if you are ready to begin that process. You do not have to do it alone, Please check them out as you begin your journey.

The Best Kept Secret for Entrepreneurs – The SBDC!