Asbdc Certification Standards

New Mexico Small Business Development Center

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CY2006 PROPOSAL

Current Program Status…………………….…1

Program Management………………………….2

Special Emphasis and Programs………………6

Relationship with SBA………………………….8

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal NEW MEXICO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

CURRENT PROGRAM STATUS

The New Mexico Small Business Development Center (NMSBDC) network comprises the lead center at Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) and a network of 19 service centers located throughout the state. One center is at SFCC, the others operate under cooperative agreements between SFCC and 16 local host public educational institutions. These include independent two- year colleges, two-year branch colleges of New Mexico universities, Western New Mexico University and Northern New Mexico College. Several changes have taken place during CY 2005 that expands the NMSBDC services.

During the third quarter of CY 2005, a new center is being added to the network. The center will be hosted by the University of New Mexico, Los Alamos (UNM-LA) branch and will serve Sandoval County. The office will be located in Bernalillo, New Mexico; a small but rapidly growing community north of Albuquerque. In addition to the town of Bernalillo the center will serve Rio Rancho, the fastest growing community in the state.

Although not formerly designated as a technology transfer center by the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC), the UNM-LA center in Los Alamos emphasizes technology transfer. The new full time center director at that office has extensive background in technology and will work towards expanding that niche in the future.

A branch office is also being opened in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The office will be hosted by Eastern New Mexico University at Roswell (ENMU-R). The center director for ENMU-R will oversee the branch

A current part-time business advisor in Taos is now expanded to a full time position. The office is hosted by Northern New Mexico College (NNMC), formerly Northern New Mexico Community College. The center director in Espanola on the NNMC campus, will oversee the Taos office.

A branch office has also opened in Hobbs, New Mexico. Based on feedback from a needs assessment completed in 2003, the center director at New Mexico Junior College put a second office in downtown Hobbs to reach the under-served Hispanic community. The center’s employees are bi-lingual.

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 1 of 9 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The NMSBDC lead center provides administrative services and oversight of the service centers, and acts as liaison between the statewide network and its funding partners, councils and committees. The State Director represents the NMSBDC network relative to all statewide matters. He is responsible for the oversight of budgets, service delivery, program income, partner relations, staff conduct, recordkeeping and reporting based on OMB, SBA, State and institutional guidelines. He initiates, monitors and maintains communication and coordination with statewide funding partners. Lead Center staff support him by gathering data, preparing reports, handling the routine administration and working on various initiatives. No one at the Lead Center provides direct business counseling to clients.

The NMSBDC will fully participate in and use the EDMIS II. To accomplish this, the NMSBDC will continue using Softshare’s management information system called WebCATS. The system is designed specifically for programs like the SBDC. Accurate, comprehensive data is easily extracted for Network analysis and reporting. It remains current in the upgrades available from Softshare to meet the needs of the EDMIS II. In addition, its statewide Policy and Procedures manual has been updated to reflect changes in the SBA’s definitions per the program announcement. All NMSBDC network staff has received training in these new policies.

Budget

All center directors have direct control of their budget allocation. They create their budgets based on the guidelines outlined in OMB Circulars A-87 and A-21. Proposed budgets are submitted in a timely manner to the State Director annually and must be justified with a budget narrative. The State Director has the authority to approve, modify or reject the proposed budget of each service center. The OMB forms SF 272 “Report of Federal Cash Transactions” and SF 269 “Financial Status Report” are signed by the State Director.

The NMSBDC receives the vast majority of its funding through the state legislative process. The Legislative Finance Committee, House Appropriations & Finance Committee, and the Senate Finance Committee are very supportive of the program. Proposals are submitted each year to the Higher Education Department, Finance Committee for recommendation to the Legislature.

Knowledge of Client Needs and Expectations

According to an August 12, 2005 article in the Albuquerque Journal, a recent study done by the U.S. Census Bureau reports that New Mexico continues to have the highest percentage of Hispanics in its population. In the 1990 Census, 38.2 percent of the state’s population was Hispanic. In the 2000 Census, the report indicated that 42 percent (or 765,386 people) of New Mexicans were Hispanic. As of July 2004, the state’s Hispanic population has increased to 43 percent. According to New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, the trend is expected to continue. It also states that Spanish-speaking business owners have increased in Albuquerque, the state’s largest city. This indicates that there is a significant number of Hispanics in the area that patronize those businesses.

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 2 of 9 The article goes on to say that the July 2004 estimate put New Mexico’s population at 1,903,289, up from the 1,821,496 counted in July 2000. Of those, about 192,135 people, or just less than 10 percent, were Native American. In the year 2000, Native Americans accounted for 9.5 percent of the state’s population, up from 8.9 percent a decade earlier.

Reports continue to indicate that New Mexico’s diverse population will continue to grow. This requires the NMSBDC to use a variety of listening posts to help deliver its service to all segments of the state’s population. The following efforts describe the primary strategies the network uses to know its customers better.

ED Impact Study

The NMSBDC will continue to participate in the SBA’s three-year longitudinal ED Impact Study. As done previously, it will mail the survey to clients using its WebCATS client database.

Chrisman Study

This survey is conducted in cooperation with the ASBDC and is now conducted every year. It is completed by the lead center and the cumulative results are shared with the service centers. It measures program effectiveness, from both a client’s and a stake holder’s perspective.

Satisfaction Survey

Beginning in January 2005, new satisfaction surveys were designed by the NMSBDC. These are conducted quarterly at all service centers, with results from the surveys compiled at the lead center. The form is a self-addressed, postage paid card and is given to all individuals who visit the service centers. Results are shared with the individual centers on a quarterly basis and cumulatively with the entire network. The standardized form is based on the SBA’s model and evaluates counseling and overall program effectiveness.

Statewide Needs Assessment Survey

In 2003, the NMSBDC conducted a formal survey of more than 5,000 New Mexico business owners. This survey is conducted by each service center biennially. Results of this survey are used to help shape ongoing development of the statewide strategic plan. The survey will be conducted again in September 2005.

Local Center Work Plans

Because of the wide diversity between service territories by business type and local economies, the responsibility for identifying targeted service delivery populations is delegated to the local center directors. This allows for flexibility in identifying and meeting the needs of specialized local populations across the state. Each center must have in place a documented process of local needs assessment. In addition, each center must develop an annual plan for meeting those identified local needs. This plan should include goals and strategies for meeting the needs of

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 3 of 9 targeted small business populations. A good example of such a plan would include identification of the anticipated service mix between startups, early growth businesses, and mature businesses in the service territory. It should also include strategies for serving specialized targets such as minority populations, military, or business sectors. This annual plan must be submitted to the Lead Center for review each funding year. The Lead Center depends on these work plans to determine annual funding allocation and to analyze each center’s effectiveness on the State’s economy.

Management Training Surveys

The NMSBDC uses the approved SBA forms with some modifications to track all training data. These forms typically include the attendee pre-training intake form and the post training feedback form. All centers maintain detailed files on all training events. The standard 888 training reports are submitted to the Lead Center for review, which in turn submits them to the SBA Project Officer for approval. The centers are not allowed to count an event until all approvals have been documented.

Community Involvement

All centers have developed an excellent reputation for community involvement. The lead center partners with a comprehensive list of organizations throughout the state to reach out to entrepreneurs. The service centers are equally active in their local communities, such as participating in Chamber of Commerce activities and local needs assessment projects. Through this formal and informal communication, the NMSBDC network has gained a thorough understanding of regional needs.

The NMSBDC serves its clients by offering a variety of services that target its specific local population. Using the above tactics, the NMSBDC has found that clients require advice, training, and assistance in preparing business plans, loan packages, bookkeeping, and marketing. All service centers around the state actively promote and provide this assistance to all populations in New Mexico.

Internal Evaluation System

An extensive internal evaluation system is in place at the lead center. The NMSBDC’s Associate State Director, the SBA Project Officer and the New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) monitor the NMSBDC’s effectiveness and integrity. Internal evaluation involves on- site visits by the SBA Project Officer and the Associate State Director. These site visits involve adherence to policies, procedures, output and outcome. In addition, the lead center monitors the Program’s budgets, program income, partner relations, record keeping and reporting based on OMB, SBA, State and institutional guidelines.

Management Information System

The NMSBDC relies on Softshare’s WebCATS Management Information System to conduct much of its internal evaluation. The software collects information about center and client

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 4 of 9 activity and offers the ability to obtain real-time data on output and outcome measurements for each service center. It captures such comprehensive client data as demographics, type and location of business, economic impact of a service center’s activities and the goals achieved by each client. The information is collected at the service center level and reported to the lead center on a quarterly basis. The Lead Center emphasizes to the staff the importance of entering accurate data into its MIS system. During new employee orientation, and in professional development courses, this fact is stressed continuously. In addition, the Policy and Procedures manual is maintained as a guide to operating a service center and collecting data.

The Lead Center reviews the merged data in detail and gives feedback to each service center as to how it compares to statewide results. If a service center’s actual figures are significantly different than its projected milestones, the center director must provide an explanation in its semi-annual report. Accountability includes both fiscal and activity/performance measurements. In most cases, it is the responsibility of the Lead Office to report directly to stakeholders. The Lead Office compiles all fiscal and activity data for statewide reporting.

Quality service measurements are based on information requested by statewide funding partners. The list below identifies Key Performance Measures reported to the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the New Mexico Higher Education (NMHED).

Data Tracked for Accountability SBA NMHED

Number of Small Business Training Sessions Yes Yes Number of Small Business Training Attendees Yes Yes Client Satisfaction (compiled from surveys) No Yes Percent of Clients Rating NMSBDC services as Good to Excellent (compiled from surveys) No Yes Average Hours per Client Case (Time spent on individual cases) Yes Yes Number of Full Time Jobs Created Yes Yes Number of Part Time Jobs Created Yes Yes Number of Businesses Opened Yes Yes Cost of jobs created No Yes Survival Rate of Startup Businesses after 3 years No Yes

Professional Standards

The core values of the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Network (NMSBDC) are essential to the guiding principles of the operation of the local centers. While the NMSBDC is currently expanding its approach to align with Malcolm Baldrige Quality Criteria and to become more data- and client-feedback-focused, the following core values serve as a foundation for the implementation of the NMSBDC program.

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 5 of 9  Exceptional Client Service: Professional relationships are developed with the clients that build trust, cooperation, mutual respect, and client competence. These are accomplished through the caring, integrity, confidentiality, credibility, and expertise of center service providers.

 Enhanced Partnerships: Partnerships that are internal as well as external to the NMSBDC are viewed as strategic alliances, critical to the success of the program. These alliances are based on the values of reciprocity, alignment, trust, and credibility among partners.

 Visionary Leaders: The NMSBDC Lead Center has set the tone for future direction by training all center staff in Malcolm Baldrige Quality standards and processes. In this initial stage of aligning the strategic plan with Malcolm Baldrige Quality Criteria, the values of effective communication, innovation, and competence have been identified by the NMSBDC as basic to visionary leadership.

 Continuous Improvement: As part of the focus on quality, efforts are being made to identify and implement a new form of continuous improvement using the concepts of agility, sharing resources, and service education. The staff has a commitment to improving service as reflected in the identification and publication of Best Practices.

 Community Service: For the NMSBDC, the focus on providing service includes respecting and honoring cultural traditions and customs, which is integral to the cultural diversity of the communities being served.

 Resource Accountability: As NMSBDC continues to grow its service and size, it is increasingly important that the network demonstrate sound management of it fiscal and programmatic resources.

Special Emphasis and Special Programs

The NMSBDC’s partnerships help leverage efforts to foster educational and networking opportunities for the small business community of New Mexico. The NMSBDC will collaborate with its partners in a variety of ways. This includes providing technical expertise, staff time and financial assistance in coordinating and promoting events and initiatives as requested. The following list of partners and CY 2006 events indicates the breadth of the NMSBDC’s participation in the state.

Small Business Administration:  Lender’s forums  Federal Dollars and Sense for Women-Owned Businesses conference  Small Business Week celebration  Veteran outreach events

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 6 of 9  Minority Enterprise Development Week  Faith-based and community initiatives, as appropriate  Business matchmaking events  Government procurement fairs  General networking seminars  Others as requested

Quality New Mexico:  Annual Conference  Small Business Organizational Assessments

New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services:  Entrepreneurial training  Procurement and business matchmaking events

State of New Mexico:  Governor’s Annual Conference on Economic Development  New Mexico Economic Development Course  NAFTA Institute  Lt. Governor’s Summits on Small Business

Chambers of Commerce  Hispano Roundtable  New Mexico Legislative Reception  Others as requested

New Mexico Association of Community Colleges  Legislative Reception

Other partnerships include: ACCION – New Mexico Dept of Vocational Rehabilitation NASA Dept of Education – Entrepreneurship Training New Mexico Community Development Loan Fund WESST-CORP SCORE NM Department of Labor NM Environmental Department NM General Services Administration

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 7 of 9 Relationship with SBA and SBA Resources (Updated from recent meetings with the SBA District Office)

The NMSBDC collaborates with the SBA and other supported programs in several initiatives. It includes the SBA’s logo in all of its promotional material and mentions the SBA in public appearances or when meeting with clients. Cross-referrals are common practice between the offices, including other SBA supported programs.

The SBA Project and District Director attend the quarterly SBDC meetings and often participate in providing training or discussing new initiatives in the SBA. The Project Officer conducts on- site reviews of service centers and discusses the findings with the State Director.

Each service center works with the SBA as well, depending on the service area’s needs. Service centers will continue to provide technical assistance to clients seeking SBA guaranteed loans by assisting them in completing business plans, credit applications and contract proposals. As local needs require, service centers will work with the SBA in delivering service to “Special Emphasis Groups”. The centers will assist in the planning and coordination of a least 10 lender briefing/roundtables across the state. They will also support State E-Mercado initiatives and explore the feasibility of creating specialized E-Business centers. The centers will also continue to work the New Mexico Department of Vocational Rehabilitation to foster self-employment of the physically challenged. As appropriate the centers will also participate with the SBA and the State Procurement Office to assist clients in obtaining government contracts.

Facilities

All software at the NMSBDC contains the required tools to deliver accurate, timely information to help clients solve problems. For example, spreadsheets are often used to help clients make financial decisions. Other on-line tools available throughout the state include training or promotional videos, CDs with research data and a variety of written publications that are available through the NMSBDC.org website.

The NMSBDC is also exploring the feasibility of offering seminars that are recorded and uploaded onto its website to facilitate distance learning. All centers currently receive e-mail messages through the NMSBDC website. But these are primarily initial contacts that qualify as information transfers. The center in Alamogordo (NMSU-A) is serving as a pilot for extensive on-line consulting to determine the feasibility of the service.

At a minimum, all centers have a core set of information resources available to clients. In addition, NMSBDC staff can access the Internet and the SBDC Clearinghouse. Directors and business advisors also communicate within the Network and the ASBDC, giving clients the knowledge and experience of the SBDC across New Mexico and the U.S.

A variety of materials are distributed to clients to assist or educate them in entrepreneurship. SBA publications, economic development programs, alternative lending sources, videos and research material are a few examples. In addition, electronic spreadsheets and the SBDC

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 8 of 9 Clearinghouse are available to clients meeting with Business Advisors. Some of the materials are unique to a specific region, while others are more general information.

New Mexico Small Business Development Center CY2006 Proposal Page 9 of 9