Representatives from the Alaska District office for the U.S. Small Business Administration were the featured speakers during a recent chamber luncheon at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. Jeff Salzer, Deputy Director of the Alaska District office of the SBA discussed resources and programs offered by the SBA.
He talks to KSRM about the issues of interest rates and inflation:
“I mean interest rates obviously affect the cost of money, but what I do see is being a small business owner, you look for opportunities. Opportunity equals a problem plus a solution. Our entrepreneurs in Alaska have figured out solutions to these problems and they’ve found a ton of opportunities during COVID. I think inflation, on a personal level for all of us, it increases the cost of what things are, but entrepreneurs are flexible enough that they’re able to find ways to create new opportunities and new solutions.”
Salzer speaks about being a resource helping businesses grow:
“We’ve got just a legion of consultants through our funded partnerships that can assist businesses in making those decisions, but at the end of the day, entrepreneurs are risk takers and that’s why I’m so impressed with our Alaska small businesses. They’ve had a rough couple of years. They’ve taken a lot of risks to stay in business. We can help them mitigate their risk by using some of the services, however at the end of the day, that’s a decision that each individual business owner needs to make, but if it does become a point in your business life cycle where either you start to grow and expand or you start to contract and close, you need to understand that the financial model of your business and how you create and generate value for your customers, but also how you bring that income in, that model changes over time. Get a hold of the Small Business Administration.
He walks through the process of coming forward with a business idea:
“Our staff will get you over to the SBDC and what they’re going to do is tell you what the market looks like and help you come to that decision on your own because we’re not in the business of killing people’s dreams. We’re here to help you get to where you want to go and sometimes where you want to go, maybe it’s a circuitous route. You might have to, instead of starting that restaurant, maybe you need to start a food truck, maybe you need to learn the restaurant industry first before you get there, but we’ll give you the information to make the best decisions possible.”
Visit www.sba.gov for more information.