Last week Carole Butkus of the Washington Business Center spoke with the The Reporter about the new training and counseling services for business owners being offered through the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce, as well as how things are looking at the moment for small business owners on the Eastside.

The Reporter: Do you see that there are still people out there keen to launch their own businesses in this recession?

Carole Butkus: We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people who are interested in starting their own businesses.

The increase was primarily created by the layoffs that have occurred due to the recession, and enhanced by the programs and classes offered by the State of Washington Department of Employment Security (SEAP).

The Self Employment Assistance Program was launched in 2008, and there are also ongoing classes in starting a business offered by the Redmond WorkSource office that are taught by the Washington Business Center.

The demand for the class on starting a business has risen dramatically during the last quarter of 2008 and this first half of 2009.

With all of the layoffs, the relative risk of self-employment versus being an employee doesn’t seem so great anymore.

In addition, the SEAP program gives people an opportunity to pursue the feasibility of going into business while still drawing unemployment insurance.

And there is a lot of help available – all types of business classes, SBA programs and at the community colleges, plus business technical assistance at no charge through the Small Business Administration (SBA) programs.

TR: What are some of the positives of starting up a business now?

CB: Highly-leveraged competitors may be going out of business, leaving an opportunity for lean, energetic startups.

And this is a time when government initiatives offer new opportunities, such as those for businesses that focus on sustainability, energy conservation and environmental cleanup.

There is more opportunity for innovation – people with cutting-edge technology ideas have more time to work on them, and costs may be less, in terms of lower rent, and used equipment.

There is also a greater pool of qualified candidates for hiring employees.

TR: In Sammamish and Issaquah in particular, what does the scene look like at present for small businesses?

CB: There are a lot of creative people in Sammamish and Issaquah, people who see market opportunities.

In Sammamish, there are a significant number of home-based businesses, which indicates that the entrepreneurial spirit was alive and well even before the recession started.

TR: For people whose businesses are up and running, what could the SBA classes offer them?

CB: The Washington Business Center provides a wide variety of classes that are useful to established business owners. Several example are:

1. Our mobile computer lab allows us to bring computer applications classes such as our 5-session QuickBooks course on the road to locations outside our Seattle office.

2. The WBC’s core offering is our “Launch and Grow Your Business” class, which is designed for both startup and established businesses.

This is a seven-session class that provides training, a wide variety of in-class exercises and group discussions, homework designed to produce at least a rough draft of a business plan, and access to business technical assistance during and after the class.

The course covers topics in marketing, management, financial statements, financing a business, developing a cash flow projections, etc.

3. The WBC’s “Business Strategic Growth Teams” are groups of established business owners who meet once a month for targeted training (currently studying social networking as a tool for businesses), goal setting and reporting (the business owner are accountable to each other) and mutual assistance through creative thinking and problem solving.

Businesses owners must be from non-competing industries and sign non-disclosure agreements.

4. Our free “Brown Bag” workshops that we do one or two times a month on specific topics.

Attendees bring their lunch and learn important, relevant information from invited speakers who are experts on their topics.

TR:Is there something that you regularly see business owners needlessly missing out on?

CB: Taking advantage of all the great resources that are available to small business owners.

TR: How did the SBA, WBC and Sammamish Chamber of Commerce (SCC) partnership come about?

CB: The WBC is a program of the SBA.

We provide services to startups and small business owners in King County.

The WBC is one of the centers under the SBA’s women’s business center program.

Although women entrepreneurs are a special focus, we work with all entrepreneurs.

As part of our mission to serve all of King County, we make a special outreach to the eastside, and a good percentage of our clients are not located in Seattle.

The SCC and the WBC have been discussing how we could collaborate to better serve our clients and members.

The monthly class on how to start a business and the half-day of business counseling in the Chamber office is the initial stage of a great partnership.

In response to demand, we may be adding additional business counseling hours and classes.

TR: Was there are perceived lake of resources for small businesses owners?

CB: People need to drive to Seattle to access the WBC’s training opportunities.

The SCC/WBC partnership will help alleviate some of that.

The WBC’s counseling staff is providing a limited amount of technical assistance to Eastside businesses by meeting business owners/entrepreneurs at their place of business or a local coffee shop.

Having office hours at the SCC offices is very helpful to the entrepreneurs and the WBC staff.

For more about Sammamish Chamber of Commerce’s partnership with Washington Business Center, see our story in Friday’s Reporter.

For more information on the Washington Business Center, go to www.wbcseattle.org