Starting a New Business? Sam Kendall Can Help!
Sam Kendall from the Small Business Authority(SBA) gave a informative and extremely interesting talk about his work with assisting businesses.
Mr. Kendall is a Certified Business Advisor with his main office in Kingston, although his territory of concern is the Catskill Watershed Region. He is charged with promoting responsible economic development in our area.
Sam has been a counselor for 10 years. He has worked with hundreds of businesses; puts business plans together; assists businesses in getting financing and helps people open and close businesses. He tells us he “spends a lot of time talking people out of doing things” and that of all the businesses that open, “Hospitality businesses are most at risk”.
He explained that there are many reasons businesses fail, but one major issue is “unmanagement”, meaning that even when people are good at what they do, they don’t necessarily run a business well. Skills must be learned either by going to business school or through experience and 85% of businesses fail. A second major reason for business failure is undercapitalization.
The services of the SBA are free and were started during the Carter Administration. Small business is what builds the tax base, so the government has a commitment to assisting those starting out in doing it right. They are a well kept secret that depends on word of mouth and previous clients or banks to send them clients.
Sam told us he thinks of his clients like his children and takes what he does seriously. It is very upsetting to him when businesses fail. His organization is composed of paid professionals as opposed to the other organizations that may have less expertise. SBA counselors must have a certain degree of education and training to qualify for the job.
When asked what attracts people to the area he tells us the main reason is quality of life: beauty and country living. Obstacles include high taxes… and a workforce is not available to fill all the jobs. It is hard to raise capital in a poor economy and relocation is very expensive. Sam believes that tourism and hospitality is going to be the name of the game because manufacturing is less possible in a rural area.
He is notoriously hard on his clients and points out what is ineffective. Through his efforts, Mr. Kendall is helping businesses grow and thrive in our region. Although only 15% of startup businesses will make it for an extended period of time, the SBA can help make starting and running a business better.
For more information about the SBA and SBDC you can consult their web site at http://www.nyssbdc.org/centers/centers.aspx?centid=94 or call (845)339-0025