Idaho SBDC: Another Year In the Books
Bryan Matsuoka – Idaho SBDC
2023 was a fulfilling year for the Idaho SBDC. Our Key Performance Indicators are once again overachieved holding our own to meet the milestones for our Great State of Idaho.
We have developed a collaboration with the Downtown Wheelhouse, working with 2023 SBA’s Women-Owned Business Person of the year and one of Idaho Business Review’s top 50 Women of 2023, Janeale Dean. Idaho SBDC, a variety of our community business professionals, Janeale Dean, and the Downtown Wheelhouse are working on providing trainings and opportunities to grow in sprints that are
attractive to investors. The idea being to add value and enrichment with outside money, providing wealth in a retention effort for existing businesses in South Central Idaho.
We are fortunate to have finally published two long-term clients Success Stories for 2023. The confidential nature of our business clients requires a formal SBA release of that confidentiality for the SBDC to share their stories. Mary Burgess, instrumental in gathering research for clients daily, was tenacious in gathering the facts to satisfy the requirements for publishing these success stories. One has provided positive energy over most of my career at the Idaho SBDC.
Aguila Con El Taco began in an old A&W in Rupert. The family recipes brought in customers from a variety of Idaho backgrounds and diversities. Alex Aguilar, a HON trained Six Sigma efficiency expert with a heart of gold, is one of the hardest working people I know. A key to Alex’s success story is his willingness to be coached, learn, and apply the knowledge in his own leadership style. Examples range from payroll processing, employee retention, owner carried financing, title transferring of his commercial property, working with a professional CPA firm (Robert Oaks, CPA), being a dad as well as a change agent as family became instrumental in the on-going business operations.
APEX initial start in Twin Falls was this year with the guidance of Lori Manning, State Director of what was then called PTAC. APEX is all about government contracting, as they offer no cost confidential technical assistance in all aspects of selling to federal and state governments. In addition to welcoming a full-time APEX person at our center in 2024, we also look forward to celebrating our incredible success story clients by bringing back our SBDC Success Tour and putting on our 6th Annual All Business Conference on April 9th, where our them is Mental Toughness.
Our services continue to be hybrid with both in person and remote coaching, consulting, and training offerings for businesses employing less than 500 people. We serve with the idea of your success being our business. But then again, isn’t that the magic of the valley?
December 19, 2023
Bryan Matsuoka is regional director of the Idaho Small Business Development Center at the College of
Southern Idaho. He can be reached at 208-732-6451 or via email at bmatsuoka@csi.edu.