One-on-one counseling is available through email, phone and videoconferencing.
The Small Business & Technology Development Center at Missouri S&T offers one-on-one business counseling and group training on a variety of business topics in the areas of management, marketing, finance and technology commercialization.
This office is one of a network of offices located throughout the state. The Missouri Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) provide business training and one-on-one assistance to existing business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The following are examples of the type of assistance available in the network:
• Starting a business – start-up business counseling. Finance • Financial analysis with industry comparisons, ratio analysis, break-even, and more. • Capital budgeting • Financial projections • Financing options and debt restructuring Recordkeeping and accounting Marketing • Market research (demographics, psychographics, drive time studies, etc.) • Customer segmentation • Customer relationships and satisfaction • Customer and market knowledge • Competitive analysis • Pricing • Promotions Management • Business Planning • Strategic Planning • Balance Scorecards • Management analysis • Continuous improvement • Ethics and liability management • Human resources (Recruitment and selection, compensation and employee retention, policies/manuals, motivating employees, etc.) Technology Development • Patent assistance • Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants • Investor presentations and preparation • Building management teams
Missouri SBTDC counselors are skilled professionals with experience in many fields including marketing and sales, accounting, financial analysis and cost control, personnel, operations management, inventory control, new business creation, business acquisition, and business sales. All information that clients share with the Missouri SBTDC is held in complete confidence.
The center can assist businesses and researchers in obtaining Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards.
SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages small business to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. This program provides federal funds for research and development expenses of small businesses. In order to participate, certain eligibility criteria must be met.
STTR grants are awarded to small businesses partnering with nonprofit research institutions to assist with technology and product commercialization. This program also requires that certain eligibility criteria must be met.