Economic & Community Impact Analysis

4.2 - Supporting Small Business Development

Since its founding in 2006, the HSU-based NorCal SBDC Lead Center has overseen the SBD program for 36 Northern California counties along the coast from the Oregon border to Santa Cruz. HSU supports the NorCal SBDC by providing physical space and offering financing and administrative support. Thanks to the NorCal SBDC’s many far reaching locations, including 4 lead centers at HSU, 18 centers, 5 satellite offices, and 34 outreach locations, the SBDC is able to serve all parts of the NorCal region. The map to the left shows the numerous NorCal SBDC locations throughout the region.

NorCal SBDC Locations

SBDC offers a range of business support services, including one-on-one advising on financing, technology, and public procurement. Since 2006, the NorCal SBDC has spent nearly 350,000 hours counseling over 49,250 clients in the 36 counties the SBDC serves. About 15% of those clients served have been in the 5-county region closest to HSU, Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity, Siskiyou, and Mendocino. In addition to one-on-one advising, SBDC hosts business seminars on accessing capital and funding, human resource management, legal and business issues, and more subjects that help business owners and employees strengthen new skills. NorCal SBDC has hosted over 11,300 of these trainings for nearly 146,600 attendees over its life time, 18% of trainings held in the 5-county region.

The impact of SBDC services is significant. In 2018 alone over 450 NorCal SBDC clients started businesses, and created more than 2,500 jobs. NorCal SBCD was also instrumental in saving close to 980 jobs that were in jeopardy in 2018. From 2006 to 2018 NorCal SBDC clients generated $1.3 billion of taxable revenue, and over $104.9 million in the local 5-county region.99 Business supported or recovered by SBDC clients are important generators of tax income for state and local governments as well.

Native American Tribes are often SBDC clients. In early 2019, SBDC supported the Hoopa Tribe to open a tribally-owned grocery store that opened in early March. SBDC provided 27 hours to counseling to the Hoopa Tribe, helping the client secure a $4.2 million loan, and hire many local employees. Since the only other grocery store in Hoopa Valley closed its doors in 2016, the Tribal lands have been facing a food desert situation. The opening of the Hoopa Shopping Center gives Valley residents the convenience of a local grocery store once again. In 2018 Karuk Tribe member and Marine veteran Crispen McAllister, pictured with his family to the right, launched the wild fire and consulting service company, C Karuk C. The company provides the critical service of water delivery to CalFire and the Karuk Tribe in an isolated, fire-prone area. Mr. McAllister, with assistance from the SBDC, negotiated deals for trucks and equipment; secured qualified drivers; obtained CalFire, FedFire, and Tribal approvals and certifications; secured a $255,000 loan from Redwood Region Economic Development Commission (RREDC), and a $60,000 loan from the Karuk Tribe Community Development Corporation for equipment purchase and a $50,000 line of credit from RREDC for equipment warehousing.100

Aside from housing and financing many SBDC services, HSU students are directly involved in promoting small business success in the Northern California region. In the summer of 2018, ten HSU students served as paid interns, placed at NorCal SBDC offices. Students were given the opportunity to work in their own hometowns, creating local connections and leaning professional skills while giving back to their communities. The interns furthered their knowledge of programs like Microsoft Excel and Constant contact while getting hands-on experience gathering research, assisting clients, and coordinating workshops.101