Small business owners often struggle to find reliable guidance when cash runs short or technology shifts. A statewide network offers free, practical help through the U.S. Small Business Administration.
On today’s episode of Business Trends Today, Tyler Teresa, Southeast Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and Allan Adams, State Director of the Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC), join us for this month’s SBA Update. They explain how SBDCs help owners with cash flow, AI and American manufacturing.
Private-sector pros turned educators
According to Teresa, Georgia’s SBDC network operates 17 centers statewide. Adams adds that the network hires every consultant from the private sector. Those hires include business owners, commercial loan officers, accountants, marketing professionals and export sales managers. The network works to turn them into educators, Adams said.
“We bring them in and we try to turn them into educators because we are fundamentally an educational program.” - Allan Adams
Adams worked on Capitol Hill for a U.S. House member on the Small Business Committee before returning to Athens. A University of Georgia graduate, he got involved with the SBDC program there and now oversees the statewide network.
Consultants teach owners to apply business concepts to their own circumstances, Adams said. They also teach owners to collect and analyze data for sound decisions. That work fits a new startup, a struggling business or an established company weighing new opportunities.
SBDCs across the Southeast helped more than 50,000 entrepreneurs this year. Georgia alone has 1.4 million small businesses. The SBDCs can help them grow, hire more people and deploy capital that the SBA can help them secure. As the region grows, more businesses will need that help, Teresa said.
Use AI, but verify
Owners should embrace AI with care and verify what it tells them before making major decisions, Adams said.
“AI is great at giving you information. It may not be giving you truth.” - Allan Adams
Adams said AI was the focus of the national SBDC conference in Atlanta. Google sponsored the event, and every topic centered on the technology. A survey he saw recently suggests small firms are using AI with caution. AI lets resource-scarce small firms plan on a scale that once took an army of people.
The questions an owner types into an AI tool shape the answers. Consultants help owners find the right questions. “You may not know as a business owner what you don’t know,” Teresa said.
Free consultants through the SBDC network can help owners find the answers they really need. Owners still need business experts by their side, Teresa added.
SBA backs manufacturing growth
The SBA is focused on bringing more jobs back to the United States, Teresa said. Small businesses are the backbone of that effort.
“Our goal is to make sure that we’re supplying all these resources that we need to make sure manufacturing right here in America thrives.” - Tyler Teresa
President Trump has brought a lot of foreign investment into the country, Teresa said. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler has set a strong vision for the agency, he said. The SBDC network plays a big part by making sure manufacturers get the consultants they need.
Consultants can save owners time by researching topics and explaining how each one applies to their business, Adams said. The service carries no direct out-of-pocket cost, which suits frugal owners, he added.
Consultants come from a range of career backgrounds, and most clients are extremely grateful for the help.
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