By Chelsea Hadaway
chadaway@scbiznews.com

Staring down a road of declining numbers and a weak economy, small businesses are being forced to take a hard look at their most basic operations.

“These well-established companies are coming in with cash flow problems,” said Paul Thomas, senior manager for the Small Business Administration office in Charleston.

“They have to take a hard look at what they should do next.”

John Clarkin, director of the Tate Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Charleston, recommends that business owners allocate time to gaining information and education. He says businesses relying on information rather than gut feelings will come out of the slump successful.

He suggests using resources such as the Service Corps of Retired Executives and the Small Business Development Center. In addition to being informed when strategizing, Clarkin suggests business owners look at the products and the services they offer, determine which ones are essential and focus on those.

“We still buy things, we still drive, we still eat,” Clarkin said. “Consumers are making value judgments with a lot more discretion now.” So by providing consumers with the most value for the money, companies can actually expand their client base in a down economy, he said.

The Tate Center and the business school at the College of Charleston offer resources, too.

Through the Entrepreneur’s HelpDesk program and small-business management classes, students take on local businesses as clients and analyze their operations, provide a review and offer solutions. Additionally, Hinnant and Clarkin have been developing programs at the Tate Center for Entrepreneurship called “Venture In” and “Venture Out” that provide ongoing support and education to small businesses at a low cost.

“There are so many resources that are either free or cheap,” said Virginia Hinnant, who teaches at the Tate Center and in the FastTrac program. Those resources include education-related programs and government-funded organizations. And not only can these organizations assess the numbers and determine what the next steps should be, they often also know of ways to secure funding.

The SBA is accelerating its Community Express program, which makes $25,000 loans for businesses, and is planning a new loan program for rural areas, Thomas said.

Read more about resources for small business in today’s Charleston Regional Business Journal or online at www.charlestonbusiness.com.