| The Business and Technical Assistance Center is located at 375 South Carbon Ave. The center will be hosting a seminar for business owners and employees on Nov. 14 based on the bestselling book, “Who Moved My Cheese.” |
The Southeastern Utah Business and Technical Assistance Center opened in Carbon County in 1995. The services provided by BTAC have become part of the economic development effort in Castle Country.
The center is located at 375 South Carbon Avenue in Price. BTAC is a non-profit economic development corporation. The goal of the center is to assist emerging and expanding businesses in southeastern Utah.
According to the BTAC website, most businesses fail within the first five years because the companies are under-capitalized and may lack the tools needed to succeed. The BTAC has been designed to meet the needs of struggling or growing businesses.
The center can help residents who want to start a new or expand an existing business.
“Our main objective is to assist owners in the development or expansion of their business,” explained Delia Paletta, program coordinator for the BTAC. “We would like to target home-based businesses to get them out in the community, into storefronts, and help them grow by utilizing the incubator program here at the BTAC.”
The program offers the following services to businesses in Castle Country:
•Affordable, professional office space.
Along with office space, the center provides utilities, copy-FAX equipment and professional telecommunications, including Internet access and two line telephones.
• Meeting room accommodations.
The center provides in house and associate client with conference rooms for presentations, board meetings and social events.
•Confidential, one-on-one counseling.
To help reduce the risk of failure during the infancy of businesses, the BTAC offers free counseling to local entrepreneurs.
The professional staff of business counselors has the knowledge to assist with any obstacle.
•Business operational tools.
The center offers amenities for clients, including a photocopier, mail room, business library and social hall.
The BTAC’s website provides a client listing for added publicity and contact information for all businesses renting space within the center.
•Financing.
The center can assist small and expanding businesses with funding.
According to information on the BTAC website, the focus of the financing program is to support strong local companies who require capital for expansion and new businesses that show the potential for growth.
To be eligible for loan monies applicants/businesses must be a tenant or associate tenant of the BTAC.
The associate tenant fee is $100 per year for the life of the loan.
All business plans must demonstrate that they are economically viable.
When submitting a loan application to the center, residents should be aware of the fact that the following items are required.
•A completed application form.
•A business plan along with three year cash flow projections.
•A letter of commitment from other lenders.
•Three years of business income tax information.
•Three years of personal income tax information.
•Copies of articles of incorporation, bylaws or partnership agreements.
According to BTAC representatives, local residents will need access to Adobe Reader software in order to download and view the application for funding.
The center also offers a revolving loan fund program to businesses for finance purposes.
The revenues from the revolving loan program are available to help new and existing firms in Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties along with the Navajo Reservation with gap funding..
The center offers gap financing of up to $80,000, with a primary lending source required.
The funding program also offers a seed capital loan of up to $10,000 with a five-year repayment term.
All loan forms and eligibility requirements are available to Carbon County residents with Internet access on the center’s website.
The center’s address is btacenter.com.
•Plan Room: the business center offers procurement technical assistance for contractors and sub-contractors in the four corners area.
The program offers government bid matching and local bid opportunities.
The BTAC will host a seminar on Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. entitled “The cheese experience, an amazing way to deal with change in your work and life.”
The seminar will be presented by Ethan Migliori, SBDC regional director.
“This seminar will show you and your fellow employees how to deal the change and personalities around you and how you can work together to change, grow and win,” concluded Paletta.