Hollister
– When Brian Lucas started his business, Off-the-Chain Bikes,
there was one thing he couldn’t get enough of: advice.
Hollister – When Brian Lucas started his business, Off-the-Chain Bikes, there was one thing he couldn’t get enough of: advice.
“It’s a big learning process,” Lucas said. “That’s half the fun.”
That advice included help from a professional consultant with the City of Hollister who helped him get his finances in order, and it was key to getting off to a smooth start, Lucas said.
Six years later, that kind of professional help is in short supply. In fact, according to Al Martinez, executive director of the county’s nonprofit Economic Development Corporation, San Benito business owners have been on their own since Gavilan College stopped funding the local small business development center, which provided advice and consulting to many businesses.
“You don’t know how bad I miss that service,” Martinez said.
However, Hartnell College has come to the rescue. Martinez said the Salinas-based community college has started its own small business program, and it has reopened the Hollister satellite office as part of the package.
Peter Graff, a retired farmer, has been advising local businesses since 1988, and he said Hartnell College asked him to get the Hollister program off the ground. Graff said the new small business center is virtually identical to the old one; there’s just a different college in charge.
The center’s services include advice on marketing, personnel, bookkeeping and putting together a business plan. Graff said he also has connections to local banks and will help new businesses apply for loans.
“We’ll help with anything: a restaurant, a small farm, a gas station,” Graff said.
Older companies might also benefit from a session with the business center’s counselors, Graff said.
Lucas agreed that even six years into running his store, there are still more things to learn.
“Sometimes you settle into a pattern, even if it’s not the most efficient way to do things,” he said. “Occasionally, a light goes on in your head. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, you’ll have someone who can point those things out to you.”
For his part, Martinez said he’s glad Graff is back. Many would-be entrepreneurs called to ask about the program after it closed, he said.
“It’s a blessing to the business community,” Martinez said.
