Your Guiding Light

During the onset of the COVID pandemic, many students had their summer internships cancelled by concerned businesses. The South Dakota SBDC was able to work with our host University to match these students up with current and former SBDC clients to fill these internships as well as provide financial support through CARES Act funds. This was so successful of a program that we are approaching our 3rd round, scheduled for January 2022.

Despite the odds stacked against retail businesses Bird in the Bush continues to thrive. Tammy Whaley the sole proprietor of the shop saw the pandemic as an opportunity to get online and keep progressing forward. Through the assistance of the TSBDC Tammy expanded her business from small-town brick and mortar to an E-Commerce platform now able to welcome in customers from across the globe.

Kathie Bassler of Bassler Energy Services, Inc came to the Brazos Valley SBDC for assistance with Main Street Lending Program. Clients had seen a dip in sales and were looking to utilize MSLP program for cash flow support. The SBDC advisor was able to provide some industry data the client needed for their application. The advisor also arranged a meeting with the client and a financial specialist, using the network's CARES Act specialists program. Using the information and advice provided by the SBDC advisor and specialist, the client was able to attain $4,500,000 in MSLP funding which she credits for saving their company during this pandemic. The funds allowed the client to retain 78 employees and add seven new employees.

Offering specialized restaurant seating, Keith Beasley started his company in 2016 focusing on better quality seating for client businesses. With steady growth over the years, the Tyler manufacturing business was hard hit by the pandemic with significant staff loss and 100% of work contracts cancelled or put on hold due to lockdowns and restrictions. Strong client relationships, assistance from the Tyler SBDC, assistance from the SBA PPP and EIDL funding helped One Source recover from the pandemic. Keith is able to move forwarding with increasing staff in his company.

In early 2020, COVID-19 began to negatively impact numerous industries across the country. This includes the magazine industry, as the pandemic caused a massive drop in revenues throughout the Spring and Summer of 2020 especially. After working together with Austin Payne, our CARES Act Consultant, Christy was able to apply for the PPP at her local bank to help cover 2.5 months of payroll expenses. Austin worked closely with Christy on her application to ensure that everything was in order and correct so that when it went to the bank it would be an easy process.