The West Central Minnesota Small Business Development Center is now open and serving clients at its new location at Minnesota State Community and Technical College, or M State.
As of the beginning of January, the regional SBDC is headquartered on M State’s Moorhead campus, in room B163, an accessible office and meeting space. Satellite offices on M State’s Detroit Lakes and Fergus Falls campuses are slated to open in the coming months.
The regional SBDC office was previously hosted by Concordia College in Moorhead. M State was selected as the new host because of its established partnerships with regional businesses and industry, proven commitment to business development, available resources, and large geographic and demographic footprint.
“We are very pleased to be the host partner of the regional SBDC,” said Marsha Weber, Dean of the School of Business and Information Technology at M State. “This provides a means for us to connect to and serve our communities while providing opportunities for our faculty and students to gain valuable experience working with entrepreneurs and small businesses.”
“We are also pleased to have two knowledgeable and experienced individuals leading our local SBDC office, as Regional Director and Associate Director,” she added.
In the role of Regional Director is Ian Carlstrom, and Associate Director is Amy Anderson. Each has prior experience with the SBDC, and the two have worked together for the organization before. They are taking a collaborative approach to their new roles at the new location.
“It’s very much a partnership,” said Anderson. “As we strive to provide supportive services to our client business owners and entrepreneurs, we’re also working together to build up the strength of the regional SBDC program. We want to create a program that speaks for itself.”
Anderson has been with the West Central SBDC since 2018, serving as Program Coordinator and Interim Director. Carlstrom is a former advisor for the North Dakota SBDC and has also served as Director of Operations at dogIDs, Business Advisor and EOS Implementer for the Entrepreneur Fund, and founded his own consulting company.
“I was a business advisor for the SBDC during the COVID-19 years, working with hundreds of start-ups and existing businesses from all sorts of industries and backgrounds, and I’m excited to bring that boots-on-the-ground experience to my new role,” said Carlstrom. “The SBDC builds a bridge between academia and the actual workforce, providing functional business assistance – not theoretical – so it’s really effective that way.”
The new office at M State hosted its first client meetings in mid-January, and Anderson and Carlstrom have already been talking with M State business students about how they can benefit from the SBDC program. The two are planning informational visits to communities around the region, including a March 15 road tour with the Minnesota SBDC van in celebration of National SBDC Day.
The national SBDC program is the country’s largest small business assistance network. It connects small business owners and entrepreneurs with federal, state and local government resources as well as the resources and knowledge of higher education institutions, economic development organizations and the private sector.
In Minnesota, nine regional SBDC offices are located around the state. The West Central office serves Clay, Becker, Otter Tail, Wilkin, Grant, Douglas, Traverse, Pope and Stevens counties. Contract consultants advise clients on everything from starting a new business to selling an old one; M State plans to involve its faculty and Workforce Development Solutions trainers in that advising process in the future.
“My hope is that M State will see us as a tool for their students and alumni, and clients will see us as one more tool in their toolbox as they start or revamp their professional careers,” said Anderson.
“We’re working to create a hub of good connections throughout the region, not just for ourselves but for those we serve,” Carlstrom said. “There’s a nice collaborative community of people here at M State.”
A member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities, M State serves more than 6,500 students in credit courses each year in over 70 career and liberal arts programs online and at its campuses in Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Moorhead and Wadena. The college also partners with communities to provide workforce development services and other responsive training programs.