Business plans are vital for entrepreneurs, funding

Chuck Brys, business counselor for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Small Business Development Center, says he’s retiring from the job he has held for the past 11½ years. But even as he says that he sounds hesitant.

“I tried that about 12 years ago, but it didn’t work out,” he joked.

Brys, who had a successful career in manufacturing and was a corporate CFO at age 31, helped his company transition to new product lines when the industry it was in became obsolete. He wrote business plans and worked in finance, sales, management and marketing. Along the way, he garnered knowledge few can duplicate.

When the company was set to relocate to Tennessee, Brys decided it was time to step aside.

“About that time, I started working with the Green Bay SCORE chapter,” he said. “I wanted to volunteer while retired. But what bothered me is that I was running into a lot of companies that really needed help.”

He thought he could provide that assistance by consulting as a temporary CEO or CFO.  Then, when the position at the SBDC opened up, he thought it would be a good way to make an impact.

That is exactly what he did. Named a “State Star” of SBDC a few years ago, he saw a need for offering assistance beyond Brown County, where most of the focus was. 

“You need to be where the clients are," he said. "I fought with the state about travel budgets and what I found through the process redefined what SBDC does. We now operate in 12 counties."

Brys felt that the most effective way to serve the expanded area was to work with local economic development personnel and let them do the matchmaking. He wanted SBDC to be seen as an extension of the local team. The percentage of clients in the Green Bay area went from 80 percent to 20 percent as the market area grew.

"Each county has its own culture, and by going there, it allowed me to plug in and get to the heartbeat of what is going on in that county,” he said.

And, while counties might respond differently, he said that the basics of entrepreneurship remain the same. Most struggle with the financial aspects; especially when it involves the need for funding. Microloans, a huge help in obtaining bank loans, are less available.

“When I first started at SBDC, there was real energy around the entrepreneurial community and trying to help get minority businesses up and running," Brys said. "A lot of that has gone away.”

That makes it not only more difficult to start a business, it also makes the process of building a business plan that much more vital. 

“A business plan might look daunting to an entrepreneur, but I say if you want to get funded, you need to figure it out," he said. "You can’t go to a lender if you don’t know what your revenue stream will be."

Part of his assistance involved helping entrepreneurs through some of these issues, but his goal was always to let the individual figure it out as part of the learning process. There were two areas that seemed to stand out as most difficult.

“They need to develop a clear understanding of the value they are bringing to the market and understand the market niches they are after," Brys said. "The second thing is the ability to get inside the numbers — that is a skill set that isn’t common.”

There is also that question that a majority of entrepreneurs ask, “What grant money is available?” And, with few exceptions, the answer is, “There isn’t any.”

Brys said he is retiring again because his wife, a school teacher, is also retiring, and they are looking forward to traveling and having more flexibility.  But, he also says that there are jobs he hasn’t finished yet, and there are contracts that he’s written to stay involved. It sounds like “semi-retired” might be a more fitting description.

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.