By Myles Ma
Owning a small business can be difficult. Ask Joan Brame, owner of Empower Fitness in the Lawrence Shopping Center.
Earlier this year, she was agonizing over the decision of whether to leave her women’s fitness franchise to start her own independent fitness center. She hadn’t thought of a name or a business plan.
Like many business owners, Brame, a 62-year-old retiree from a long career in academia, wasn’t aware of the Small Business Development Center, a federal program with a branch located on the campus of the College of New Jersey serving Mercer and Middlesex counties. Brame first heard of them during Trenton’s Small Business Week in October 2008.
She took a pamphlet, and after a while, went through the online process to receive consultation from SBDC. Soon after, she got a call from SBDC regional director Lorraine Allen.
The pair met in January, and started the process that led to Brame’s decision to leave her franchise and move to a larger space with more than 300 members.
“I wish I had known about them when I first started six years ago,” she said.
Allen isn’t surprised when people say they haven’t heard of SBDC. SBDC relies on business owners to spread the word about their services, since they keep their consultations private.
No doubt many businesses would jump at the chance to work with SBDC, which provides management and technical assistance and low- to no-cost training for new and small businesses. Consultation can include help with business planning, how to get loans, how to do business with the government, marketing, e-commerce, dealing with landlords or human resources, depending on what the business needs.
“We’re like green eggs and ham,” Allen said. “Once [owners] find us, they love us.”
The center’s philosophy is borrowed from the old adage: Give a man fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for a lifetime. Allen says the center’s consultants give business owners the tools to succeed, but it’s up to them to use them.
Brame met with a consultant from a nearby small business: Michael Briehler, president of PEAC Health & Fitness in Ewing. Briehler helped her determine how to best use her space and helped her make the decision to move into a bigger space.
“He even recommended this name, ‘Empower Fitness,’” Brame said.
Ellen Silverman, a marketing coach who consulted Brame on behalf of SBDC, advised her to hire a graphic artist to create a logo and revamp her marketing materials. Brame learned to target her advertising efforts at Lawrence residents, where almost 75 percent of her members live.
Allen said SBDC trains about 2,000 people a year. The training is more vital in these tough economic times, Allen said, when owners need to be forward-thinking.
SBDC certainly helped Brame, who has watched many of her competitors in town die off, while she has survived.
“They have been a tremendous support for me,” Brame said.
Joan Brame, owner of Empower Fitness, received consultation from the Small Business Development Center, which helped her decide to move into a new space in the Lawrence Shopping Center. (Staff photo by Myles Ma.),
