Aspiring entrepreneurs throughout southwest Iowa can breathe a collective sigh of relief — the Small Business Development Center is scheduled to reopen in October.

The center, which operated out of Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, closed along with the program operating out of Southwestern Community College in Creston in June of 2002, after the legislature cut the budget by 60 percent. The center is an outreach program of Iowa State’s College of Business and has more than a dozen centers located throughout Iowa.

The Iowa legislature has re-allocated ISU economic development activities funds and given the center $75,000, which the university plans to use to reopen the program in Council Bluffs.

“They’re basically taking money from one pocket and putting it into another,” said Jon Ryan, the state director for the Iowa Small Business Development Center.

Ryan said he hopes there will be enough money to reopen the division in Creston in early 2004. Until then, Creston will be paired up with the center in Council Bluffs, which will carry the load of business questions in Western Iowa.

The center assists entrepreneurs in sorting through the paper work and jumping through the legal hoops that come with opening a new business, Ryan said. Their advice is free of charge and has assisted thousands of people in the Small Business Development Center’s 20 years in operation.

“We help people do the technical things that they might not know about, like dealing with banks and licenses,” Ryan said.

The center offers a variety of services to the communities, said Lars Peterson, associate state director for the Small Business Development Center. Some include one-on-one counseling, workshops and suggestions of books to further enhance the entrepreneur’s knowledge.

“We not only help people start up new businesses, but we also assist them in expanding their businesses,” Peterson said.

One man came in looking for help with starting up his third restaurant, Ryan said. He’d already been through the process before with his other restaurants, but still wanted some assistance working through the particulars.

Ryan credits the center with helping communities create and retain jobs for its residents.

“New jobs come from new businesses,” Ryan said. “We return multiple dollars [to the economy] for the tax money that’s spent. We’re good for the economy and good for the state.”

Stephanie Daugherty agreed with Ryan, but for more personal reasons.

“[The Small Business Development Center] helped us enough that I would have to say we wouldn’t be where we are today without them,” Daugherty said.

When she wanted to start her own small business in Council Bluffs, she didn’t know where to start. She knew she wanted to specialize in massage therapy, so armed with that idea alone, she went in search of guidance.

When she found the Small Business Development Center at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, they assisted her in developing a workable plan. Her business, the Ancient Wisdom and Wellness Center, has been operating successfully for five years now.

“They helped us set it all up, from start to finish,” Daugherty said. “I would absolutely recommend it, especially since it’s free.”