This Insights article was contributed by Heather McWhorter, Regional Director of the Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC)
 
Depending on the size of your small to mid-sized business, you may be the CEO, CFO, COO, CHRO, CTO and more.
 
Managing a small to mid-sized business is difficult… but you don’t have to do it alone. Tap into passionate, experienced professionals and colleagues that can help you address critical management issues, while enabling your business to grow and thrive.
 
If you aren’t comfortable with asking for help, this can be one of the most difficult tasks that you need to do to improve your business. However, asking for advice is critical for the long-term success of your business.
 
Getting started is simple. Your action plan:

1. Set aside time on your calendar and establish a timeframe
    When will the mentor/committee/board be established?
 
2. Determine the initial strategic goal to discuss   
    Think about a long-term strategic goal or a shorter-term goal you are struggling with. Some ideas to start: understanding existing customers; forming a better management structure; obtaining capital to grow; increasing profitability; addressing personnel issues; identifying new markets; or developing a new product line. Try to just pick one specific goal to focus on initially.

3. Connect with the mentor/committee/board  
    Who you should reach out to will depend on the primary goal selected in Step 2. Can the goal be conquered internally? Solved through a peer-based mentor relationship? Through professionals? Is confidentiality needed or is a broad innovation group a better solution?

       Some ideas:

• Form an employee focus group
• Establish a relationship with a mentor from a similar, non-competing company
• Develop an Advisory Board
• Work with a university or economic development partner such as the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC)

4. Schedule a kick-off meeting
    Some guidelines: use a facilitator; set a clear agenda; keep the meeting to an hour; listen more than you talk; be flexible; and end on time.

5. Follow up.  
   Some guidelines: summarize what was learned and next steps; schedule the next meeting (if appropriate); and know when to move onto another partnership to tackle the next business goal.
 
You will be surprised at the results – at the willingness of people to help, at the improvements of your business, and at the insights for business growth.
 
At the UNCW SBTDC, our experienced and knowledgeable counselors are committed to making businesses better. Our goal is to help small to mid-sized businesses thrive by helping business leaders to make more informed decisions, access sources of capital and financing, evaluate and improve financial performance, obtain business and market information, improve leadership skills and employee performance, and plan for a better future.
 
The UNCW SBTDC Regional Service Center serves Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties with counseling, training, research and technical assistance services for small business owners, mid-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and firms developing new products, technologies and markets. This office is connected to UNCW and the Cameron School of Business (CSB).
 
One of the hallmarks of the SBTDC at UNCW is its connectivity to the CSB. Most notable is the MBA Learning Alliance, an applied learning opportunity embedded in the professional MBA program. In this program, the SBTDC provides the Learning Alliance with small business clients who have real-time business challenges but may not have the time or wherewithal to devote to these higher-level strategic issues.
 
The business school provides MBA students, who tackle these challenges by applying what they have learned in the classroom to develop practical solutions for the clients. The students are mentored by faculty, as well as SBTDC business counselors. Many student recommendations have been enthusiastically received and implemented by the small business clients.
 
For information about the UNCW SBTDC, please contact the new Regional Service Center Director Heather McWhorter at [email protected].

Heather McWhorter recently moved to the Greater Wilmington area from central Pennsylvania, where she was Director of the Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Penn State Director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Outreach Initiatives.She transformed the Penn State SBDC to meet community outreach goals of the university, while also aligning with engaged scholarship and technology transfer goals. The net result was an engaged center that assisted more than 800 businesses annually while engaging more than 5,000 students and 10,000 community members annually.Heather is passionate about small business, environment, and university-based economic development that transforms student learning.

Robert T. Burrus, Jr., Ph.D., is the dean of the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, named in June 2015. Burrus joined the UNCW faculty in 1998. Prior to his current position, Burrus was interim dean, associate dean of undergraduate studies and the chair of the department of economics and finance. Burrus earned a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in mathematical economics from Wake Forest University. The Cameron School of Business has approximately 60 full-time faculty members and 20 administrative and staff members. The AACSB-accredited business school currently enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate students in three degree programs and 200 graduate students in four degree programs. The school also houses the prestigious Cameron Executive Network, a group of more than 200 retired and practicing executives that provide one-on-one mentoring for Cameron students. To learn more about the Cameron School of Business, please visit http://csb.uncw.edu/. Questions and comments can be sent to [email protected].