Small business help comes for rural Washington counties at new center at LCC

The new office aims to mainly support Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties — more rural areas with higher poverty than the state average.

Having an office to help that part of Southwest Washington has been a long-term goal, State Director Sheryl McGrath said. Although the office only just opened Wednesday, she already has many ideas about future partnerships with LCC and other local organizations.

“We’ve got a dream that’s going to grow,” she said.

How does it work?

The Small Business Development Center is a national organization funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration that advises small business owners on topics like finances, marketing and human resources. It has 33 offices in Washington, with the closest in Vancouver, and almost 1,000 nationwide.

The organization previously had an office in Kelso, but its services were more targeted toward Clark County, said Kyle Todd, the business advisor for the LCC office. The Kelso office closed to allow the Vancouver Small Business Development Center to take the lead in Clark County.

People looking for help from the Small Business Development Center are typically assigned to the advisor who is closest to them geographically, but if they have a specific need, they may be assigned to an advisor farther away who specializes in that topic, Todd said. He considers his specialty area to be startups and businesses that are looking to expand out of the startup phase.

Even before the office just formally opened, people were already signing up for appointments, Todd said. To keep each meeting confidential, the office does not accept walk-in clients.

All advisors are required to take a six-month certification training before they can start working, to make sure they understand the organization’s standards.

“It ensures that we speak the same language, we’re using the same terminology,” McGrath said.

Why is it needed?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports Wahkiakum had the fourth highest poverty rate in Washington state in 2018-2022, while Pacific County was ranked eighth, Grays Harbor ninth and Cowlitz 16th.

In Cowlitz County in particular, the state Employment Security Department reports the unemployment rate has run about two percentage points higher than the national average, and even three or four points higher during recessions.

In September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the Longview metro area with the second highest unemployment rate of the state’s 13 metro areas, with only Yakima ahead.

Longview Mayor Spencer Boudreau, who attended the center’s opening, said he hopes expanding opportunities for small businesses will help grow LCC as well as improve Longview’s economic situation.

“We’re not just a timber town,” he said about the city originally formed around the Long-Bell Lumber Company in the early 1920s. “We’re not just an industry town. Longview’s second century can be built on partnerships with LCC.”

Many local business owners, like people around the country, are struggling to keep up with inflation and a rising cost of living, he added.

“It’s a tough world out there economically,” Boudreau said.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, the annual inflation rate in 2024 was 2.6% in October. It has dropped from a high of 9.1% in June 2022, but many Americans are still noticing high prices for groceries and other necessities.

How does LCC benefit?

LCC staff hope the office will draw more community members to the school’s business programs.

The Small Business Development Center is located inside LCC’s Business Achievement Center in the Applied Arts Building.

“Coming here to the Lower Columbia College campus made absolute sense because of this amazing business center here,” Todd said.

Todd said that although he is not a member of LCC’s faculty, he would be open to getting involved by giving presentations to business classes in the future.

Business is one of the biggest programs at LCC after degrees like English and math, which students looking to transfer to other schools tend to take, said Mark Gaither, the lead faculty advisor for the Business Achievement Center.

Students and community members alike often come to the school to ask for advice on running a business. Gaither said LCC’s business center typically sees at least two community members each week with questions about things like creating a website or getting a business license.

“There’s been a missing component,” he said. “People who are interested in starting a business, how do they do that?”

The Business Achievement Center tries to ensure that its services do not compete with professional advisors, and points visitors toward paid options that can provide more in-depth information, Gaither said. It partners with programs like Recast Your City, which aims to help cities revitalize their downtowns.

He said he hopes people who visit the Small Business Design Center will turn to LCC if they are interested in learning more about business management. LCC offers for-credit business classes as well as non-credit continuing education classes that people who are not students can sign up for.

“I see those expanding considerably,” Gaither said.