Effort launched to help local businesses in Butte

A cadre of volunteers from across southwest Montana will soon hit the streets to talk with local businesses about their needs.

By Gerard O’Brien of the Standard Staff

The Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR)program is part of The Montana Standard’s Blueprint for Change effort to move forward on economic development.

Sponsors are Town Pump Inc, MSE/MERDI, Atlantic Richfield and St. James HealthCare. Sponsors put up $10,500 to bring the program to Butte. Plans are to launch it by January 2004.

Earlier this week consultants from ExecutivePulse of Erie, Pa., spoke to about 50 people in Butte on the BEAR program. They also took two days to train volunteers to meet with businesses and learn how to gather data. Volunteers came from Butte, Anaconda, Dillon and Madison County.

A similar program was successfully launched in Billings last year. Helena is looking at it, too, officials said.

"Eighty percent of job growth comes from existing businesses," said Del Birch of ExecutivePulse. "In Montana, recent stats say that 82 percent of new jobs were created from existing companies in 2002.

"So what we’re really doing here is talking to local firms and helping them find the resources to keep their current customers and grow their client base," Birch said.

Volunteers will meet with the business owners to discuss what issues they’re dealing with or offer assistance with expansion plans.

After gathering data — which takes about one hour — the information will be placed into a computer database and reviewed by a core group of BEAR program specialists. These specialists will identify trends and organize a resource team to offer assistance to the firm. The assistance could come from county, state or federal agencies; private industry; or the public sector, depending on the identified needs.

Owners will also be encouraged to talk about their local business climate, to get a sense of where the local economy is going.

"We’ve found in western Maryland, for example, that we had current business trends that were the exact opposite of national studies because the data came straight from the business owner. National studies extrapolated that hiring would be down in western Maryland, when, in fact, business owners were telling us they are planning on expanding," Birch said. "So it is much more useful, timely data."

Locally, firms are encouraged to sign up for a visit from the program volunteers. There is no cost to the business for BEAR specialists to assess a businesses’ needs and recommend resources. At the end of the session, the data will be used to identify resources the business can use to retain current customers or even expand.

The local BEAR group is joined hand-in-hand with the Blueprint for Change

economic development task force, headed by Rick Edwards of NorthWestern Energy. That committee will identify a list of resources which can help local firms through grants, loans, consulting or whatever the need.

Within a year, the business will be visited again for a progress checkup.

All information is confidential. Volunteers sign confidentiality agreements. While owners are encouraged to discuss their company and future plans, they may decline to answer any question.

— By Standard Staff

For more info …

Business people who would like the free assistance from the Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR) program may call program coordinator

Kim Robinson Snetzinger at 496-4480 or e-mail

to set up an appointment.