SBA Newsline Eight Volume 10 – Issue 10 – -Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming-

SBA’s Monthly News Update

Regional Administrator Notes: by Mick Ringsak

Family-owned business thrives in Rapid City. From time to time I think
it would be good to tell you about some of the fantastic SBA success stories
we have in Region Eight. I want to introduce you to Slumberland Furniture
– Larkin & Jones Appliances. Steven and David Jones, co-owners of Rapid
City’s Slumberland Furniture have worked together for over 20 years to
build their father’s company into a trusted employer, faithful community supporter, and
supplier of quality merchandise.

The Larkin & Jones appliance store was started in 1956
on Main Street, Rapid City, South Dakota, by Bob Jones and M.J. Larkin. In 1975, Jones
bought out Larkin to become the sole owner of the store. Two years later, Steve and
Dave began working full time for their father, eventually buying him out in 1986. Seeing
the need to expand the business, the brothers started selling furniture at a separate
location in Rapid City in 1990. The two stores continued to grow and expand throughout
the 1990’s until it was decided to merge the businesses into one location. In 1999, with
the assistance of an SBA 504 Loan, the Jones brothers moved into a new building north
of the Rushmore Mall in Rapid City.

The building combined both Slumberland Furniture
and Larkin & Jones Appliances. In 2003, they once again expanded the building to
include a full line of BBQ grills and accessories, area rugs and professional cookware.
Because of these changes, sales have jumped to nearly $4.0 million and the store
recently received the national Slumberland award for highest sales volume increase out
of all the Slumberland stores in the United States. The business currently employs a
loyal staff of 21.

Dave Jones explains that his employees rarely leave because the staff is
"like family" saying "whenever something is needed, everyone is willing to pitch in and
help cover." The Jone’s invest in their local community. They take part in "Homes for the
Holidays", a national Slumberland charity during the Christmas season where mattress
sets are donated to needy people in the local community. In addition, returned or
exchanged mattresses are donated to local charities like the Salvation Army or
Cornerstone Rescue Mission.

The Advocate’s Corner by Jim Henderson

Office of Advocacy Makes Big Plans for 2005. October marks the
start of a new fiscal year. This past year has been one of tremendous
accomplishment for the Office of Advocacy. Advocacy’s forward-looking
conference, “Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century,” cosponsored with the
E.M. Kaufman Foundation, broke new ground in the study of
entrepreneurship.

Through the partnership, Advocacy has been able to
offer on-demand conference videos on our website, as well as a print edition of the
conference proceedings. Building on this success, Advocacy will cosponsor several major
events in 2005. Entrepreneurship and Economic Development On March 7, 2005, Advocacy is
hosting a conference to highlight market-based economic initiatives in the states.

The event will
spotlight leaders in state government who will showcase their economic initiatives in a panel format.
“The Role of Entrepreneurship in Promoting Economic Development” will be cosponsored with the
Kauffman Foundation, the Council of State Governments, and the National Lieutenant Governors
Association.

The conference will explore state economic development initiatives and best practices
that are successfully generating new firms, output, and employment. Advocacy will follow up with a
summary document for small business owners, academics and policymakers.

Entrepreneurship on
the International Stage

In 2003, Tom Sullivan, Chief Counsel for the Office of Advocacy had the
honor of addressing the world congress of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) in
Belfast, Northern Ireland. In June 2005, ICSB will hold its annual meeting in Washington, D.C.. Small
business scholars and researchers from around the world will be in attendance. In concert with this
event, Advocacy will cosponsor a pre-conference on June 14, 2005, titled, “Global Perspectives on
Entrepreneurship,” with the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation and
the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The day-long pre-conference will
examine small business issues with varying international perspectives, and Advocacy will again
publish a follow-up piece.

Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Regulatory Flexibility Act U.S. small
businesses saved $6 billion in costs in 2003, thanks to Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
implementation. The RFA requires federal agencies to find ways to reduce the burden of federal
regulations that fall disproportionately on small businesses. Since the RFA was signed into law in
1980, Advocacy has worked with federal agencies to save small business billions of dollars in
foregone regulation costs. In September 2005 Advocacy will host a symposium coinciding with the
25th anniversary of the RFA to look at where we have been and where we are going. To receive more
information about these and other Office of Advocacy activities you can sign up for our newsletter,
news releases and research reports at Advocacy’s listservs at http://web.sba.gov/list.

District Office Reports

Colorado –

FREE SBA 7(j) Training to be held in Denver the week of
November 15 -19th. You have been invited to a FREE ($2,000 – $3,000 value)
intensive one-week executive seminar designed for small business executives. Many
secrets of being a successful 7j/8a company and business owner will be revealed during
the seminar. Workshops will be conducted by Business Professionals including Alabama
A&M University Professors, former 8(a) Business Owners and former 7(j) Business
Owners. The SBA has awarded a grant to Alabama A&M University Research Institute to
conduct training for 1,500 small businesses that are participating in the SBA’s 7(j)
Management and Technical Program. This training will be held in Denver the week of
November 15 -19th, 2004. This training will be video conferenced to the other five states
in Region 8. This first phase of training will consist of a one week workshop on how to
more effectively run a business. For more information on this training, go to
http://aamuri.aamu.edu/ or call the SBA’s Chris Chavez at 303-844-0501.

Montana –

Burton K. Wheeler Fall Business Roundtable to
be held October 7th in Bozeman. The Burton K. Wheeler
Business Roundtable is co-sponsored with the MSU College of
Business and the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship. Business
owners, policy makers, economic developers, SBA and academics
will be participating to examine what actions can be taken in the short and long term at
the state and local levels to encourage a stable and sustainable climate for
entrepreneurship in Montana. For more information contact the Wheeler Center, Montana
State University, Bozeman at (406) 994-0336.

North Dakota —

"Lean Manufacturing 101" will be held October 19th in
Minot, North Dakota. Do you experience missed order dates; higher product costs than
the competition; declining market share because of delivery time or cost problems;
limited capacity? If so, Lean Manufacturing can have an immediate, positive impact on
your company. A Lean Enterprise produces more with existing resources by eliminating
non-value added activities. Lean establishes a systematic approach to eliminate waste
and optimize your product throughput. It also helps you develop and implement a longterm,
continuous improvement plan to streamline your operations for success. Contact
Linda Liebert-Hall at (701)239-5048 or [email protected] for more information.

South Dakota –

he Black Hills Federal Credit Union to sponsor a business
loan seminar on October 21, 2004, at the Western Dakota Technical Institute, 800
Mickelson Drive in Rapid City. The seminar is scheduled from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. A
representative from the South Dakota SBA office will be make a presentation on the
agency’s loan programs and will be available to answer your questions. For more
information, contact Kevin Tiede at the BHFCU, (605) 343-0891.

Utah –

Salt Lake SCORE Chapter to participate in a “Getting Ready for
Business” workshop hosted by Salt Lake County on Tuesday, October 19th from 11:00
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and will be held at the Salt Lake County Government Center, 2001
South State St. in the Council Chambers. The workshop will be followed by an open
networking session from noon to 1:00 p.m. For additional information regarding this
workshop, please contact Renee Murphy at (801) 468-3866.

Wyoming –

The “Wyoming Women’s Money Conference” will be
held on October 15th, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre
at 1615 Central Ave. in Cheyenne. Topics of discussion at the free event
will include small business, divorce and money, estate planning,
mortgages, financial institutions and investments. The featured speakers will include
Dee Lee, a certified financial planner and retirement counselor and registered investment
adviser in Boston and Arlene Soto, a regional director for the Wyoming Small Business
Development Center in Cheyenne. For more information please contact the SBA’s Deb
Farris at (307) 261-6510.

If you have any questions about Newsline Eight or would like your name removed from the
Newsline VIII Fax list, contact Chris Chavez at (303) 844-0501 or [email protected]
SBA’s Website can be found at http://www.sba.gov

Newsline Eight is circulated to our resource and lending partners by SBA’s Region Eight Office
721 19th Street, Suite 400, Denver, Colorado 80202.
Elton W. Ringsak, Regional Administrator
James R. Henderson, Regional Advocate
Christopher Chavez, Regional Communications Director
Carol Helm, Regional Office Manager

Contact: Chris Chavez ([email protected])
October 2004 Phone: (303) 844-0501/Fax 844-0506