Most successful entrepreneurs are a walking list of contradictions. They take risks, except for when the situation demands conservation; they’re independent thinkers who realize just how necessary it is to learn from others; they set their hopes high and ground their expectations in reality.

In his position at the Utah division of the federal government’s Small Business Administration, Dennis Wengert has seen first-hand the conflicting traits that entrepreneurs are made of.

Wengert, a business development specialist for the SBA, has heard untold numbers of entrepreneurial success stories. On the other hand, he’s also seen some spectacular failures. 

“I know a lot of people who spent a lot of money just prior to the recession getting a business started and they were out of business within 18 months,” Wengert said. “When you make a decision to go into business, there are no guarantees.”

One tip Wengert offers is for people to remember that it’s not a bad thing to start small —particularly if you are a first-time business owner. Starting small allows entrepreneurs to make mistakes and regroup without breaking the bank, he said.

“Most people think they’ll be able to break even within three months of starting a business, but my experience in the private sector has taught me that it can be very difficult to break even in less than a year,” he said. “You have to have the temperament and resources in place to weather that first year, and you need contingency plans in place in case it takes you longer to start making money than you estimated.”

In the past few years, Wengert said entrepreneurs have struggled because a slow economy means banks across the country have tightened restrictions for start-up loans. Many business owners have increasingly dipped into their home equity or retirement plans to pay for their entrepreneurial ventures, essentially betting the farm on something that may or may not work out. 

“The good news for Utah is it seems to have been spared a lot of the economic downturn, and I would say the situation in general seems to be stabilizing,” Wengert said. “In the midst of challenges, there’s always opportunity. In times when the majority of people see lemons, it’s always going to be the entrepreneurs who see lemonade.”

Aid from the Internet
Although starting a business always involves some kind of risk, opportunities for success skyrocket when entrepreneurs utilize all the resources at their fingertips. One of those resources crucial to take advantage of is the internet, Wengert said.

“Depending on the product or service you have to offer, if you utilize the internet, the whole world is your market,” he said. “The world we live in is changing, and to be successful, entrepreneurs need to change along with it.”
The internet is also particularly useful when it comes to the marketing and promotion that are so vital in new business start-ups, but Wengert said he sees people all the time who aren’t taking advantage of the social-based marketing that is available at no cost.

“If you post something about your business on a Facebook page and share it with some friends and they share it with their friends and that happens three times over, you’ve probably done more good for your business than investing in thousands of dollars of advertisements,” he said.

Two area entrepreneurs who have embraced the internet in their business model are Wayne and Debra Wickizer. From their home office in Mountain Home, the couple works with clients halfway around the globe via technology like Skype.

“We can sit in our little two bedroom home in the middle of a cedar forest and carry on high-tech business deals with people all over the world.” Debra said.
For the past three and a half years, the Wickizers have been growing a business called the Utah High Country Regional Center. Their business is an EB-5 business, which is a little-known federal program that helps foreigners gain permanent U.S. residency when they invest in American businesses. After taking multiple certification classes available through the UBATC, the Wickizers are now qualified to broker deals between overseas clients and reputable companies seeking investors.

“When we first learned about this program from friends overseas, I thought, ‘My goodness, where has this been?’ Debra said. “This is the single most exciting economic development tool I’ve found, but no one really knows about it.”
In rural areas like the Uintah Basin, immigrants must make capital investments of at least $500,000 to qualify for a green card. They must also be able to prove that their money was obtained legally and undergo stringent background checks from the Department of Homeland Security before being allowed to enter the United States.

Debra, a previous city councilwoman in Layton, said the EB-5 program is a huge asset to the economy, particularly in rural areas. The couple is close to solidifying contracts with an investor for a business wanting to expand to the Uintah Basin within the next six months. 

The business is Go Natural CNG — an alternative fuel company that manufactures kits to convert vehicles to operate on natural gas. The Wickizers projections estimate the company will create 91 jobs — many of them in the Uintah Basin.
For entrepreneurs, the pay off for an EB-5 business usually comes because they can charge immigrants a service fee. EB-5 business owners can also seek overseas investors for their own-business start-up or ask to be joint owners of a project they have secured financing for.

But for the Wickizers, money is not the motivation.

“We’re not looking to get rich,” Debra said. “Both my husband and I absolutely thrive on helping find things that are going to make our community viable. Entrepreneurship is the wave of the future. It’s what keeps our communities alive.”

Invaluable local resources
Although a speedy DSL connection and internet technology have been essential for their growing business, Debra said she and her husband have also relied heavily on another important tool: help from the local Small Business Development Center and the area chamber of commerce.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without those resources,” Debra said. “They are absolutely wonderful, and very much underutilized.” 

Mark Holmes is the director of the Small Business Development Center in Vernal. Centers like the one in Vernal are all over Utah, formed through a partnership with the Governor's Office of Economic Development and colleges and universities around the state. Holmes said the entire purpose of the development centers is to help entrepreneurs succeed. 

“We are where the rubber meets the road,” Holmes said. “This is a one-stop shop for business counseling and training. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the beginning stages of trying to determine if there’s even a market for your product or if you’re looking for help with selling your business and retiring. We’re here to help.”

In addition to offering free counseling and input on business models and market research, Holmes said the Small Business Development Center also hosts occasional workshops on a variety of topics, and fees for the workshops are minimal.

Another resource similar to the Small Business Development Center is SCORE, a program where successful retired or senior business owners volunteer to mentor entrepreneurs. In Utah, SCORE chapters are located in Springville, Salt Lake, and Ogden.

Local entrepreneurs will also find a tremendous asset in their area chambers of commerce. Tammy Lucero, economic director for Duchesne County, and Irene Hansen, director of the Duchesne County Chamber of Commerce, have recently made it their mission to visit every business in the Uintah Basin as an outreach imitative for the Business Expansion and Retention program.

“We’ve been hand-delivering packets containing information about every incentive and tax credit available,” Hansen said. “We’re also asking business owners to complete a comprehensive survey so that we can better understand how to help them. We love to see entrepreneurs succeed.”

At your fingertips: additional resources for entrepreneurs
One brand-new tool for entrepreneurs is a community forum opened last month by the U.S. Small Business Administration's Business Gateway Program. Hosted on business.gov, the community forum, which is believed to be the first government-sponsored online community built specifically for small business owners, combines discussion threads, blogs, and resource articles.

Entrepreneurs Small Business Handbook is a free, practical guide compiled by utahbusinss.com for entrepreneurs looking to get their small business up and running.The publication is available online at http://utahbusiness.com/special_issues/25/Entrepreneur_Handbook_200