New Hampshire small-business clients of SBDC had $254.6 million impact in 2024

MANCHESTER, NH – Nancy and Ryan Dubois faced a lot of business challenges when they opened Munchie Mart, in the former Page Street Market space in 2022.

They turned to the New Hampshire Small Business Development Centers for help both before, and after, they opened their business opened at 1038 Hanover St. in 2022.

SBDC advisor Andrea O’Brien helped the mother-son team with tasks like creating a business plan, proposals for bank loans, a spreadsheet for cash flow and projections, and also connected them with an accountant and attorney. 

“We could not have opened our business if we didn’t get the help from Andrea and everyone else at the SBDC,” Nancy Dubois said in an SBDC Client Profile.

The Dubois family is among 1,910 NH SBDC clients in 2024, 31% of which seeked support to open a new business. The other 69% were established businesses that also sought resources and support from SBDC, according to the organization’s 2024 Annual Report, released this week.

NH SBDC had a $254.6 million impact on the state, a127% increase from 2019, and supported business that represent about 6,500 jobs, according to the report. Of those, 81 were new businesses.

The program offers free one-on-one business advising from 20 offices across the state, as well as resources, training, events and online courses, to small-business owners and entrepreneurs. It’s funded in part through the SBA, as well as the state, and is an outreach program of the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, in conjunction with SBA and the state Bureau of Economic Affairs. 

New Hampshire’s SBDC celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, and its growth and economic success of its clients “underscores the critical role small businesses play in New Hampshire’s economy,” SBDC officials said with the report’s release.

In 2024, 52.6% of NH SBDC’s clients were women, 7.1% were veterans and 37.9% were in rural areas, defined as any part of the state that’s not a city of 50,000 population or more. Businesses were able to access $15.8 million in new capital with SBDC guidance, according to the report.

“We work tirelessly every day alongside entrepreneurs to make their dream of owning a small business come true,” said State Director Liz Gray. “We take a holistic approach to understand our clients’ challenges and bring SBDC’s significant assets and expertise to the table when addressing their unique needs…With the support of our federal, state, and local funding partners, we are driving New Hampshire’s economy forward one small business at a time.”

SBDCs are a “strong partner for businesses across the state,” Taylor Caswell, state commissioner of Business and Economic Affairs, said. “Small businesses are critical to the health and vitality of New Hampshire, and NH SBDC offers expert technical knowledge and assistance to these businesses.”

Ryan Dubois had worked for another local sub shop for 15 years when he and his mom, Nancy Dubois, decided it was time to take a leap of faith and create something of their own for the community while revitalizing a corner store in need of some TLC, they told Ink Link in 2022.

Love of community, as well as tenacity, is what drove them to take over the former Page Street Market at the busy intersection of Page and Hanover streets.

Nancy Dubois told Ink Link that she had her eye on the location, which had been vacant for quite a while, and made a call only to find out that it was already rented.

“I said to the owner, ‘I’ve got a business plan and I’ll give you a year’s rent. I really want this place,’” she said. “I hadn’t seen anything happening with it and I was determined. He finally said I could come check it out.”

When she showed up to take a tour, cars driving by kept beeping, the drivers waving at her. the owner, Marc Doucet, asked her if she knew all these people, and Nancy rattled off not only how she knew each and every one of them.

He finally relented, calling the current renter to see if they still wanted it. Later that day, he got back to Nancy and told her the space was hers.

The story is also recounted in the NH SBDC client profile.

The long road to open their store included “one disaster after the next, as they tried to open during COVID,” the website says. In the 15 months it took them to fix up the space and get it to their standards they relied on their advisor, O’Brien.

“She was fabulous with all her help and knowledge,” Nancy said. “She makes every effort to make your life so much easier.”

Without the support of Andrea and SBDC, Nancy suspects she likely would have given up. “Anytime I had a problem, I’d run it by her and see what she thought about it.”

Also benefitting from O’Brien’s support was Dina Akel, who needed financing to take her growing bridal fashion business to the next level. Akel began Vieira Luxe, in Nashua, as an ecommerce business, but in 2021 expanded to bricks and mortar. The company collaborates with bridal shops across the U.S. to move their excess inventory and offers it to customers at a discounted rate.

Without programs like SBDC “Honestly, I don’t I don’t think I could have gotten this far this quickly,” Akel said in a profile on the SBDC website. Akel had worked with SCORE, which offers free business peer mentoring, and also participated in the Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Businesses program, which is how she connected with O’Brien.

“It was time to implement expert marketing strategies and hire help,” Akel said. She was dreading the application process to get funding, but “SBDC made it easy and less stressful.”

Chas Sullivan, owner of Radmoto, an electric vehicle servicing company in Portsmouth, worked with SBDC Regional Director Ed Miles, who guided him on revenue models and introduced him to banks, according to the report.

“In the last year, Ed has helped us transition from prototype to scale-up,” Sullivan said. “We have increased our sales six times year over year, acquired hundreds of customers throughout the country, and with every hurdle we face, our advisor knows how to overcome it.”

Sue McCoo, owner of Hilltop Consignment Services, in Concord, has been accessing SBDC services for 39 years, the New Hampshire center’s longest-running client, according to the report. Recent support McCoo received was human resources, expansion and strategic and succession planning.

“As a business owner, you have so many worries that sometimes you feel like a hamster in the wheel,” McCoo said. “You have to jump off every once in a while. SBDC advisors help you get off the wheel long enough that you can look at your issues and then help you walk through them. The burden gets cut in half and you can find a solution. Maybe you don’t know what it’s going to be, but you’ll have one. That’s what keeps me coming back.”

Some of the free programs offered in 2024 to entrepreneurs and small-business owners by the SBDC were:

• NH Export Accelerator, which helps businesses expand into international markets through education and one-on-one advising.
• Legal, Accounting, and Financial Services (LeAF), which provides access to expert consultants for legal and financial guidance.
• Cybersecurity Initiative, which educates businesses on protecting digital assets, and includes an annual Cybersecurity Summit and no-cost cybersecurity reviews.
• Small Business, Big Solutions, a program that assists businesses with digital marketing and AI-driven technology solutions through a partnership with UNH Paul College’s Center for Business Analytics and Voice Z Digital.
• NH Small Business Matchmaker, which connects small businesses with government procurement officials and prime contractors to open new opportunities.

Gray, the state director, said NH SBDC will continue to help grow the state’s economy in its 41st year and beyond.

“When we look to NH SBDC’s future, we are excited to be involved in cutting edge projects and innovating with key partners to help make our companies more competitive in today’s global economy,” she said.