Wallsburg » It's not that Jose Ascua can work any harder running his tiny convenience store in this rural hamlet, off the main highway to Deer Creek Reservoir in Wasatch County.

Ascua opens the town's only retail outlet, In Solo Town, at 6 a.m. every day and closes around 9 p.m., or whenever the last customer leaves. He has a hot-breakfast and dinner menu, and stocks groceries and dry goods that residents might need to avoid a last-minute drive to Heber City, 15 miles north along a mountainous highway with no services in between.

When Ascua, 55, started falling behind on his bills, he asked the town to grant him a license to sell six-packs of beer, one of the items customers repeatedly requested. But by a unanimous vote last month, Wallsburg council members turned down a beer permit, a decision that Ascua says could put him out of business.

Like many small business owners working on tiny profit margins, Ascua has found that minor missteps can have a big impact. Making those decisions in isolation only aggravates the problem.

"I don't know what else I can do," Ascua said, while unlocking his store to cook chicken fajitas for two diners after the Thursday night town meeting at which his fate was cast. He has no employees, works more than 100 hours each week and he closes only on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Even in the best of times, it's never a good idea for small business owners to go it alone, counselors and advisers say. In today's recession economy, neither neophytes nor seasoned business owners cannot afford to pass up low- or no-cost programs and workshops offered by a host of organizations and agencies.

Among the most recommended is operated by SCORE, a nonprofit association of executives, some retired, who counsel for free.

"Yes, beer sales are a money maker," said Salt Lake City SCORE volunteer Stanley Ellington in assessing Ascua's situation. "But it's important to do an overall assessment of the business. There has to be an analysis before steps can be taken to fix whatever isn't working."

Ellington put Brenda Vincent to the test when she started her gift basket company nearly a year ago. Vincent, who works out of her Sandy home, said she knew how to make baskets, "but I had no clue about the business end. He started out by helping me write a business plan and then figure out how to properly price my products. Before, I was practically giving my stuff way. And when things were so underpriced, people thought that something was wrong with my products."

Vincent said she was surprised that help was available whenever she needed it, "and it's unbelievable, but it was all free."

Another resource for entrepreneurs are the Small Business Development Centers operated by the Small Business Administration. Utah has 12 centers on college and university campuses from Logan to St. George. The Governor's Office of Economic Development helps fund classes, workshops and other services at the centers.

"We offer free classes and scholarships for our longer-term courses," said Greg Panichello, the centers' state director. "We also have free, one-on-one counseling. Just call ahead for an appointment."

In outlying areas, rural business owners may qualify for programs that are not available to their city counterparts.

Rural Development, an agency with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, can provide low-interest loans and in some instances grants. Last year, loans totaling nearly $28 million went to more than 17,000 varies businesses and created or saved about 500 jobs.

"It's typical for small business owners to operate on a shoestring, so when trouble comes, they're hit hard," said Roger Coon, a business and cooperative specialist with the Rural Development office in Salt Lake City. But before asking for a loan, owners must do their homework, he said, preferably with the help of SCORE or business center counselors who can act as a one-stop service for an array of programs.

One little known initiative is the state's Rural Fast Track program, which can provide incentives aimed at creating a small number of high-paying jobs. The program is intended for companies in communities whose county's have a population of less than 30,000 and an average household income of less than $60,000. Although funds are limited, incentives are available each year.

Another relatively unknown program is the Utah Microenterprise Loan Fund. Loans from $1,000 to $25,000 are made to small companies with five or fewer employes that typically are too small to qualify for commercial banking services. Over the past 14 years, the fund has helped launch or expand more than 550 small businesses in the state.

For his part, Ascua has been made aware of the resources available to him but has been reluctant to take off work for a counseling session or workshop. His wife, who had helped out at the store, is recovering from shoulder surgery, and no family members are available. Ascua has hired a lawyer to determine if the town vote denying him a beer license was proper.

dawn@sltrib.com