This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Federal data recently ranked Utah County third in the nation for job creation, and an arsenal of resources that Utah Valley University pooled together in its new Business Resource Center could have something to do with that.
Housed in a remodeled building that formerly served as a Saturn dealership, the 25,000-square-foot facility immediately south of UVU's Orem campus offers a central hub of services aimed at strengthening small businesses and the economy.
Steve Roy, UVU's associate vice president for economic development, likens the new hub to "a greenhouse where the seeds of economic activity are sown and nourished."
"If you look historically at job growth, it comes from small businesses and entrepreneurs," Roy said. "That's our target audience."
Roy formerly directed Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR), one of seven entities that recently settled into new digs at the BRC.
USTAR is joined by the Commission for Economic Development of Orem (CEDO), the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCU), Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Technology Commercialization Office (TCO).
Thanks to its prior use, the new center offers ample parking. The two-story structure also houses 11 incubator pods, 13 offices, two conference rooms and a reference library.
From dream to done •Heidi Barker credits one of the center's components — Orem's SBDC — with helping her realize her dream.
"I've wanted to do this all my life," Barker said of the Sunny Day Preschool and Daycare in Heber City that she now owns and directs.
Sunny Day's former owner put the business up for sale in late 2009. At that time, Barker began exploring ways to purchase the thriving operation where she had worked since graduating from Salt Lake Community College in 1998 with a degree in Early Childhood Development.
SBDC staff helped Barker formulate a business plan, determine the business's value, negotiate the building lease and secure a $25,000 micro-enterprise loan after months of being turned away by banks.
In January 2011, Barker became Sunny Day's official owner. She now supervises four employees and oversees a business that serves 34 children ranging in age from eight weeks to 11 years.
As the daughter of a single mom who struggled with mental illness, Barker said that she and her younger brother essentially raised each other.
Kids "come here and know they're loved and wanted," Barker said, "and we have a good time."
According to its 2011 report to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Orem's SBDC served 599 clients, logged 2,837 counseling hours, taught 51 classes to 605 participants, launched 46 businesses, created 166 new jobs, retained 14 existing positions and acquired $7.3 million in loans and investment funding.
Orem SBDC Director Ken Fakler said the office also connects area businesses with students who earn course credit for compiling marketing plans, critiques and other services.
"We're doing 60 to 70 projects per year," Fakler said. "Most of the time our clients come back and say it was great" — and ask for more.
Business management students are required to do internships, Fakler added, and one option is to launch a small start-up company.
"These are legitimate businesses — we take them through the entire process," Fakler said. "They have to make a sale before the semester ends to get credit."
Fakler's SBDC office is one of 11 throughout Utah that are supported primarily with federal funds.
"We work with the little guys — people who don't have $5,000 to $10,000 to start a business," Fakler said. "Its really rewarding."
New inventions, new revenues •Kent Millington heads up UVU's Technology Commercialization Office, which fosters student/faculty partnerships designed to carry ideas from the initial concept stage to prototype and, ultimately, to patented product.
"We have a student who created a new electrical transformer," Millington said of one recent project, "and the applications for this transformer are numerous."
University of Utah's Technology Ventures program leads the nation in high-tech creations, he added, providing a beneficial example for UVU's younger TCO.
UVU has already spawned a strong digital media program that produces applications and games for smart phones, laptops and other electronic devices. And a new component for oil and natural gas drilling rigs is in the works.
"With the growth of UVU in recent years,'' Millington said, ``we're at the point where we can begin doing these types of things." .
Managing growth •Now touting more than 33,000 students, Utah Valley University has become the state's largest higher-education institution. Two decades ago, UVU had less than a third of that enrollment number and offered four-year degrees in 1993.
Between 2000 and 2010, the U.S. Census reported that Utah County grew by 40 percent to become the state's second most populous county, with 516,564 residents.
Speaking at last week's BRC ribbon cutting, Gov. Gary Herbert reminisced about growing up in the Orem area. "There was nothing here but sand and lizards," the former Utah County Commissioner said, calling the area's rapid growth both a blessing and a curse.
"If you want revenues to come into government coffers, it has to happen based on a foundation of economic growth and prosperity," the governor said. "Its the only way we can adequately fund our institutions of higher learning, build our roads, and fund the government services that people think are important."
twitter: @catmck —
Utah Valley University's Business Resource Center
Drop by Friday, between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a public open house.
Where • 815 W. 1250 South, Orem
Advantages • The center offers seven business-development organizations in one place and support for entrepreneurs and small businesses in Summit, Utah and Wasatch Counties.
To learn more • go to http://www.uvu.edu/brc/ or call 801-863-2720