HOW WE HELP ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

THINGS WE HAVE HEARD FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS:

These are paraphrases of lengthy conversations but they are each directly from specific conversations we have had with EDC directors

We have heard: New businesses are great, but I really need a way to keep the ones I already have going strong:

When it comes to using tax dollars as incentives to grow a towns economy, few things will draw a stronger reaction than supporting a new business when existing businesses are struggling. It's hard, if not impossible, to please everyone; but EDC/CDC directors and boards have to make the tough decisions on how to balance where to spend their time, energy and money.

With Pebble Plan you don't have to choose: Business retention and expansion is just as important to the stability of an economy as entrepreneurship is to it's growth; that's why Pebble Plan has been designed to support both. The same tools and educational content in the app make it easy and efficient for new business to plan their growth can help businesses in trouble identify where they got off track and take inventory of where they really are right now. When they go through our recovery planning module we take that information and help them create a plan for how to get back on track as well. With one resource your EDC can protect prior investments while also helping to make well reasoned future investments. Plus you get a consistent process for all small businesses you work with, which makes it easier for the board to show consistent decision making based on the data provided by the client.

We have heard: Wearing multiple hats is part of the job, but trying to do everything is inefficient:

No matter how much I may want to help local entrepreneurs plan their business, that is a small part of my job, and I seldom have the time to sit down with them and help as much as they need. The best thing I can do for for them, and the community, is to send them somewhere else so they can get help and I can get on with my day. When they come back and are better prepared then it makes sense for me to sit down and see what programs they are ready for. Holding their hand through the business planning process takes up a ton of time and they may not ever finish, so that time is often lost.

Getting someone started with Pebble Plan takes less than five minutes: If the client is paying just send them to this website and tell them to click 'Start your plan" we will take it from there. If you are paying, give them your unique access code and then send them to this website and tell them to click 'Start your plan". You can do that in person, over the phone or via email; then you can get back to work. If you want to check on their progress, just log in to the app and click on the plan you want to see from the partner portal; it's the first thing you see so it just takes one click. We will help them discover if they are ready to apply for EDC support and if they can meet the job production requirements, so when you sit down with them the conversation will be productive and worth your time.

We have heard: My community wants help but they wont drive to get help or cant take off of work:

Even when I send people to get free help they wont go or cant go consistently so they get frustrated and often don't finish their business plan. Even if I pay a consultant to come to our community they still have scheduling problems and it takes a long time to get done.

Pebble Plan connects users to local & regional resources in the app: We make it easy for our users to take advantage of local and regional help resources, even if they cant get to SBDC or other help resources office during the work day. Our users can make progress on their plan when they want, where they want, and if they get stuck they can invite in outside help when they need it. They can explain what they need help with on Saturday night, and the consultant can work on their help request Monday morning while the user is at work. We don't charge for this because we want to see our users succeed and we know most people need a little help from time to time.

We have heard: I cant stand reading poorly written plans that make me dig for the information I need:

I read every business plan before I send people in front of my board, and most of the time I want to pull my hair out because I have to search for answers that should be easy to find. I try to clarify questionable areas before the board meeting, which means I have to get knee deep into their plan when all I want to do is make sure they are ready so the meeting stays on track and board isn't frustrated with me for wasting their time.

Pebble Plans are data-focused, easy to read, and consistently formatted: We make it easy for our users to take advantage of local and regional help resources, even if they cant get to SBDC or other help resources office during the work day. Our users can make progress on their plan when they want, where they want, and if they get stuck they can invite in outside help when they need it. They can explain what they need help with on Saturday night, and the consultant can work on their help request Monday morning while the user is at work. We don't charge for this because we want to see our users succeed and we know most people need a little help from time to time.

THINGS WE HAVE HEARD FROM BOARD MEMBERS:

These are paraphrases of lengthy conversations but they are each directly from specific conversations we have had with board members

We have heard: We usually need additional information or documents to get a clear picture of the deal:

Most of the time, applicants are unable to answer some of our questions and/or cant back up their claims. Wen asked how the are going to create X number of jobs or tax revenues they usually have very vague answers make it harder for us to trust that they can deliver on their promises.

Pebble Plan has researched the information EDCs need and asks it up front: Because our planning process is education-focused, when a user finishes their plan they don't just have a document; they have an in-depth understanding of their business and what they are saying it's capabilities are. We ask the tough questions that most people will avoid if given the opportunity to; but we don't give them the opportunity to. There is no opportunity to talk around the tough answers, you either know it or you don't, and if you don't it is easy for the board to see.

We have heard: Applicants don't need to be accountants, but they do need to know their numbers:

So often it is obvious that someone else helped small business applicants with their financials, or they just created them out of thin air. Many times the financial statements they provide have are incomplete or their numbers don't match their story so we have a hard time trusting their numbers. If asked what their financial assumptions are based on they don't have real answers. Sometimes all we get are hand written budgets on notebook paper; it's hard to invest tax money in that business.

Pebble Plan teaches users how financial statements work and users create them from scratch: We don't compromise on this point because we know that if our users can figure this out they are much more likely to succeed; and if they cant figure it out, they are probably not ready to be asking for someone else's money yet. We teach the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet; and our plans include all three documents for last year, current year-to-date, next year projected, and five year projected, as appropriate for the age of the business. No shortcuts, no easy industry averages, real numbers for the business you are evaluating. To help our users learn as they go we have 12 automated algorithms that scan for common mistakes and unrealistic expectations so their numbers have already been checked for certain problems before their plan is finished.

We have heard: Sometimes we participate on a loan with a bank or our investment is used for a down payment:

When we do these deals we want to know we are on the same page as the bank or we could end wasting time and energy trying to put together a deal they aren't going to approve because they got different info from the applicant than we did. Coordinating with the bank can be a pain but some deals wont get done without that cooperation.

EDCs gets the same plans that banks do: Pebble Plans are designed to work with both banks and EDCs, and we have received rave reviews from both. When a participation deal comes along send your applicant to us and you can be confident that you and the bank are working from the same business plan and are seeing the same financials. If you want to double check you can log in to the system and see the live version of the plan at any time.

We have heard: It can be hard to defend why we funded one request but not another when we let applicants give us inconsistent information:

When we get applications, business plans, and supporting documents in different formats, they don't all provide the same information. We do our best to make fair and consistent decisions based on what we are given but it could be hard to explain if the city or county started asking questions about our process. We know we are doing right, but it might be hard to prove it.

Pebble Plans are data-focused, always require the same information, and are consistently formatted: EDCs that use Pebble Plan as part of their application process have a consistent process built in. Every Pebble Plan shows the same pieces of information in the same places so it's easy for an auditor to see what information was presented and evaluated. It also makes it easier on new board members or new staff members to get up to speed on what information is used to evaluate companies so the process stays consistent during times of turnover or when an interim director may be sitting in.

GET BETTER PLANS, ADD MORE JOBS & GET YOUR TIME BACK

The choice is yours about how you want to use Pebble Plan; if the EDC pays for access your local entrepreneurs will get their plans for free, if you don't want to pay, your business owners can pay for their own access and you can still get all the benefits. Just send your people to us and we will send them back to you better prepared to succeed and grow your towns economy.

To see the software in action book a time for a live demo or view a recorded demo now.

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