REGIONS Africa Asia Caucasus and Balkans Central Asia Latin America and Caribbean North America Russia and Eastern Europe

NORTH AMERICA

U.S.A.
BRAC Project

The East Valley/Inland Valley region of California was especially hard hit by the recession and the closure of Norton Air Force Base which resulted in the loss of 10,000 jobs. A new regional development agency (IVDA) was formed to capitalize on the region's assets and to develop plans for the re-use of the Norton facilities as an industrial and employment center. The IVDA, along with the City of Highland and the East Valley Economic Development Partnership, commissioned Sibley International to develop a Business Plan for a Regional Small Business Incubator, including an analysis of the business, civic, educational and human resources of the East/Inland Valley community and the potential for their involvement with, and support of, the small business incubator. The Business Plan analyzed three major areas: the marketing, financing, and management of the incubator.

Part 1: the Market Study reviewed the existing incubator industry literature as well as the East/Inland Valley regional market. This included the surveying of existing service providers, the local economic environment, and potential business linkages and expansion opportunities. It also illustrated the characteristics of the local small business sector. The second part of the Market Study focused on the real estate for the incubator, costing the options of new construction versus rehab, delineating the criteria necessary for a successful incubator, surveying local sites, and recommending site selection (an "incubator without walls," with the hub located at Norton Air Force Base).

Part 2: the Financial Plan included a complete financial analysis of the project, including breakeven analysis for the first three years of the project, funding of the incubator, and detailed cash flow projections.

Part 3: the Management Plan included comprehensive management plans for the business incubator, including the planned Small Business Support Center (SBSC) located within the incubator. It delineated incubator features, functions, and fee schedule, described in detail the personnel needed to manage and operate the incubator, and investigated possible linkages with other resources in the East/Inland Valley community.

The Regional Small Business Incubator was successfully implemented, using the Sibley team's recommendations. Just eight months after opening, the SBSC-business incubator at the former Norton Air Force Base was home to 16 businesses employing 60 people.

U.S.A.
Department of Commerce, SABIT Program Training

The Department of Commerce's SABIT program organized a specialized accounting program entitled Business Management for Women directed at women accountants from the former Soviet Union. A Sibley specialist provided training to the selected participants in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Accounting Standards (IAS) during a two-week period. Participants received a customized plan of instruction that included all aspects of financial reporting, including classification of assets and liabilities and presentation of financial statements, with special attention paid to the conditions faced by accountants from the FSU. Upon successful completion of the program participants received a certificate of training in accounting.

U.S.A.
USAID Loan Guarantee Fund

Sibley International devised and structured a $30 million franchise loan guarantee fund for USAID. The fund was established to facilitate financing US franchises for export to the developing world and is currently used throughout the developing world. Through a contract with Ernst & Young and USAID, Sibley International developed and analyzed various configurations of a franchise facility for the purpose of an initial pilot project and a long-term facility. The result was a pilot program, designed and structured by Sibley that created a franchise loan guarantee fund for USAID. The fund established a mechanism for financing the purchase of US franchises by individuals and companies within USAID assisted countries. Specifically, the program provided direct loans and loan guarantees to International Master Licensors and franchisees to purchase US franchises. In addition, the program provided grants to US franchisors for training and support services to IMLs and franchisees.