Alumna Beverly Stewart Cox, president and director of Back to Basics Learning Dynamics Inc. in Wilmington, Del., has run her successful tutoring business for 17 years by providing one-on-one assistance targeted to the individual needs of her clients.

So, when Cox herself was facing a major business decision a couple of years ago, she turned to the same kind of service--available through UD's Small Business Development Center--for guidance. The center, part of the College of Business and Economics, offers a range of assistance to business owners and prospective owners, including training programs, individual counseling and informational seminars and publications.

"Learning to start, operate and succeed in business is what we're all about," says Clinton Tymes, the center director. All the center's trained counselors have operated businesses themselves, he notes, and most also have advanced degrees in business management.

In Cox's case, Back to Basics was expanding and had outgrown its office space. Although the former third-grade teacher had done well in starting, operating and developing the business, which employs more than 100 tutors who work with school-age students, adults and business professionals, she says she was stymied about how to proceed with expansion plans.

"It was a big decision, with a lot of issues to think about," Cox says. "Should we enlarge our old building or move? Buy or lease? Where should we locate? Plus, there was the fear and trepidation involved in making such a big change."

Cox, CHEP '79, '84M, says she was aware of the Small Business Development Center but not familiar with its services. She gave the center a call and met with counselor Ed Schneider.

"I never tell clients that any of their ideas are wrong," says Schneider, who has been a counselor at the center for four years and previously worked in the corporate world and also in his own consulting business. "I coach, I mentor, I try to help them see what they can do to be successful, but in the end, it's their business and they make the decisions."

Cox says that approach was especially helpful in her case. Schneider gave her a business-planning workbook, and the two of them discussed her progress through its exercises.

"The workbook and the questions Ed asked me really helped me clarify my business goals and my professional goals," Cox says. "Ed was very knowledgeable, but he always listened to me and never acted superior. It was like having a colleague--a support system--not somebody telling me what to do."

In the end, Cox says, she realized that she needed to disregard her emotional ties to the office space that had been her business home for 11 years and move to a larger, more useful location. After Schneider encouraged her to research the geography of her client base, she decided that she needed to stay in the same general area as her former office, and she ultimately found a nearby building to purchase.

"I bought this in December of 2000, and we love it," she says, showing a visitor around her spacious and comfortable offices, which feature ample space for tutoring clients in privacy.

Cox is just one of hundreds of Delawareans who have worked with the center to start or expand a business or to overcome problems that arise over time. Based in the University's downtown Wilmington offices, the center also has offices in Newark, Dover and Georgetown, and it offers training programs, information and counseling throughout the state.

The center distributes numerous publications and covers much of the same material on its web site, [www.delawaresbdc.org]. Topics include basic business start-up information, business planning, organizational forms, record keeping and financing.

To talk to a counselor from the center, complete an online request form at the web site or call (302) 571-1555.

-- Ann Manser, AS'73, CHEP'73