Every other Wednesday, the small meeting room of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce is filled with ideas.
New prospective businesses, ways to increase marketability, the right uses of social media – those and many other topics are discussed between Vardhan Bajpai and his clients. Bajpai is a business advisor with the Small Business Development Center and holds office hours twice a month at the Chamber to provide free advising to residents in this area of New Hampshire.
SBDC has six regional offices around the state, and Bajpai works out of the Keene location, but since late 2019, he has been offering services in Peterborough.
The goal is to be there to answer questions, work through problems and develop plans moving forward. Bajpai meets with people at all stages of starting a business, right through existing small business owners. Some come to him with an idea, while others have financial statements, loan applications, business plans already in hand.
“And if people want to start a business in a certain area, we can connect them with someone who can mentor them,” Bajpai said.
For those further in the process, Bajpai will review what has been put together and see where he can offer advice. Every client starts with a one-hour introduction, so Bajpai can get an idea of what the prospective business is all about, what work has already been done and a timeline. From there, follow up meetings typically run an hour and a half as more details are discussed.
“It’s a continual process. If they find value in it, they’re going to come again,” Bajpai said.
They help develop a business presentation that can then be taken to possible investors.
But it’s not just for entrepreneurs looking to get something off the ground. The service is open to existing business owners who may have an area that needs some direction from someone with experience. Bajpai said that 30 percent of clients are about to start a business, while 70 percent have already been in business.
“It’s a great, free resource that not a lot of people know about,” Bajpai said. “We know what we’re talking about. We have experience, we’re certified.”
What is important to Bajpai is having a timeline in place. That way he can properly gauge when certain aspects of the business need to be done and set up his future meetings accordingly.
“What we want is for them to be successful and that success can come in many ways,” Bajpai said.
SBDC also offers a number of free e-courses on its website from making a checklist and starting a business in NH to developing a website and branding basics.
“If you want to learn anything about how to start a business, we have an e-course about it,” Bajpai said.
Bajpai has worked for startups and billion-dollar companies but finds tremendous value in what he does for SBDC after joining in October.
“That’s the reason I’m with SBDC – to help small businesses,” he said. “And I’m blown away at the amount of impact SBDC has on the region.”
Bajpai has office hours at the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce the first and third Wednesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., by appointment. To learn more and to set up a meeting, visit www.nhsbdc.org/keene-regional-office.