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SBDC panel spotlights small‑business resilience, gaps in meat processing and pandemic pivots
Summary
At an AWB panel, Small Business Development Center director Cheryl McGrath and three SBDC clients — Browning Beef LLC and Roast House Coffee — described how free SBDC advising helped launch and sustain their businesses, while speakers flagged drought, limited USDA processing capacity, regulatory headwinds and pandemic pivots as persistent challenges.
Cheryl McGrath, state director of the Small Business Development Center, opened the Self Made Success panel by describing SBDC’s role in supporting small businesses across Washington, saying the program provides free, confidential one‑on‑one advising and must match each federal dollar with nonfederal funds under federal statute.
“We’ve got 35 locations in Washington. We’ve got over 50 business advisors who are brilliant,” McGrath said, summarizing the center’s statewide footprint and services.
Three SBDC clients then described how the center helped them grow. Frankie Browning of Browning Beef LLC recounted leaving teaching to turn a hobby into a business in 2017 by selling beef direct to consumers. Browning said her operation is 100 percent pasture‑based and that she sells USDA‑inspected beef at retail in quarters, halves and wholes.
“I didn’t have a computer when I started my business,” Browning said, praising SBDC for helping her focus her mission and tighten operations. She warned, however, that persistent drought and rising temperatures have strained pasture resources and that a shortage of USDA‑inspected processors forces her to drive animals “about an hour and a half” to Odessa for butchering.
Allison and Erin Jordan, who run Roast House Coffee and bought the business from Deborah De Bernardo after she received a terminal diagnosis, said SBDC advisors helped with succession planning, market focus and accountability. The Jordans described choosing higher‑cost inputs — organic, fair‑trade beans and livable wages — as a values‑driven decision that also increases exposure to regulatory and market headwinds.
“There’s kind of gifts and curses to regulatory ... we’re a value‑based business,” Erin Jordan said, adding that higher labor and sourcing standards make it harder to absorb policy and economic pressure.
Panelists said SBDC helped them shift from working in their businesses to working on them — analyzing cash flow, identifying target markets and building strategies that sustained growth. Erin Jordan described a pandemic pivot that replaced much lost wholesale business with e‑commerce, curbside promotions and national shipping.
“We launched an e‑commerce site and apparently people buy things on the Internet,” she said, describing how online sales grew into a meaningful revenue stream.
The panel also addressed consumer misinformation. Browning said she has spent time correcting false claims circulating about government‑mandated vaccines for cattle, and added that she posts explanations on her website to reassure customers about her vaccination practices.
When an audience member asked for one piece of practical advice, the panelists emphasized drive, documentation and using SBDC resources. McGrath closed by reiterating that SBDC’s services are free and aimed at helping businesses at every stage.
The session ended after brief audience questions; no formal actions or votes were taken.
